About the Book

Democracy is a process that goes on continuously in various places, at varied paces, all over the world. Today, the US-sponsored exercise in democracy promotion has been suspended and the banner of democracy has been folded and shelved. The political evolution in the Gulf, like anywhere else, predates democratization from afar and has continued todate. The book lays down theoretical contexts of the concept and assesses the state of democratic experiments in the Gulf States

About Author

Professor Gulshan Dietl is at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Contents

Introduction

Part 1 Democracy and Democratization

1. Democratization: Some Theoretical and Methodological 1 Considerations
Hussein Solomon

2. "Modern States or Family Enterprises?" Some Theoretical Reflections on Democratization and State Formation in the Gulf Region
Dietrich Jung

3. Democratization in the Greater/Broader Middle East and the Gulf
Gulshan Dietl

4. The Dynamics of Change in the Arab Gulf
Rushda Siddiqui

Part 2 Media and the Market

5. Media and Democratization in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries
Omair Anas

6. New Market Spaces and Challenges to the State Sovereignty in the Arab Gulf Region
M.H. Ilias

Part 3 Saudi Arabia: Opposition and Human Rights in a Liberalizing Autocracy

7. Democratization in Saudi Arabia
Jajati K. Pattnaik

8. Saudi Arabia: Transition to a Liberalized Autocracy?
Ajish Joy

9. Gradualism in Saudi Arabian Reforms and the Role of Opposition
Stanly Johny

10. Human Rights Reforms in Saudi Arabia: Recent Developments
Prasanta Kumar Pradhan

11. Political Discourses among Iranian Women since the Islamic Revolution
Beryl Anand
Part 4 Iran and Iraq: Ethnicity and Gender, Economy and Occupation

12. Flicker of Democracy in Iran? Assessing Freedom of Press under Khatami
Sujata Ashwarya Cheema

13. Subsidies in Iran: Impediments to Democratic Experience
Sameena Hameed

14. Democratizing Iraq: Parliamentary Election January 2005
Angela Gangmei

15. Democratic Experiment in Iraqi Kurdistan, 1991-2003
LungthuiYang Riamei

Part 5 Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE

16. Trajectory of Political Democracy in Kuwait
Anwar Alam

17. Building Representative Institutions in a Traditional Society: The Political Reform Process in Oman
Shelly Johny

18. Political Reforms in Bahrain: Initiative from Above
Rajiv Kumar

19. Democratic Reforms in Qatar
Basir Ahmed and Marshal Gao

20. US Initiative of Political Liberalization and Democracy in UAE: A Myth
Syeeda Khatoon

Contributors

Index

Additional Info.