Faris Al-Muqawama, Liverpool and District South Socialist Party
In 2024, nearly half the world’s population was called to the ballot box. But beyond the global spotlight of the US election, a quieter yet significant development took place in the Gulf state of Qatar. Rather than an election, Qatar held a constitutional referendum, one that effectively abolished the electoral process for its Shura Council (its nominal parliament).
Around 90% of votes supported the referendum. At first glance, this may seem surprising – until it is considered that only around 12% of Qatar’s population are citizens with voting rights. The vast majority of the population, around 88%, are migrant workers primarily from South and Southeast Asia, who are systematically excluded from political participation.
The Qatari regime maintains its rule by ensuring the loyalty of its small citizen population through state handouts and privileges. This strategy, aimed at avoiding dissent, is mirrored across other Gulf monarchies. Meanwhile, the migrant workforce, upon which the region’s entire economy depend, faces brutal exploitation, lacking rights, and the threat of deportation. Trade unions are banned, and labour protections are minimal. Despite this, there have been numerous reports of strikes and protests, though these are difficult to organise under such repressive conditions, even when the government tries to hide the situation with state-owned news outlets.
Western governments are quick to acknowledge their own role in the invasion of Iraq, but less often are they confronted with their complicity of the Gulf regimes. These states are not passive actors – they are central to the global capitalist system, trading oil and gas in return for Western arms and protection. Those same weapons fuel the ongoing war in Yemen, now the site of one of the worst man-made humanitarian crises in decades, and were used to brutally suppress uprisings during the Arab Spring.
Yet the potential for change remains. International attention around events like the 2022 World Cup helped shine a spotlight on Qatar’s abuse of migrant workers. As a result of this pressure, reforms such as the introduction of a minimum wage and the supposed abolition of the Kafala system (a form of bonded labour often described as modern slavery) were enacted – though in practice, many of these abuses persist.
This shows that even in deeply authoritarian contexts, resistance is possible. The struggle of workers in the Gulf, both local and migrant, deserves international support and solidarity, both in their struggles and in building their own movement. Socialists in Britain and across the world must raise our voices and build pressure from below, demanding an end to imperialist support for Gulf monarchies, and fighting for a socialist alternative to capitalism’s horrors – whether in London, Doha, or Riyadh.
