Political Science: Canada versus Saudi Arabia- Democratic?

Introduction

The history of Saudi Arabian History is traced properly to the royal decree in 1932 that Najd and Hejaz Kingdoms be unified under one common name. The result was an increased unity across the Kingdom which reduced the likelihood of Hejaz Separatism and the name emphasized on the central role to be played by the royal family in this Kingdom (Bowen, 2015). The Saudi Arabian politics involve an absolute monarchy having a bit of Islamic lines and the King is both head of government and the state. The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia established in 1992 holds that the King must adhere to Quran and Sharia. The kingdom does not have a written and legally binding constitution but the Sunnah and Quran serve as the accepted constitution, whose interpretation is done by Ulema, a religious establishment. The country has great influence in the Middle East politics being a member of Arab League of Nations and globally its influence is enhanced by its large production and exportation of Oil (Bowen, 2015).

Canada’s History begins with the original occupants of the Land, the Aboriginal peoples whom the first European explorers called Indians thinking that they had arrived at East Indies. The natives’ way of life was changed by European Missionaries, traders and colonists after they formed strong, religious, economic and military bonds after coexisting for about 200 years lay the country’s foundation (Russell & Leuprecht, 2011). In 1867, the British North American colonies formed a union through Confederation hence leading to the creation of Canada a federal dominion made up of 4 provinces. The legal independence of the country was heralded by the 1982 Canada Act. Democratic institutions were created peacefully and gradually, with the election of the first representative assembly being done in 1758 in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Russell & Leuprecht, 2011). The 1791 constitution Act made it possible for legislative to be elected by people. After the establishment of the constitution, parliamentary democracy became the framework if Canadian politics, and a parliamentary democracy forming a federal system that informs traditions of strong democracy (Greiss, Milne & Boswell, 2016). The country is thus a constitutional monarchy where the head of state is the Monarch.

The above establishment distinguishes the political environment of both Saudi Arabia and Canada in terms of how the level of democracy is felt.  With an effective multi-party and parliamentary system of governance where the people are involved in election of the head of state, Canada is more democratic than Saudi Arabia which has an absolute Monarch system of governance.  

Saudi Arabia

The political system of Saudi Arabia is centered on the absolute Monarchy, where the people are not involved in the election of the head of government and state. A new King and Crown Prince is determined by the Allegiance Council and the royal family dominates the - Al Saud – dominates the government.  The current Saud House was established by Abd Al-Aziz ibn Saud in 1932 (Bowen, 2015). The main political actors involve the family members who are permitted by the government. This means that is limited political participation among the citizens who are not members of the royal family. The big number of these family members leads to the key important post in the kingdom being held by them, such that their presence and involvement can be felt across all government levels (Alshamsi, 2011). With such big number of family members seeking jobs that are well paying, there are little chances for non-royal Saudis even in the middle management jobs in the country, which limits incentive for common people to excel through upward mobility. The long-term government and political appointments lead to the establishment of senior princes’ power fiefdom (Alshamsi, 2011)s.   This can be connected to the lack of an elected political representative and political parties which mean that politics platform involve two different arenas, inside the royal family and between the Saudi Society and the royal family.

Religion is a very important aspect in legitimization of the Monarchy’s rule by the House of Saud.  The importance of Ulema is derived from the major role religion plays in this society where Islam is not only a religion but a way of life, which makes the influence of this body very pervasive. The Ulema religious body is granted a direct role in the government, since it approves the subject of royal succession and new royal decrees and laws (Mandeli, 2016). This religious body also has an influence on the education system and judicial system and also possesses power monopoly in religious and social morals aspects. The Islamic Sharia forms the basic legal system and refers the legislative authority of the kingdom as regulatory authority and is tasked with establishing statutory regulations and laws. The Council of ministers, the Consultative Council and the King shares the legislative authority. The regulations set by the state are lawful as long as they do not go against the principals of divine law. The courts in Saudi are obliged to apply rule of Sharia in determination of cases brought before them, according to what Quran and Sunnah indicates and the various decrees that the King  makes as long as they are in line with divine law (Mandeli,2016).

