The Rugged Path of Reform in the Arab World

Among the eight Arab countries that are kingdoms at least three, Morocco, Jordan, and Bahrain are faced with protests. These protesters came to the streets, and even though slogans against the system were not widespread, people demanded fair and free elections. Even the Arab kings have realized that their systems are in need of reform.

Five months after the first movements in Bahrain in January 2011, the government started cracking down on people while talks between the government and the opposition started taking place. Even though there are many disputes about the people Malek Hamad chose for these negotiations, the main opposition party, Alvefagh, agreed to participate in the negotiations. However, two weeks after these negotiations Alvefagh retreated due to the lack of seriousness in the talks. Among the 300 Bahraini figures who were chosen to negotiate, Alvefagh only had three representatives and the rest were proponents of the government and content over the status quo.

Naturally these negotiations cannot be responsive to the demands of the majority of the Bahraini people. Alvefagh only entered the negotiations to show that it would not lose an opportunity, but while foreign troops are in Bahrain the good will and independency of the Bahraini rulers are questionable. Sheikh Ali Salman, the Secretary general of the Alvefagh party, said, “how is it that people all around the world want to chose their own governments but not in Bahrain?” This statement was made after some of the participants in the national negotiations said that they still want the king to chose the government. Malek Hamad even appointed a committee consisting of 5 international legal figures to investigate the recent events in Bahrain; however the results of this investigation are obvious due to the fact that the committee is legitimized by the king and its expenses are provided by the Bahraini government, and its final report will be given to the Bahraini government as well. Nevertheless, it is hoped that these people will make discoveries, and perhaps release reports that can help the reform process and reduce the violence in Bahrain.

In Morocco the young king chose the way of reform. According to the new constitution, the executive duties will be given to the prime minister who is chosen by the people. Diversity of ethnicities and races will be officially recognized. The prime minister will be the representative of the majority party in the parliament. However the Moroccan king maintained his religious and military positions. 65/72 percent of the people participated in the elections and 98% voted for the change of the constitution. Even though some are still not satisfied with the changes brought about by Malek Mohammad VI, the truth is that people in many Arab countries long for such changes. Not only were the reforms in Morocco praised by the US and European countries, but the Bahraini opposition also advised their king to learn from Morocco.

Saudi Arabia-- the biggest and richest Arab kingdom-- has a special view regarding the recent uprisings, and explicitly disagrees with the spread of democracy and the collapse of traditional Arab systems. The leaders of this country have shown that they will stand against these uprisings by giving refugee to Ben Ali, Ali Abdullah Saleh; by supporting Mubarak and by sending troops to Bahrain. The clergies in this country have announced that protests against the rulers are forbidden. The conduct of Saudi Arabia has resulted in associating the “kingdom club” to the leadership of this country. This club is trying to expand geographically and security-wise. Saudi Arabia has proposed that Jordan and Morocco become members of the PGCC. The reason behind this hasty proposal is very obvious: Saudi Arabia is trying to protect Arab kingdoms from popular uprisings. This country has been under severe criticism from independent international human rights organizations, but did not allow the Bahraini revolution to succeed. The strategic and special relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia has also freed the hands of the Saudis in doing what they desire. It should be considered that the US was also taken by surprise by the sudden popular uprisings, and was trapped in the paradox of maintaining its interests and promoting its values. Therefore, since it is not able to stand against these uprisings itself it has put Saudi Arabia on the front line of opposing these revolutionary movements. It should be mentioned that Saudi Arabia’s position in different Arab countries differs, and even though Jordan was tempted by oil dollars Morocco preferred to take the path of reform. 

Jordan is still stuck between choosing reforms and joining the anti-revolutionary club. The young Jordanian king is trying to end the protests by changing governmental officials. He has also announced that reform leading to free elections will occur within the next three years. But the speed of developments in the Arab world is faster than promises to people that change will come in the long run. We should not forget that Ben Ali, Ali Abdullah Saleh and Mubarak only asked for a few months of time in order to hold free elections, but people knew that this was only to escape the wave of protests rather than an undertaking of any real reform. Saudi Arabia’s financial aid was not able to stabilize Arab regimes either. Bahrain and Yemen were obvious examples of countries who received financial and security support from Saudi Arabia, but were not able to withstand the popular uprisings.

Reform has become an essential element in traditional Arab regimes. It seems that the Moroccan king has been wiser than other rulers and taken the path of reform before it’s too late.