Salafis in Parliament: Democratic Attitudes and Party Politics in the Gulf

This article explores how political participation affects the attitudes of Kuwait's and Bahrain's Salafi parliamentarians towards democracy. In comparing the two states' Salafi parliamentary blocs, this study reveals that neither political inclusion nor ideology uniformly dictates either bloc's democratic sentiments. Instead, political incentives, as shaped by their state's unique political environments, colors and contrasts both blocs' democratic attitudes and policies. Like their liberal rivals, Salafi parliamentarians are susceptible to the rewards and realities of political power.