Research Activities
Research Projects 2026
Policy Processes under Authoritarian Regimes: Exploring Analytical Issues through Public Transport Policy in the GCC States
Outline
This study examines policy processes under authoritarian regimes by focusing on how the expression of parliamentary accountability demands and the presence of visible veto players are related to administrative institutional capacity and executive leadership, and how these factors are associated with differences in policy implementation capacity. Using urban transport policy in the GCC countries, and particularly the case of Kuwait, as an analytical entry point, the study aims to refine the research questions and identify key analytical issues.
In the GCC countries, rapid urbanization and increasing dependence on private automobiles have resulted in severe traffic congestion and environmental pressures. Policy responses to these challenges, however, have varied significantly depending on differences in parliamentary institutions and the policy processes associated with them under authoritarian rule. Urban transport policy, especially metro development, requires substantial financial resources from the planning stage through construction and operation, and involves a wide range of policy process elements, including parliamentary deliberation, procurement systems, inter-ministerial coordination, and engagement with local communities. For this reason, metro projects provide a particularly suitable case for analyzing policy implementation capacity, as these processes are highly visible throughout the policy cycle.
In the early 2000s, metro development plans were announced and feasibility studies (FS) were initiated in four GCC countries and cities at roughly the same time: the UAE (Dubai), Qatar (Doha), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh), and Kuwait (Kuwait City). While metro systems were successfully completed and opened in contexts where parliamentary oversight of the executive was relatively weak—Dubai (2010), Doha (2019), and Riyadh (2024)—Kuwait, where parliamentary scrutiny of the executive has been comparatively strong, failed to advance beyond the post-feasibility study stage. Difficulties in establishing an implementing authority and securing budgetary approval ultimately led to the official abandonment of the project and the cancellation of the plan in 2023.
This divergence highlights the possibility that differences in institutional structures and configurations under authoritarian regimes are associated with variation in governments’ policy implementation capacity and policy outcomes. At the same time, it offers broader analytical leverage beyond the specific domain of urban transport policy in the GCC, providing a basis for examining policy formation and implementation capacity in authoritarian settings more generally. Focusing on the interactions among parliamentary institutions, administrative capacity, and political leadership, this study is positioned as a preparatory and exploratory research project aimed at refining research questions and analytical perspectives that may contribute to future theoretical work on policy processes under authoritarian regimes.
Period
April 2026 - March 2027
Members
| Role | Member |
|---|---|
| [ Organizer ] | Ishiguro, Hirotake |
| [ Co-researcher ] | Tsuchiya, Ichiki |
| [ Co-researcher ] | Saito, Jun |
*Affiliations are as of April 2026.
Expected Outcome
- Theoretical Research Report