On the Coexistence of Democratic and Monarchical Leadership

In my last blog, I contended that leadership is what guarantees human rights, not democracy per se. This is not to say that democracy cannot guarantee human rights, but that human rights can be found in monarchical regimes. Simply because a leader is unelected, does not mean that they are necessarily despotic. Let me now illustrate this point in motion.

All of us have suffered through a devastating pandemic over the past year. Some of us have been sacked, evicted, or financially ruined by COVID-19 and the measures our governments have taken to contain the pandemic. The United Kingdom, by all standards a brilliantly functioning democracy, had a terrible initial response to the pandemic.

First there was no centralized UK response. Wales, Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland each tackled the crisis differently. Second, The UK did not mandate that travellers coming from countries known to have COVID-19 cases isolate themselves- they were merely advised to. Third, the government prioritized the economy over its people, accepting that 500,000 people would die in a bid for herd immunity by resigning to the possibility that 60% of the population will get infected- knowing full well that that would overwhelm the NHS. Fourth, the government refused to commit to a national lockdown in the early stages of the pandemic. They did not ban mass gatherings. They did not mandate wearing a face-mask. The Right Honourable Prime Minister Boris Johnson literally said to millions of Britons in a televised speech ‘loved ones are going to die’ before contracting the disease himself days later.

When the government finally organized a national lockdown, there was nothing national about it. Scotland, Wales, England, and Northern Ireland each did things their own way. When the First Lockdown ended, a three-tier system was employed to contain the spread. That failed and led to a second lockdown. Then the new four tier system was promulgated, and unsurprisingly we are now witnessing the third lockdown.

This to me is not reminiscent of leadership. It is haphazard, it is lax at times when it should be strict, it places too much faith in people to do the right thing instead of enforcing what is necessary to save lives, and government communication both with the people and with itself needs to be improved.

I should note that in recent months the United Kingdom’s response to COVID-19 has improved. The UK has pioneered vaccine development on a global scale, and has purchased large quantities of the vaccine internationally, and is now among the highest nations/capita in vaccine distribution, all of which illustrate bold leadership within the British government. The UK does, however, share its spot among the highest nations/capita in vaccine distribution with two Gulf States; the UAE and Bahrain. Neither country has had a perfect response to COVID-19, but again, this is not due to the democracy deficit as many would like to claim. This is goes back to leadership.

Focusing on the Bahraini response, we find that Bahrain did not deal with COVID-19 with wishful thinking. Bahrain set up a centre of operations prior to the detection of the first case of coronavirus in the country. The government made PCR tests not only accessible but mandatory. Those who contract the virus receive free medical care. They are monitored by a Bluetooth bracelet and a mobile application. Others are able to download that same application to see the latest updates, and observe if they have contacted a positive case if they allow the application to track their location. Indeed, the government viewed contract tracing as a priority with the aim to contain the virus from every person on the island. The Ministry of Health releases contact tracing notes weekly to advise people on how to proceed cautiously.

Bahrain resigned early on to the necessity of economic cost, but it (like the UK) was reluctant to pursue a lockdown strategy. Instead, they shut down some sectors of the economy and compensated businesses, citizens, and residents for these losses. There was no tier system, but that is due to the small size of Bahrain and the small number of its inhabitants.

Bahrain’s reluctance to pursue a lockdown did have some disadvantages. Religious celebrations caused spikes, as did congested housing with migrant workers. These are imperfections, but from whom can we expect perfection?

Now with the vaccine being rolled out, Bahraini citizens and residents find themselves spoiled for choice as they are in in the privileged position of shopping for vaccinations without paying a penny out of pocket for the jab all from the comfort of their smartphones.

I view that the Bahraini response is more holistic than the British response, and yet the Bahraini government is, according to Freedom House, is less democratic than Iran let alone Great Britain. (Note that this is the same Iran that has politicized the pandemic by banning most of the world’s vaccines from its citizens.) Tell me again how democracy equates to better human rights.

In summary, my point is not that democracy is a failed form of government. My point is that democracy like any other form of government has its limitations, and these limitations can be rectified- as in any other form of government- by great leadership. The case of COVID-19 in Britain shows that the democratic British government lacked leadership in the pivotal early stage of the pandemic, but has shown leadership in the race to vaccinate- indeed Bahrain has procured large quantities of the AstraZeneca vaccine developed by Oxford University.

This is not a rant against democracy. To make this clear I point to the Right Honourable Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand’s shining example in combating COVID-19 and her steadfastness in pursuing a lockdown strategy (which has its own advantages and disadvantages). She exemplifies my point which is that leadership is needed to tackle this crisis just as it is needed to tackle any other crisis. and leadership is a quality that can be found in both democratic and monarchical regimes. It requires steadfastness, commitment, and compassion for those being led and I think the Gulf States have that.

We may be among the last absolute monarchies on earth- the last of the Mohicans if you will-but that does not exclude us from being among the most developed countries on earth either. Forget the Cold War labels of first, second, and third world. Look at us as people and tell us that our lives are not every bit as privileged as our friends in the West. In fact, when we go to the West, we have developed reputations for opulence and extravagance, hardly characteristics one associates with North Korea! Remember that many of the things left wing parties advocate for in your countries, we have as basic human rights in our supposedly totalitarian dictatorships.