Saudi as a country is not a political or electoral democracy since the basic laws are based on Sunna and Quran as the country’s constitution. There are very limited elections which happen for the advisory councils at the municipal level and the monarchy normally consults with select Saudi society members. However, this process is not equally open for all Saudis. In addition, political parties are not allowed and any organized political oppositions can only be found outside the kingdom. The lack of such opposition to the loyal government can be attributed to the tight control the government exerts on the content of domestic media and its domination of the satellite- television coverage and regional print. The royal family members own major in various news outlets across many countries (Mandeli, 2016). The results of such controls include lack of basic freedom in the religious, political and education sectors of the country since people have no platform for airing their grievances. The relation of constitution to the Sharia law has seen the government and judicial systems fail to uphold the freedom of association and assembly. This means that non-Muslim citizens cannot exercise their religious rights in public, since this is not legally allowed in the country (Mandeli, 2016).  Substantial discrimination and prejudice against religious ethnic and national minorities is widespread. The limitation on media content has seen the Kingdom not experience any popular political protest like in other North African and Middle East Islamic nations which means that there is limited political space for citizen to air their grievances. There is also major gender discrimination against women in this country since the Sharia law does not provide for equality (Mtango, 2004).

Canada

Canada system of government holds the law as being the supreme authority, and its written constitution is based on 1867 Constitution Act. The constitution provides that a single Parliament shall be present having the House of Commons, Senate and the Crown as its distinct elements. The law making role is shared among 1 federal, 10 provincial and 3 territorial governments (Russell & Leuprecht, 2011). Law enactment power is held by a legislature which is made up of Canadian peoples’ representatives. Senate is composed of Governor General’s appointees and they represent the various territories and provinces. In addition, the country is also a constitutional monarchy since its executive authority is held by the Queen, and all government acts are carried in the Crown’s name and whose authority is driven from the people. The Prime minister, cabinet and the Governor General holds the executive function.  The countries parliamentary system is facilitated by political parties with common ideology, and seeks to implement their ideas or policies through political power (Russell & Leuprecht, 2011).  Elections are held   and form the basis of power competition in a democratic environment. Every citizen is granted a right to vote in the elections for representatives in territorial legislatures and provincial representatives (Greiss, Milne & Boswell, 2016). The citizens can also seek elective posts themselves and this is only subject to specific limited exceptions that are deemed justifiable or reasonable like minimum age.

The Canadian law applies to all citizens including the police, government and public officials and in these laws basic human rights and freedom are recognized and protected like equality and liberty. The Canadian Bill of Rights and Human Right Act guarantee various rights and freedoms while protecting such rights in private sectors and federal public sectors. The emphasis is mostly on right to non-discrimination and equality across all areas such as employment, access to services and housing. The law is based on such   rights and freedoms. The Justice system in Canada involves courts whose role is to solve disputes, establish and interpret the law in so doing on behalf of all citizens. The judicial system is the responsibility of territorial, provincial and federal governments while judges are appointed by federal governments.

Canada ‘s democracy is founded on constitution that promotes basic values  that include freedom ,human rights , democratic governance and the rule of law lying at the heart of its policies. The various democratic institutions insure beginning with court systems ensures that the rights and freedom of every citizen is guaranteed. The freedom of thought, expression and opinion upholds the freedom of press and communication through other media and this promotes platform for individuals to air their grievances without fear of being targeted for the same (Greiss, Milne & Boswell, 2016). The freedom of religion and conscience ensures that everyone can practice their religion freely without being discriminated. The political participation during election allowed in the law means that the citizens play a role in installing the ruling system or removing such systems if their performance does not address the desires of the majority. In addition, everyone is equal before the law which means that even the minority people in the country are offered their democratic rights and freedoms including women (Greiss, Milne & Boswell, 2016). The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of one’s religious, ethnic or political viewpoints allowing more democratic space that is inclusive.

