Kuwait’s Parliament: An Experiment in Semi-democracy

"Kuwait’s parliament, established in 1963 as part of the country’s first post-independence constitution, is the oldest and most powerful institution of its kind in the Gulf Arab countries, all of which are ruled by hereditary monarchs. Kuwait is the closest of these countries to having a constitutional monarchy, where the constitution and the parliament exercise some real constraints on the ruling emir, although most political power still lies with the ruler and his family. As a result, the experience of Kuwait’s parliament, and perceptions of its achievements and failures, have a bearing on the ways in which the idea of having a parliament, and the notion of democracy itself, are perceived in the other Gulf countries."