(النسخة العربية)
Results of the Sixth Edition – 2025
The State of Kuwait maintained the first rank by scoring (488 points) out of a total of 1,000 points. The Sultanate of Oman advanced to the second place (471 points), while the State of Qatar dropped to the third place (464 points).
The Kingdom of Bahrain came in fourth place with a score of (434 points), then the United Arab Emirates in fifth place with a score of (337 points), and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked last with a score of (270 points).
The results of the sixth edition of the Political Participation Index in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries reveal that the paths of modernization and change are still concentrated in the social and economic aspects in light of the decline of public spaces in political expression and criticism.
The Gulf states do not tend to develop mechanisms or make changes to their political systems to frame people’s participation in decision-making on the patterns of Western regimes, and it is noted that these countries tend to adopt traditional and historical establishments (the principle of shura (local councils and diwans, tribal ties, social relations) in political communication with their societies.
The results of the previous six years indicate the trend of the GCC States towards convergence in the patterns of running political systems and in the laws and executive mechanisms in the management of public affairs, which leads to the conclusion that there is an exchange of experiences or an interinfluence due to the similarity of governance systems and the convergence of social structures. While Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain have seen declines in the governance of elected institutions, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have made significant progress in the areas of women’s empowerment, youth engagement, and facilitation of civil society institutions.
Steps to enhance the representation of minorities and various components of society appear slow or declining, and some practices and laws have disrupted effective participation and proportionate representation of some groups and minorities, and stateless people are emerging as one of the most prominent marginalized groups in these countries.
The formation of political organizations, the availability of opposition means, and ensuring the safety of activists remain serious challenges across GCC countries. With the exception of Bahrain, the rest of the GCC states criminalize or do not legalize the formation of political organizations.
While powers of oversight, accountability, and questioning in the legislative or advisory authorities in the GCC States are predominantly absent or restricted, channels of civilian community oversight over the performance and expenditure of government agencies remain limited.
Despite the increasing number of civil society organizations established in the GCC States, the powers and roles of these institutions appear to be limited or curbed, and the laws regulating the work of these institutions impose severe restrictions on the activities and sources of funding.
Foreign communities benefit from ongoing legislative reforms in the areas of accommodation, employment, and social activities, but they lack effective union representation in most countries.
Members of the ruling families in most GCC States hold high positions in governments and senior positions in security, military, and judicial institutions, limiting access to these positions for the rest of societal groups.
State of Kuwait results summary
The results of the State of Kuwait this year indicate that the performance continued to decline by 13 points, with the decline in the Scale of Representation of Groups and Minorities (-7 points),the Scale of Freedom of Opinion and Expression (-4 points), the Scale of Transparency (-3 points),and the Scale of Foreign communities (-1 point),while it advanced on the Scale of Gender Equivalence and Youth Engagement (+2 points).
Although Kuwait maintained the first rank in the Political Participation Index, it fell below the barrier of 500 points out of the total mark of the Index (1,000 points), recording 488 points.
Kuwait topped three scales (Constitutional Life, General Elections, and Transparency) and shared with Qatar topping the Scale of Freedom of Opinion and Expression. Off the line, the state bottomed the Scale of Foreign Communities.
The most prominent challenges in Kuwait are related to the governance of elected institutions, the role of the legislative authority (the National Assembly), the regularity of elections, and the guarantee of equal citizenship rights. The issues of empowerment of Kuwaiti women and their representation in the executive and legislative branches are also highlighted, as well as the legislation to the framework of political organizations, the resolution of the “Bidun” issue, addressing the laws that prevent social groups from accessing senior positions and participating in elections. Other pending issues include empowering youth and representing them in the executive branch and ensuring stable and effective residency for foreign and expatriate workers.
Sultanate of Oman results summary
The Sultanate has advanced on the Scale of Constitutional Life (+2 points), the Scale of Political Organizations (+6 points), the Scale of Civil Society Institutions (+9 points), and the Scale of Freedom of Opinion and Expression (+5 points).
The Sultanate topped the Scale of Representation of Groups and Minorities (83 out of 100 points), while bottomed the Gender Equivalence and Youth Engagement (46 out of 75 Points).
The most prominent challenges in Oman are related to the powers of legislative institutions, the formation of political organizations, the absence of a clear policy of encouraging women’s candidacy and support in elections, as well as the absence of a national policy or strategy aimed at engaging and empowering youth.
Oman continued to improve its performance and achieved the highest progress among the GCC countries (+22 points), thus advancing to the second place in the ranking of the Index with a score of 471 points (out of 1,000).
State of Qatar results summary
After years of progress, Qatar recorded the largest decline among the GCC countries (-16 points) after a referendum cancelled the elections of the legislative authority (the Shura Council), and the country also dropped from second to third place in the Index ranking, recording 464 points.
