DUBAI, 26 September 2004 — A fair and just solution to the Palestinian problem is key to political reform in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the crisis in Iraq has only complicated the effort. This was the consensus that emerged from a two-day workshop on “Political Reform In the GCC States: Current Situation and Future Prospects” which ended on Friday. The gathering called for a “regional road map” for change that will serve as an alternative to the US agenda for the region.

The workshop, jointly organized by the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center (GRC) and the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was attended by regional and international academics and experts and involved six sessions.

While suggesting that external factors had helped in bringing about “cosmetic changes” in the region, the participants emphasized that the US had “poor timing” to push its initiative.

Almost all speakers agreed that the resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was crucial to the success of reforms in the region. They said this was a reality that had been little understood by the United States and Europe. Some of the experts said that “more participatory politics could end up being more regressive than otherwise,” at least in the short term.

Some suggested that there can be “no representation without taxation,” and others highlighted that the Islamists had done well in the recent elections in the region and this was a strong indication of their popularity.

Discussing the role of religion in politics and the tide of extremism, some said that “political Islam has replaced political nationalism and is hard to ignore.” Moreover, democracy, which is a “rule of inclusion cannot exclude anyone,” not even the extremists. In fact, “democracy may help Islamists and liberals achieve equilibrium.”

Citing the “obstacles” for political reform, the workshop pointed to “weak legislatures, lack of political and civic culture, dearth of a democracy-championing class, lack of parliamentary power to supervise and control public spending, presence of expatriate labor force and corruption,” among others. The negative impact of Iraq and US factors were the focus of the session on “regional and international contexts” of reform.

Rather than intensify the drive for reforms, the American “intention, language and action” and the instability in Iraq had retarded the drive for reforms, speakers said. The last session touched on the “way forward” and highlighted the need for a combination of factors for reform to succeed.