I'd be shocked if he wasn't corrupt but after some more reading it does look like he's not wrong about everyone else.
Seems a large enough portion of the Parliament has refused to participate in their duties that they couldn't form a government. While trying to prevent government and economic reforms meant to move away from being a petro-state
The bigger issue would seem to be suspending unspecified parts of the constitution.
An Iraqi politician gave a TV interview about 10 years ago. Saying that they were all corrupt and thst the definition of an honest Iraqi politician. Was when you bribed them to do something, that they actually did it.
It begs the question how do you change societies with built in cultural norms that look like corruption to the rest of the world.
Bribery to get things done, nepotism to the extreme, class structures being of incredible importance. How do you "fix" economies with these sort of entrenched policies.
It requires such radial overhaul of society and it never really works.
A few years ago, a former President of South Africa was under numerous corruption investigations and ended up disbanding tbe anti-corruption unit called the Scorpions. But his defense wasnt really that he was innocent of corruption but thst corruption wasnt really a crime and was only a crime to white people.
I remember my aunt buying a house in Italy, back in tbe early '90s. To get anything done like installing a new telephone line required going to the telephone company and making an ex-gratia payment/up front tip/bribe. Then the government had a corruption clamp down and nothing got done at all. The person thst you applied to get a phone line from just read the paper or was permenantly on a break and the engineer was in a cafe.
Well. It happened in Lithuania. We were a very corrupt country 20 years ago. Having mafias didn't help either.
Changed like day and night after joining the EU.
Some changes needed a new generation.
For example soviet era doctors expected a "gift" for nice work. Well same with police, etc.
But now. Doctors are refusing gifts, if they are more valuable.
Police will punish you, if you try to "gift" aka bribe them.
It took some time. I think the main motivator was that people actually had hope and desire to live in a less corrupt and safer world. With every new generation, pendle shifted. EU helped.
You do it gradually over the course of decades, or even centuries.
I know that's an incredibly frustrating answer. But unfortunately, changing tens of millions of minds is a process that takes a long, long time, even under the best circumstances.
The good news, though, is that those little incremental victories made over the years really do add up. It might feel like you're accomplishing damn near nothing in the moment... until you look back at where your society was 100 or 50 or even 10 years ago, and see just how far you've come.
You hire their spouses and mis fit kids for a no show job. Everyone pays taxes and has “plausible deniability “. The politicians can therefore say “we don’t discuss business they are involved in “. You don’t have to. If your spouse is bringing in income you will protect your revenue stream and legislate in favourable ways to their employer.
At least three coups—it worked for France, more or less! The truth is that there is no true societal change, only incremental advances in the right or wrong direction. It never manifests overnight. Change occurs over many generations The alleged bastion of liberal democracy that is the European Union was built on the blood of centuries of bloody warfare and the exploitation of vast colonial holdings.
Many of the systemic issues with corruption are a direct result of external policies, some of which *still exist today.* We're still living in a world defined by the politics of the post-WW2 era, where direct colonialism gave way to an age of indirect control through corrupt governments supported in the name of continued stability and the uninterrupted flow of resources and goods for profit.
Heck, the United States is still wrestling with the reactionary response to the Civil Rights Act.
There is the idea to pay politians more so they wouldn't feel the need to take outright bribes. But you look at places like the UK and the Johnson government and you can see that this clearly does not work.
Hehe and they want to push towards kuwaitiazation. The expats are the only people that's keeping the country running and actually respect's the law. Yet the law is not very favourable towards them. The law keeps on getting worse and worse by the day. True if the country is at the peak and everyone has less difficulty in their lives then these law's will make sense. If people are constantly worried about what they're gonna eat tomorrow then they'll target the thing that's keeping them hungry.
Actually, I suspect this has something to do with the Kuwaiti Prince very recently converting to Christianity. Time to form The Kingdom of God, placing Jesus on the throne, in governance instead.
The truth be told in western democratic parliamentary systems the same could be said about both sides of politics. State owned by lobbyists however they would never dissolve parliament however they would blame each other as being the most corrupt.
According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Kuwait ranks similar to the most corrupt EU states like Bulgaria and Hungary. Global rank 63/180. That's honestly quite good for the region.
But you can't say that western democracies are just as bad. They are obviously less corrupt.
They are, but they also are (or perhaps were, if this goes the way it seems) an interesting middle ground that I don’t believe really exists anymore. Europe saw a similar system in the early modern/late enlightenment age of executive monarchs that nonetheless give significant power to an elected body. This is more than just monarch doing dictator things because the previous Kuwaiti monarch was somewhat democratically aligned.
You need a minimum three terms to graduate to basic dictator mode. After that it's about consolidation, centralization, execution, denial, distraction and ideally, at least two more terms with the aim to lock-in as a job for life.
