Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

“Resources, Revenues, and Authoritarianism in the Arab World: Beyond the Rentier State?” by Giacomo Luciani
“A Grand Delusion: Democracy and Economic Reform in Egypt” by Eberhard Kienle



The task of assessing democracy in the Arab world is not as easy at it seems. It is evident that liberal values are neglected in most – if not all – Arab countries, nevertheless, oppressing regimes have always found means and ways to cover up their shortcomings in structural adjustment with seemingly liberal reforms.

Luciani conducts a research into the means needed to fulfill such a “structural adjustment” in Rentier states, a category under which all Arab countries fall, albeit differing in levels. On the one hand, rent dominated economies such as Egypt, Algeria and Jordan show patterns and policies of rentierism, while on the other hand, “genuine rentier states” such as Kuwait and Qatar are practically built upon it. The author recalls several factors to achieve structural adjustment, among which are cuts in government spending, reducing expenditure on government personnel and on consumption subsidies, increasing sources of government revenue and attracting private investing. While there have been examples of countries that applied effective measures of reform at least on the economic side – most notably Morocco, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia - there are examples which have shown either great reluctance or have simply missed their opportunities over the passing years to develop, such as Egypt and Algeria.
Luciani’s article is thorough in its examination of internal policies of Arab countries. However, written in the early 1990s, it seems out of date to readers today concerning current issues. Back then the crisis at hand of rentier states seemed to lie in the low prices of oil, which is virtually incomparable today as the mark hits a new record each week. Also, Egypt’s economy has slightly progressed since the early...