Saudi Arabia – Canada democratic Comparison

Though Saudi Arabia introduced limited political liberalization in 2005, democracy is still wanting since political authority is still clerical and monarchical rule as the basic pillars in the Kingdom. Unlike in Canada where citizens are actively involved and granted the right in election of their representatives, there is lack of political involvement of citizens in Saudi Arabia. These kinds of reforms aimed at silencing the discontent among the Saudis brought little change in democratic arena since the issue of democracy is rooted in the laws governing any state or nation. In addition, the reforms only focused on male participation in elections while safeguarding against any attempt to erode the absolute power of the monarchy. The Canadian laws derive their power from the people and any public officials including the judiciary are expected to abide by the law, a factor that is enhanced by the aspect of equality (Greiss, Milne & Boswell, 2016). However, in Saudi Arabia, democracy cannot thrive since there are no constitutional prerogatives that may influence how the Kingdoms national politics are conducted.   The influence on politics is concentrated in the King’s hands, his government, officials and royal family. The laws in Canada grants everyone the right of expression which means that the government does not control the media content which enhances the democratic space for citizens to raise their views and grievances. The Saudi government has big control on the media content, which means that the public cannot access information that can help in checking the perfioamnce of this authority.

In addition, constitution is embedded within the Sharia law as the source of its principal which reduces the political space for minority religions in the country. There is also a prohibition on political parties making opposition to exist only outside the Kingdom. Lack of embedding equality in the constitution has led to many suffering especially for the women whose rights are very limited (Mtango, 2004). There is a great deal of discrimination against women where there exist policies that impose male guardian system on them. This means that they cannot perform basic tasks without the obtaining permission from their male relatives. This is a great violation of human freedom of conscious.  Women are not allowed to travel without such permission and cannot even drive and their access to court processes is through a male representation (Mtango, 2004). Such treatments add up to gender segregation and oppression limiting the democratic right of women.

Upholding democracy is very essential to the Canadian society since it ensures that people benefit as their basic human rights are guarded.  It also ensures that principal if equality is upheld and hence eliminates any discrimination based on gender, ethnic, racial or political background. Moreover, democracy allows citizens to influences policies or laws by participating in election of their representatives.   Freedom of expression provides an environment for free media so that people can access information and raise their grievances.  Such democracy, when adopted in Saudi Arabia can ensure that women are accorded their basic human rights and hence reducing cases of oppression and discrimination.

Conclusion

Saudi Arabia’s democratic space is very limited as compared to Canada, an aspect which is based fundamentally on the different laws and systems of governance.  The high democracy in Canada is upheld through the constitution whose power is derived from the people, who also participate in electing their representatives. Every person is equal according to the Canadian law which means that there is no discrimination of allowed in the society on the basis of one’s gender, religion or political views.

Reference

Bowen, W. H. (2015). The history of Saudi Arabia. ABC-CLIO.123-169.

Russell, P. H., & Leuprecht, C. (2011). Essential readings in Canadian constitutional politics. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Alshamsi, M. J. (2011). Islam and Political Reform in Saudi Arabia: The Quest for Political Change and Reform. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge

Mandeli, K. N. (2016). New public governance in Saudi cities: An empirical assessment of the quality of the municipal system in Jeddah. Habitat International, 51114-123. doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2015.10.020

SaudiArabia. (2016).53645--‐649.

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Greiss, J., Milne, C., & Boswell, D. (2016). Symposium Summary: The State of Canada’s Constitutional Democracy. Constitutional Forum, 25(3), 1-14. Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=63

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Mtango, S. (2004). State of Oppression - Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia, A [article]. Asia-Pacific Journal On Human Rights And The Law, (1), 49. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost. Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=63

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