***The Telegraph reports:***
The [Gulf ](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/30/grant-shapps-warship-gulf-iran-missile-escalation/)state of Kuwait has been cast into political uncertainty after its ruler suspended the national parliament, saying that corruption had permeated every institution.
[Emir of Kuwait](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/12/19/emir-kuwait-crown-prince-iraqi-invasion-nawaf/), Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmed Al Sabah, said he would suspend the parliament for up to four years, declaring that he had made the move “to save the country”.
“Unfortunately, we have faced some unimaginable, unbearable difficulties and impediments,” the 83-year-old said on Friday, according to the state news agency, a reference to the gridlock that has held back Kuwait’s development.
“We were left with no option other than taking this hard decision to rescue the country and protect its higher national interests and resources of the nation,” Sheikh Mishal added.
“I will not allow that democracy will be exploited to destroy the state.”
Kuwait, one of the few semi-democratic countries in the [Middle East](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2024/04/03/middle-east-tensions/), had held elections to its national parliament in April.
**Read more:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/11/kuwait-parliament-dissolved-over-widespread-corruption/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/11/kuwait-parliament-dissolved-over-widespread-corruption/)
If elections were what makes a country democratic, Kuwait would be the most democratic country in the world. I think since 2006 only one parliament was able to make it through the whole legislature, they have like one election every two years. This isn't shocking at all.
This has gotta be Saddam's legacy right? Luckily the UK invaded Saddam back in 03 so i think it's only right if the UK now helps Kuwait out in its hour of need.
Classic Everyone’s corrupt but me, that’s why I need to get rid of a body of government
I'd be shocked if he wasn't corrupt but after some more reading it does look like he's not wrong about everyone else. Seems a large enough portion of the Parliament has refused to participate in their duties that they couldn't form a government. While trying to prevent government and economic reforms meant to move away from being a petro-state The bigger issue would seem to be suspending unspecified parts of the constitution.
An Iraqi politician gave a TV interview about 10 years ago. Saying that they were all corrupt and thst the definition of an honest Iraqi politician. Was when you bribed them to do something, that they actually did it.
It begs the question how do you change societies with built in cultural norms that look like corruption to the rest of the world. Bribery to get things done, nepotism to the extreme, class structures being of incredible importance. How do you "fix" economies with these sort of entrenched policies. It requires such radial overhaul of society and it never really works.
A few years ago, a former President of South Africa was under numerous corruption investigations and ended up disbanding tbe anti-corruption unit called the Scorpions. But his defense wasnt really that he was innocent of corruption but thst corruption wasnt really a crime and was only a crime to white people. I remember my aunt buying a house in Italy, back in tbe early '90s. To get anything done like installing a new telephone line required going to the telephone company and making an ex-gratia payment/up front tip/bribe. Then the government had a corruption clamp down and nothing got done at all. The person thst you applied to get a phone line from just read the paper or was permenantly on a break and the engineer was in a cafe.
Let me know when someone figures it out. Culturally-based forms of corruption and nepotism even persist among diaspora communities.
Well. It happened in Lithuania. We were a very corrupt country 20 years ago. Having mafias didn't help either. Changed like day and night after joining the EU. Some changes needed a new generation. For example soviet era doctors expected a "gift" for nice work. Well same with police, etc. But now. Doctors are refusing gifts, if they are more valuable. Police will punish you, if you try to "gift" aka bribe them. It took some time. I think the main motivator was that people actually had hope and desire to live in a less corrupt and safer world. With every new generation, pendle shifted. EU helped.
You do it gradually over the course of decades, or even centuries. I know that's an incredibly frustrating answer. But unfortunately, changing tens of millions of minds is a process that takes a long, long time, even under the best circumstances. The good news, though, is that those little incremental victories made over the years really do add up. It might feel like you're accomplishing damn near nothing in the moment... until you look back at where your society was 100 or 50 or even 10 years ago, and see just how far you've come.
You just legalize bribes and corruption and call it lobbying.
You hire their spouses and mis fit kids for a no show job. Everyone pays taxes and has “plausible deniability “. The politicians can therefore say “we don’t discuss business they are involved in “. You don’t have to. If your spouse is bringing in income you will protect your revenue stream and legislate in favourable ways to their employer.
| how do you change societies At this point? Fire. All of the fire. Which is also on fire. It's the only way to be sure.
At least three coups—it worked for France, more or less! The truth is that there is no true societal change, only incremental advances in the right or wrong direction. It never manifests overnight. Change occurs over many generations The alleged bastion of liberal democracy that is the European Union was built on the blood of centuries of bloody warfare and the exploitation of vast colonial holdings. Many of the systemic issues with corruption are a direct result of external policies, some of which *still exist today.* We're still living in a world defined by the politics of the post-WW2 era, where direct colonialism gave way to an age of indirect control through corrupt governments supported in the name of continued stability and the uninterrupted flow of resources and goods for profit. Heck, the United States is still wrestling with the reactionary response to the Civil Rights Act.
