Walker Kmetz

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Eight countries in the Middle East and North Africa have monarchs as their heads of state – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco. There are several factors that allow for monarchies to continue in the region, and others that actively challenge their existence.

Monarchies in the region have some challenges they have been facing. One issue is an increasing number of young people. Most of these states tend to have patronage filling important leadership position, whether those be family of the monarch or family of other influential figures in the country. When most good paying jobs have already been filled by people who only have somewhat of a clue for what they’re doing, that actively hurts the younger population trying to get into the workforce. This also makes it more likely that young people will be upset, and more likely to mobilize against the monarchy.

One way monarchs can push back against this concern is by “addressing” the issues of protesters in their country. For instance, a monarch may form a commission to address the issues of the people, but in actuality, the commission will only cover some parts – if anything at all – and mainly serve to stall time for the issues at hand to fade from public consciousness. This can also work for the monarch by allowing them to say the issues have been looked at and addressed, even if nothing or very little ends up coming of them.

Another concern that has impacted monarchies is the ways in which the general population has learned about the issues around them. With the rise of new journalism, with some being pan-Arab, anyone from any country in the region can see what is going on in other countries. For example, protests in countries like Egypt and Tunisia can actively energize people in other countries. However, this is also a double edged sword, as it can put down a desire to protest because monarchs can look at rougher examples such as Yemen and ask their subjects whether that is what they want to happen in their country.

Claims of legitimacy are also a key factor in these monarchs keeping their power. For example, they can make plays to religion, such as the King of Bahrain. When protests covered the country during the Arab Spring, the Sunni king characterized the protests as being illegitimate religious protests rather than protests against the issues at hand. This form of legitimacy created through religion can be far more impactful than a general claim due to the day-to-day role that religion plays in many people’s lives.