A renter state derives a significant amount (>40%) of its income from non-tax sources (sale of oil, foreign assistance, etc.)

The theory has been used to explain why many states in the Middle East have high per capita incomes, levels of education, etc. but are not democratic (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE).

No representation without taxation! People are not taxed, so have little right to political input.

State is far more wealthy than general population, and so can use its vast resources to repress them. Also, has a good deal of money with which to buy off opposition.

What explains the Middle East's Democratic deficit?

Pre-Requisites

• Culture (Islam, tribalism, patriarchy)
• Rentier Theory
• Low human development
• International Pressures (U.S. support for autocrats, transnational threats, wars, and interstate conflicts)

When pay goes up (people start making more than $3,000 a year), the state begins to change.

• Higher demands on state infrastructure
• Higher demand for education

Industrialization

• The working class traditionally pushes for political rights, leading to strikes and labor uprisings. 
• In industrialized nations, economy needs workers to function, so their collective voice is powerful.
• There is very low industry in oil-producing states. More diversified nations traditionally have a larger industrial sector, and do better in terms of freedom and democracy.

• Question whether people who code states are really considering the diverse ways people in the Arab world contribute to political processes, or are just regurgitating the assumed state of affairs.
• Freedom House's "party free" category does little to fully capture the "history of political eclecticism" in the region.

Islam is centered on the sovereignty of God, not the sovereignty of man.

• Thus democracy is the opposite of Islam. This argument is usually made by hardline Islamist radicals (ex. Iran)
• Must adhere to Sharia in all matters to preserve sovereignty of God

Sharia lives little or no space for human decisions

• There are few cases in which the Sharia is silent, and humans make communal decisions on those silences.
• However, should not expand human authority to same level of law making.
• Democracy should be rejected because it would give people the ability to overrule a religious text (ex. making capital punishment illegal).

Citizens are given rights as part of the state community, not as individuals

• Non-Muslims were integrated into the state and received rights as a defined community, not as individuals.
• Sharia law makes Muslims equal under the law, but not non-Muslims. Rights are determined by religion, not citizenship.

Democracy can lead to unjust outcomes

• Here, secular and religious critiques of democracy overlap.
• elections can be hijacked by the rich and powerful
• the rights of future generations and the unborn are not protected in democracies as they are under Sharia
• People are easily swayed and deeply flawed, which can lea to mistakes: Hitler was democratically elected.
• The majority can easily dominate the minority. The Koran warns against this, saying only with input of minority and majority can the truth be determined.

Democracy can lead to fitna (disunity)

• Muslims are part of one, large community
• Democracies require division to function, and encourage disagreement, not consensus. This will tear the Islamic community apart.
• The Koran only mentions two parties: the party of God, and the party of Satan
• Democracy does not have strong rule, which prevents the intrusion of outsiders.

Democracy is a forbidden imitation of a non-Islamic practice

• Democracy is inherently Western, and thus should not be imitated.
• There is no separation of church and state is Islam: political policy is listed in the Sharia, unlike in other religions

Democracy cannot emerge because of the state-society relations created by Islam. This argument takes two conflicting forms- that Islamic nations have strong societies and weak states, and that Islamic nations have strong states and weak societies.

Strong Society vs. Weak State

• Islam helps this, as there are no priests for the government to control.
• Religious entrepreneurs challenge the state when it tries to enforce orthodoxy
• These countries always have trouble raising armies, because they are distant, predatory states whose citizens want to ignore it.
• No pressure for democracy because people want to go about their business

Mostly Radicals on Both Sides

• Al-Queda and Al-Zawahiri say that democracy is a western invention used to divide and undermine the Islamic world and undermine sovereignty of God.
• Islamophobic groups in America say Democracy is incompatible with Islam
• Saudi Arabia is moderate, says they are a democracy, and American democracy inappropriate in Middle East.