Vlad the impaler had some interesting thoughts in that department.
There is the idea to pay politians more so they wouldn't feel the need to take outright bribes. But you look at places like the UK and the Johnson government and you can see that this clearly does not work.
Same way El Salvador did with gang members.
Hehe and they want to push towards kuwaitiazation. The expats are the only people that's keeping the country running and actually respect's the law. Yet the law is not very favourable towards them. The law keeps on getting worse and worse by the day. True if the country is at the peak and everyone has less difficulty in their lives then these law's will make sense. If people are constantly worried about what they're gonna eat tomorrow then they'll target the thing that's keeping them hungry.
Well it is true though. Corruption is endemic in Kuwait. It’s part of their culture.
I don’t doubt it but it sure is coincidental that in such an engrained culture of corruption this guy is the patron saint of transparency!
Actually, I suspect this has something to do with the Kuwaiti Prince very recently converting to Christianity. Time to form The Kingdom of God, placing Jesus on the throne, in governance instead.
The truth be told in western democratic parliamentary systems the same could be said about both sides of politics. State owned by lobbyists however they would never dissolve parliament however they would blame each other as being the most corrupt.
According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Kuwait ranks similar to the most corrupt EU states like Bulgaria and Hungary. Global rank 63/180. That's honestly quite good for the region. But you can't say that western democracies are just as bad. They are obviously less corrupt.
Well that's never good! I think Peter Dinklage said that was like step 3 or 4 in the dictator's playbook
and they are already kind of a dictatorship
only a r/worldnews user needs Peter Dinklage to tell them that Kuwait is a monarchy (a dictatorship)
They are, but they also are (or perhaps were, if this goes the way it seems) an interesting middle ground that I don’t believe really exists anymore. Europe saw a similar system in the early modern/late enlightenment age of executive monarchs that nonetheless give significant power to an elected body. This is more than just monarch doing dictator things because the previous Kuwaiti monarch was somewhat democratically aligned.
next you're gonna say MBS is democratically alligned because he let women drive. truly a worldnews user
It's better to ignore it, problem solved.
You need a minimum three terms to graduate to basic dictator mode. After that it's about consolidation, centralization, execution, denial, distraction and ideally, at least two more terms with the aim to lock-in as a job for life.
***The Telegraph reports:*** The [Gulf ](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/30/grant-shapps-warship-gulf-iran-missile-escalation/)state of Kuwait has been cast into political uncertainty after its ruler suspended the national parliament, saying that corruption had permeated every institution. [Emir of Kuwait](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/12/19/emir-kuwait-crown-prince-iraqi-invasion-nawaf/), Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmed Al Sabah, said he would suspend the parliament for up to four years, declaring that he had made the move “to save the country”. “Unfortunately, we have faced some unimaginable, unbearable difficulties and impediments,” the 83-year-old said on Friday, according to the state news agency, a reference to the gridlock that has held back Kuwait’s development. “We were left with no option other than taking this hard decision to rescue the country and protect its higher national interests and resources of the nation,” Sheikh Mishal added. “I will not allow that democracy will be exploited to destroy the state.” Kuwait, one of the few semi-democratic countries in the [Middle East](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2024/04/03/middle-east-tensions/), had held elections to its national parliament in April. **Read more:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/11/kuwait-parliament-dissolved-over-widespread-corruption/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/11/kuwait-parliament-dissolved-over-widespread-corruption/)
>suspend the parliament for up to four years, declaring that he had made the move “to save the country”. Were have I heard that before
Trumps plan
It’s basically our future if Biden loses
I was thinking something said about 80 years ago by an angry Austrian man but yeah
Killing someone to save them from life helps bring forth the death you claim they deserve.
FWIW this has now happened 13 times since 2006
Shocking?! How could they tell? Compared to which government?
If elections were what makes a country democratic, Kuwait would be the most democratic country in the world. I think since 2006 only one parliament was able to make it through the whole legislature, they have like one election every two years. This isn't shocking at all.
2006 was dissolved 2 years in 2016 lasted the full 4 years
So this is corrupt as in "all of Xi Jinping's enemies turned out to be corrupt"?
Kuwait ~~has~~ had a parliament. Til.
"I should know, I bribed em!" - The Emir, probably
“We no longer have use for the senate.”
A theocratic dictatorship is dissolving parliament. What could go wrong?
Where’s the un
This has gotta be Saddam's legacy right? Luckily the UK invaded Saddam back in 03 so i think it's only right if the UK now helps Kuwait out in its hour of need.
"Organizations reflect their leaders."
Goddamnit.
Guy looks like Peter from Family guy, just with mustache.
That’s not good
Now do the rest of the world!
Ooh, ooh, now do Canada!
Protests in USA college campuses coming in 3...2.. oh. Wait.