The difficult development of parliamentary politics in the Gulf: parliaments and the process of managed reform in Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman

Parliaments have a poor record in the Middle East, often providing a vehicle to enhance the ruling authorities’ control rather than democratic representation. However, since 2011 the demands for political voice in post-revolutionary states have tended to focus on the creation of mass political parties and an effective, and democratic, parliament. This paper examines the development of the parliamentary institutions in three Gulf states: Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. In each of these countries these institutions have, to some extent, been a forum for the articulation of demands for more political and constitutional power, but have often been prevented from addressing sensitive political issues, and their powers and membership have been manipulated to the benefit of the government. The paper examines how these dynamics have played themselves out in each of the three Gulf states, and reflects on the role that parliamentary institutions might play in the coming years in both managing those states’ political tensions and providing a catalyst for more far-reaching political reform.