Comparing Elections in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries after the Arab Spring: The United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Kuwait

Abstract

This article discusses the elections that were held in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Kuwait after the Arab Spring. Through comparison of the elections using a set of predetermined analytical criteria, the article aims to evaluate the way the Arab Spring has influenced the various electoral processes in these three countries and to assess the role given to elections under authoritarian regimes. Notwithstanding some differences, the three processes showed similar limitations: lack of power attributed to elected institutions; limitations on independent candidatures; low participation rates; and failure of the political empowerment of women. Although the three countries were not immune to the Arab Spring, they managed to contain the effects through redistributive, repressive, and electoral mechanisms. The latter served also as a limited re-legitimizing movement by the regimes in the face of their own citizens following the regional protests.