Middle East Politics: Gender and Democracy

Middle East Politics: Gender Issues

• Democracy in the Middle East has not been successful, and this article explores the connection between Islam, gender gaps, and democracy.
• A research study, "Fish on Islam and Authoritarianism," explores whether Muslim societies are more prone to authoritarianism.
• The hypothesis posited is that Muslim countries are lagging behind in achieving democratic ideals.
• The independent variable is Islam, and the dependent variable is the type of regime (democratic/authoritarian).
• Operationalization of democracy used Dahl's definition involving elected officials making policies and the right to run for office.
• Data sources are Freedom House scores and Polity Project scores.
• The sample encompasses all contemporary countries globally (N=156).
• The study includes a dummy variable for the predominant religion being Islam (N=47).

Operationalization: Control Variables

• Control variables in the study include:
  • Economic development
  • Sociocultural division
  • Economic performance
  • British colonial heritage
  • Communist heritage
  • Membership in OPEC

Descriptive Table: Muslim Countries

• Muslim countries generally displayed lower scores in democracy measures (Freedom House scores, Polity scores) compared to non-Muslim countries.
• The table gives specifics on variables like Freedom House freedom ratings from 1991-2001, Polity scores from 1991-1998, economic development, socio-cultural division, and others.

Bivariate Analysis

• Islam, socio-cultural division, and OPEC membership seem to negatively impact democracy levels.

Multivariate Analysis (Freedom House Scores)

• Models show that the inclusion of Islam and OPEC membership in the analysis appears to decrease democracy levels.
• Economic development, however, increases the measures of democracy.
• P-levels were checked.

Multivariate Analysis (Polity Scores)

• Models including Islam and OPEC membership tend to lower democracy scores, while economic development positively affects these scores in the models.
• P-levels were checked.

Result:

• A significant inverse correlation exists between Islam and democracy.
• This suggests a link between Islam and less democratic regimes, but correlation is not causation.
• This section questions if this relationship is causal or spurious.
• Potential plausible connections between Islam and authoritarianism were considered.

Possible Explanations: Violence and Interpersonal Trust

• Economic development is a key factor in determining levels of stability and interpersonal trust, while Islam's influence on these measurements is statistically insignificant in these models.

Other Possible Explanations: Secularism and Religious Leadership

• The analysis considers if Muslim states are less secular and if a religious leader could explain their political structures.
• The author questions if religiosity correlates positively with authoritarianism, while secularism correlates with democratic principles.
• The author questions the reliability of case studies as a method of proof.

Potential Explanations: Female Subordination

• The analysis considers if gender inequality is a contributing factor.
• Indicators like literacy rates, sex ratio, women in government, and gender empowerment are used.

Regression Results : Literacy Gap, Sex Ratio, Women in Government

• Strong correlations are observed: more Islam, higher literacy gaps; more Islam, more males; more Islam, fewer women in government; and less gender empowerment.
• Variables affect democracy levels in an analogous fashion.

Overall Results:

• Increased literacy levels, women in government, and other female empowerment measures correlate with higher democracy scores.
• The status and treatment of women seem to affect political regime type.
• Oppression and subjugation of women, thus, appear linked to reduced democracy levels.
• These results highlight a potential reason for the relationship between Islamic countries and authoritarianism.

Further Questions:

• How to prove that Islam is the cause of female subjugation?

This quiz explores the intricate relationship between Islam, gender issues, and democracy in the Middle East. It examines the factors contributing to the authoritarianism observed in Muslim-majority countries and the operationalization of democracy using Dahl's criteria. Engage with the research findings and the role of control variables in this context.