Neither the Koran or Hadith designate a proper form of government

• Does not call democracy bad

God delegated sovereignty to the people

• Koran says men are "vice-regents" of God
• humans have a special role on earth, and Muslims have a special connection to God.
• God is sovereign, but he delegated this power to man through the agency for self determination.
• Separation of powers and rule of law restricts the power of man to overrule the power of God.
• We can only know God's will through humans- the koran does not speak, humans speak for it.
• all interpretations of the koran come from humans, in authoritarianism lose important aspect of Islam by not recognizing role of the people in determining God's will.
• interpretation cannot come from one or a few individuals (autocracy, plutocracy)

Democracy serves the basic principle of Islam

• they do a better job at ensuring fairness, justice, and equality before God than autocracies

Democracy is most Islamic form of government because it results in the best outcomes for the people

Sharia law leaves many gaps which Muslims can regulate for themselves

• Parliament can interpret Islamic law as well as any other group, and so can legislate for gaps in Sharia
• Everything in Koran is open to interpretation. For example, many tenants of Islam made lives of women better. So, can be assumed Islam is fundamentally designed to improve the lives of women. This can be done today by granting them full legal rights and equality.

Sharia is the ideal, Democracy can bring Muslims close to it

• No one man can know God's plan, Democracy can help states do the best they can

All Muslims are equal

• This idea is enforced in democracy, not authoritarianism

Muslim democracy does not have to imitate the West

Islamic acceptance of pluralism

• Democracy is contract between ruler and ruler. Contract is renewed in elections.

Compact of Medina

Islamic concepts like shura and ijma suggest that democracy is very Islamic

• Both practices of "consultation" and consensus by Islamic community, praised in Koran

Moderates, sometimes Americans

Tariq Ramadan

• Argues Islam has fundamental principles that support Democracy.
• Very pragmatic, doesn't push Sharia too hard, but tries to engage those who don't agree with him in discussion.

Hezbollah likes Democracy as long as it benefits them

• In 1990, Lebanese Civil War ends and elections resume
• Hezbollah used to be totally dedicated to Ayatollah Khomeni, but now he's gone.
• Participated in elections starting in 1992.
• At first, "we'll participate, but we won't like it. and we won't accept cabinet positions in this flawed democrcy we don't approve of"
• in 1998, began to call for municipal elections, and won larger percentage of seats. Won even more in 2004.
• Predictably, they began to stop their calls for an Islamic State

If anything, support for Democracy has increased everywhere but Iraq

• Democracy is best, or fairly good, form of government
• All of Arab Middle East supports it

Arab Culture?

• Culture of patronage and division encouraged by tribalism
• little national identity

That government doesn't interfere with religion, and religion doesn't interfere with government.

Do you need this for democracy?

• Not really.
• A lot of western states still maintain state religions (ex. Scandinavia). Only France crazy secular.

Advocate for a greater role for Islamic Law in policy making

• Al Queda is Islamist to the extreme- want return to Caliphate and strict Sharia law, feel that all Middle East governments are illegitimate
• Not all like this though, many more moderate groups

Islamist party in Iraq

Name means "The Call"

Central Tenants:

Two Factions:

Islamic Da'wa

• Headed by Maliki, hold 12 seats in Council of Reps
• People are God's agents on earth
• Encourages democracy guided by Sh'ia religious scholars

Dates from about 1980

Historical Antecedents

• Period of internal decline of middle eastern states
• response to the challenge of the west, culturally and militarily- critique of secular cultures

Post-WWI Settlement

The Failure of Arab Nationalism

Social and Political Trends

• Urbanization
• Authoritarianism
• Failure of State to meet social needs

The Iranian Revolution

• Gave hope to Islamist groups
• showed power of Islam to reject governments imposed on them by authoritarians and west

The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

• Muslim country invaded by Communist country- way to see political world in religious fashion

Political Parties

• Participates in elections (ex. Da'wa in Iraq)

Cells/"Leaderless Resistance"

• ex. Al-Qaeda

Hierarchical Militias

• ex. The Taliban

Functionally Specialized Membership Organizations

• Have party leader and complex structure and people involved in education
• ex. Hezbollah

Political Party with Separate Military/Social Wing

• ex. Muslim Brotherhood a social movement, Islamic Action Front party born from movement

Broad Social Movement Associated With Particular Politicians

• Diverse set of individuals connected to all aspects of government
• Sadrist Movement in Iraq, have militia, so can't have a party.