Qatar fell on the Scale of Constitutional Life (-5 points), the Scale of General Elections (-9 points), and the Access to Leadership and Sensitive Positions Scale (8 points). In contrast, the country advanced on the Representation of Groups and Minorities Scale (6 points).
While the state has retreated from the top of the Scale of Constitutional Life, it continued to top the Scale of Access to Leadership and Sensitive Positions. Qatar also shared with Kuwait topping the Scale of Freedom of Opinion and Expression.
Qatar remains low on the Scale of Political Organizations (6 out of 100) as challenges to the legitimacy of organized political action and the safety of practitioners emerge. Similarly, on the Scale of Civil Society Institutions (24 out of 100), where the laws place restrictions on institutions and do not allow them to operate independently.
Kingdom of Bahrain results summary
Bahrain continued to rank fourth with no change in its scores (434 points) out of the total mark of the Index.
Bahrain maintained the top ranks on the Scale of Political Organizations, the Scale of Civil Society Institutions, and the Scale of Foreign Communities. On the other side, the Kingdom has been at the bottom of the Scale of Representation of Groups and Minorities and the Scale of Access to Leadership and Sensitive Positions, and has shared with Saudi Arabia bottoming the Scale of Freedom of Opinion and Expression.
The most prominent challenges for Bahrain in ensuring proportionate representation of groups and minorities, promoting equal citizenship, ensuring freedom of opinion and expression, and the accessibility of citizens to hold leadership and sensitive positions.
The United Arab Emirates results summary
For the second year in a row, the UAE continued to progress (+7 points), achieving a total of 337 points (out of 1,000).
The UAE advanced on the Scale of Gender Equivalence and Youth Engagement (+2 points), the Scale of Representation of Groups and Minorities (+3 points), and the Scale of Foreign Communities (+2 points).
While the UAE maintained topping the Scale of Gender Equivalence and Youth Engagement, it remained with a “zero” mark on the Scale of Political Organizations and a low result on the Scale of General Elections (24 out of 150 points). The UAE ranked the bottom of the Scale of Transparency (10 out of 50 points).
The most prominent challenges in the UAE are related to the powers of legislative institutions and their election mechanisms, as well as the formation of political organizations, ensuring freedom of opinion and expression, and providing independent societal observation over the state’s activities and finances.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia results summary
Saudi Arabia has followed an upward trajectory during the years of monitoring, and in the sixth edition of the Index, it achieved an increase (+15 points) to reach 270 points out of 1,000. Despite this, the Kingdom remained at the bottom of the ranking among the GCC States.
Saudi Arabia continued to progress on the Scale of Gender Equivalence and Youth Engagement (+7 points), and it also advanced on the Scale of Representation of Groups and Minorities (+8 points).
For the third year in a row, Saudi Arabia did not witness any decline in any of the Index Scales, but it remained at a “zero” score on the Scale of Political Organizations, and shared with Bahrain the bottom of the Scale of Freedom of Opinion and Expression (25 out of 150 points). Saudi Arbia ranked bottom on the Scales of (Constitutional life, General Elections, Civil Society Institutions, and Foreign Communities).
Saudi Arabia faces challenges regarding the constitutional system, the powers of legislative institutions, the regularity of elections, the formation of political organizations and civil society institutions, ensuring freedom of opinion and expression, and stable and effective residency of foreign workers and expatriates.
What is the the Political Participation Index?
The PPI is an annual overview and scientific monitoring of the degree of political, social and cultural participation in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Kingdom of Bahrain, Sultanate of Oman, State of Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
This index carries significance for being the first specialised research publication concerned with measuring the degree of “political participation” in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The uniqueness of the index is that it combines all conceptual contexts (academic, international agreements and covenants, knowledge and practical experiences), and the specifics, conditions of evolution and structure of governance systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The index attempts to answer a major question pertaining to the extent and proportion of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries’ engagement of their citizens politically, and the consequent desire and ability of citizens themselves, individuals and groups, to participate in decision-making and influence the state’s policies, legislation, and in all aspects of political and
social life in their states.
This fifth edition provides an assessment of the transformation paths in the performance of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states towards enabling or restricting their citizens from the ability to participate in tangible politics, and explains the apparent causes of improvement or decline of these states in their constitutional articles, local laws, institutional structures, declared strategies and executive exercises, as well as the interaction of local communities with these changes during the past five years.
Acknowledgement
The Gulf House for Studies and Publishing would like to thank all researchers who contributed to this research, focused workshops, index research and design, and the review and auditing processes. We also thank the sponsor and supporter, National Endowment for Democracy (NED) – the United States.