6 ms·

Genuine question, why are those countries dictators?

by EustassKid 3y ago

axus 3y ago
They are effectively absolute monarchies, which can override decisions of any elected officials.
- EustassKid 3y ago
  But can != will, I know that exploiting power is hard to resist but I am asking for specific examples as I don't really follow what happens in that area.
  - hutzlibu 3y ago
    They are really not hard to find. This is a famous example, how this kind of system works: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi
brap 3y ago
I don't understand the question. Are you asking how they came to be, or are you saying they're not?
- EustassKid 3y ago
  Yes I mean what do/did they do to be considered dictators, not trying to argue for the opposite I just don't know.
  - 4gotunameagain 3y ago
    That is a genuine question very easily answered by wikipedia or your favourite search engine
  - r053bud 3y ago
    State-sponsored chopping up a journalist and putting the pieces in trash bags.
kombine 3y ago
You are not being serious right now, are you?
DoughnutHole 3y ago
They are all absolute monarchies. All powers of government ultimately rest with the king. There are different degrees of absolutism between each country, but to use the example of Saudi Arabia there are no assemblies (democratic or otherwise) with any meaningful power, there are no allowed political parties or national elections, and legislative, executive, and judicial functions are ultimately the powers of the king. All positions of power within the state are granted by the King generally to other members of the royal family. This is dictatorship. Dictatorship isn't defined by brutality or abuse - it is any system where the leader or leaders hold absolute governmental power with few or no limitations. The only limitation on the king of Saudi Arabia is the Sharia (of which the king is conveniently the final arbiter).
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > They are all absolute monarchies Qatar and Kuwait are constitutional, not absolute, monarchies [1][2]. They’re weakly constitutional, the latter a bit more than the former, but categorically different from Saudi Arabia. Given the man who holds power in Riyadh isn’t King, Saudi Arabia is arguably a tyranny, not just a dictatorship. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Qatar https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Qatar [2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Kuwait https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Kuwait
- someotherperson 3y ago
  No they're not. Only Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy. The others are constitutional monarchies. If they're absolute monarchies, then so is the United Kingdom.
  - tecleandor 3y ago
    Well, maybe not absolute monarchies, but I wouldn't compare them to the UK. From Wiki: Qatar: - "The emir appoints the prime minister and cabinet". - "The Consultative Assembly is the legislative body of the State of Qatar, with 45 members. The body can only question the prime minister, who is appointed by the Emir of Qatar, on his policies if two-thirds of the members agree, which is unlikely given that one-third of the members are appointed by the Emir." - "The consultative assembly has the following functions: Legislative authority Approves the general budget of the government Exercises control over the executive authority The assembly has the right to forward proposals on public matters to the government. If the government doesn't comply with the proposal it has to give its reasons and the assembly can comment on them" - "The government does not permit the existence of political parties or other political groupings. All candidates for the municipal council elections run as independents." Kuwait: - "Kuwait is an emirate[1] with a political system consisting of an appointed judiciary, appointed government (dominated by the Al Sabah ruling family), and nominally elected parliament." - Executive: "The prime minister chooses the cabinet of ministers, which form the government. The prime minister is a member of the ruling family and is appointed by the Emir. " - Judicial: "The judiciary in Kuwait is not independent of the government, the Emir appoints all the judges and many judges are foreign nationals from Egypt." - Parliament: "On 22 June 2016 parliament passed a law banning any citizen who had insulted the emir from running, resulting in several major opposition figures including Musallam Al-Barrak and Bader Al-Dahoum becoming ineligible candidates."

Genuine question, why are those countries dictators?

axus 3y ago

They are effectively absolute monarchies, which can override decisions of any elected officials.

EustassKid 3y ago
But can != will, I know that exploiting power is hard to resist but I am asking for specific examples as I don't really follow what happens in that area.
- hutzlibu 3y ago
  They are really not hard to find. This is a famous example, how this kind of system works: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi

brap 3y ago

I don't understand the question. Are you asking how they came to be, or are you saying they're not?

EustassKid 3y ago
Yes I mean what do/did they do to be considered dictators, not trying to argue for the opposite I just don't know.
- 4gotunameagain 3y ago
  That is a genuine question very easily answered by wikipedia or your favourite search engine
- r053bud 3y ago
  State-sponsored chopping up a journalist and putting the pieces in trash bags.

kombine 3y ago

You are not being serious right now, are you?

DoughnutHole 3y ago

They are all absolute monarchies. All powers of government ultimately rest with the king. There are different degrees of absolutism between each country, but to use the example of Saudi Arabia there are no assemblies (democratic or otherwise) with any meaningful power, there are no allowed political parties or national elections, and legislative, executive, and judicial functions are ultimately the powers of the king. All positions of power within the state are granted by the King generally to other members of the royal family. This is dictatorship. Dictatorship isn't defined by brutality or abuse - it is any system where the leader or leaders hold absolute governmental power with few or no limitations. The only limitation on the king of Saudi Arabia is the Sharia (of which the king is conveniently the final arbiter).

JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> They are all absolute monarchies Qatar and Kuwait are constitutional, not absolute, monarchies [1][2]. They’re weakly constitutional, the latter a bit more than the former, but categorically different from Saudi Arabia. Given the man who holds power in Riyadh isn’t King, Saudi Arabia is arguably a tyranny, not just a dictatorship. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Qatar https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Qatar [2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Kuwait https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Kuwait
someotherperson 3y ago
No they're not. Only Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy. The others are constitutional monarchies. If they're absolute monarchies, then so is the United Kingdom.
- tecleandor 3y ago
  Well, maybe not absolute monarchies, but I wouldn't compare them to the UK. From Wiki: Qatar: - "The emir appoints the prime minister and cabinet". - "The Consultative Assembly is the legislative body of the State of Qatar, with 45 members. The body can only question the prime minister, who is appointed by the Emir of Qatar, on his policies if two-thirds of the members agree, which is unlikely given that one-third of the members are appointed by the Emir." - "The consultative assembly has the following functions: Legislative authority Approves the general budget of the government Exercises control over the executive authority The assembly has the right to forward proposals on public matters to the government. If the government doesn't comply with the proposal it has to give its reasons and the assembly can comment on them" - "The government does not permit the existence of political parties or other political groupings. All candidates for the municipal council elections run as independents." Kuwait: - "Kuwait is an emirate[1] with a political system consisting of an appointed judiciary, appointed government (dominated by the Al Sabah ruling family), and nominally elected parliament." - Executive: "The prime minister chooses the cabinet of ministers, which form the government. The prime minister is a member of the ruling family and is appointed by the Emir. " - Judicial: "The judiciary in Kuwait is not independent of the government, the Emir appoints all the judges and many judges are foreign nationals from Egypt." - Parliament: "On 22 June 2016 parliament passed a law banning any citizen who had insulted the emir from running, resulting in several major opposition figures including Musallam Al-Barrak and Bader Al-Dahoum becoming ineligible candidates."