Started to confront the penetration of the British into everyday Egyptian life

Wanted to help the lower classes feel more at home in their own country, as they felt increasingly distant from Westernized Egyptian elite

Build institutions throughout Egypt to help Muslims live as Muslims

Key Events

• Death of Al-Banna
• After assassination attempt on Nasser, he locks up all members of MB, who become radicalized in prison
• Publication of "Preachers not Judges" encourages people to live as better Muslims in nonviolent social movement
• Death of Sayyid Qutb, leading jihadist thinker who said leaders of Egypt no longer Muslim and could be killed
• The Oil Boom 1973-1983
• Anwar Sadat frees MB from prison, and they begin to participate in politics

After collapse of oil boom in 1980s, more pressure for democracy.

States were reliant on oil wealth, when wealth disappeared, could no longer provide for the people, so contract between authoritarian ruler and citizens was violated.

Defaulting on national debt, rioting, unemployment, and Arab-Israeli quagmire prominent throughout Middle East.

Many states decided to give people vote because they couldn't give them bread, but had no intention of changing governments.

Islamist groups were the only parties that oucld organize and participate effectively

• had mosques to gather supporters
• had ready made political speeches and leaders
• main opponent, Arab nationalism, had been crushed

In 1984, Anwar Sadat allows MB to participate in Parliamentary elections.

They join with weak political party, and force them to push for Sharia law and attack secularization.

In 1997, they join with another weak party, which gives them control of newspapers, which they use to rail against government corruption, and push for democracy, economic laws that favored the private sector, and the adoption of Islamic law.

As they began to participate in Democracy, their platform moderated.

• in 2004, platform took liberal, open positions, and justified them with Islamic law
• Rejected radical, violent members of party

Ataturk banned all kinds of religious activity at the end of WWI, and imposed secularism in Turkey. This secularism is written into the Turkish Constitution.

Growing concern about the Soviet Union in 1970s and 80s

• People were worried leftists supported by Russia were gaining influence in Turkey
• Allowed islamic life back into state and education to combat socialist influence

Sure, why not?

• The AKP argues for more space for religious practice in the public sphere: people should be freer to practice their religion without it being a big deal. 

• Jordan becomes independent in 1946
• Start moving towards democracy, but Arab-Israeli War creates problems
• King Abdullah takes the West Bank, and gives Palestinians full voting rights.
• King Hussein comes to power in 1950s and is nearly deposed by Nasserists
• In response, he severely limits democracy for next decade
• Jordan loses West Bank in 1967
• Uses war to suspend Democracy- says can't have elections because Palestinians in West Bank are occupied and can't vote
• Rewrites suspends Parliament and rewrites constitution in 1974
•  Operates as complete autocracy until 1989
• Has huge debt crisis in 1989, which encouraged King to open government
• No political parties allowed, but Muslim Brohood organized enough to organize group of candidates
• Were easily the most successful group in the first election cause noone else was organized
• Now King has pissed off Islamist parliament calling for Islamic law and slamming Israel
• However, he wants to sign peace treaty with Israel, so he dissolves parliament early, setting precedent
• Changes elections from proportional representation to first past the post, because he knows Jordinians will vote for tribe members first, then Islamists
• results in tribal parliament
• Also banned Muslim Brotherhood party, as it was Egyptian, not Jordanian

• In some states political parties illegal
• In others illegal for party to have religious roots
• Some have laws preventing parties from "duplicating other parties" locking all Islamists in one group
• When Islamists responded by running as independents, Egypt banned running as an independent
• Some use the courts: arrest candidates so they cant run, claim they are protecting national security, get support of US
• Control the Press: capitol requirements for newspapers put end to independent publications and papers with "nothing to lose"
• simple fraud: bussing voters, force places to vote at different times