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Since the middle of the 20th Century, Arab contribution to world political thought has been quite limited. Two " contributions " stand out, however. The first is the standard 99.99 % acceptance rate for the ruling heads of state of Arab countries in referendums where there is only one candidate. The second, which is the topic of the essay, is the " republican monarchy". This simply means that when a president of an Arab republic dies , his son takes the reigns of power in the tradition of the monarchy. In this essay, I will try to examine this trend and analyze its significance and consequences.

First of all it would be unfair to say that only in Arab countries are there republican dynasties. In India there are the Ghandis while in the US there are the Kennedys and, perhaps soon, the Bushes. The public likes a name they know and trust and there is a certain mystique about dynasties and long family traditions that win the public imagination. Bush Jr. might still have run for president if his last name was Smith, for example, but his name certainly helped open some doors. However, no matter what his name is, he will have to fight a great political battle to gain the trust and confidence of the people if he is to w

Another reason is that the sons of the presidents have grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle. They can do whatever they want, take whatever they desire without having to answer to anyone. If another " outsider" takes over, their lifestyle would suffer ( But they will still be millionaires as the sons and daughters of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat still are) as they may have to slow down their activities since another republican royal family would be in power. Also the allure of power and the thought of being a leader of a country certainly would attract most people. It would be hard to turn down an offer to be president of any country.

Other princes in the Arab World are expected to sit on the throne of the republics in the same way. In Egypt, Gamal Mubarak is said to be in the process of being groomed to succeed his father and the same can be said for the sons of the presidents of Libya and Iraq. Gamal goes with his father on state visits ( he was there for the funerals of King Hussein and the the King of Qatar) and also attended the conference of the heads of state of the G-15 held in Egypt last year. He also is the co-president of the Egyptian-American Presidents Council ( the other co-president is US Vice President Gore, so it seems Gamal has the blessing of the US " the leader of the free world and fighter for democracy"). Gamal has also recently been chosen to be a member of the general secretariat of the ruling NDP party and is expected to run for Parliament later this year. It has to be said, however, that in Egypt smooth transition is not that

Some common words found in the essay are:
Century Arab, Golan Heights, Egypt Arab, Anwar Sadat, President Mubarak, Republican Monarchy, Bush Jr, Arab World's, Syria Arabs, Gore Gamal, arab countries, republican monarchy, sons presidents,

Approximate Word count = 1065
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous