A model for democracy in the Gulf?
Inside Story asks if Kuwait can achieve a compromise between democracy and tribalism.
Political infighting in Kuwait is nothing new. In fact, for decades it has been the norm in the Gulf’s oldest parliament.
But the parliamentary elections held on Saturday – as well as yielding Kuwait’s first-ever female MPs – have also been described as the fiercest the country has ever seen.
But with three elections in as many years, can a compromise between Western democracy and tribal society achieve stability and progress?
And can Kuwait still be considered a role model for democracy in the Gulf?
Inside Story with guests Gregory Gause, a professor of political science at the American University of Kuwait, Nasser al-Sane, a Kuwaiti MP and head of the International Organisation for Parliamentarians against Corruption, and Adnan al-Duleimi, a Kuwait economist and consultant, discuss.
This episode of Inside Story aired from Sunday, May 17, 2009.