Ali Khalifa Al-Kuwari
{{short description|Qatari democracy activist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ali Khalifa Al-Kuwari
| image = الدكتور علي خليفة الكواري.jpg
| image_size = 165px
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1941|01|01}}
| birth_place = Doha, Qatar{{cite web|url=http://www.moc.gov.qa/Arabic/Authors/Pages/%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A-(%D8%AF%D9%83%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1).aspx|title=علي خليفة الكواري دكتور|publisher=Ministry of Culture|access-date=22 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723032541/http://www.moc.gov.qa/Arabic/Authors/Pages/%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A-%28%D8%AF%D9%83%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1%29.aspx|archive-date=2015-07-23|url-status=dead}}
| nationality = Qatari
| other_names =
| occupation = Democracy activist, author, journalist, professor, economist
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works = The People Want Reform in Qatar, Too (2012)
}}
Ali Khalifa Al-Kuwari ({{langx|ar|علي خليفة الكواري}}; born in 1941){{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.net/knowledgegate/authors/2009/5/6/%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A|title=Ali Khalifa Al-Kuwari|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=4 April 2015}} is a Qatari democracy activist, author and professor. He has occupied several positions in the oil sector.{{cite web|url=http://www.onislam.net/english/news/18-author/417441-Dr.%20Ali%20Khalifa%20al-Kuwari.html|title=Dr. Ali Khalifa Al-Kuwari|publisher=onislam.net|date=29 June 2008|access-date=4 April 2015}} He is known for editing the book The People Want Reform in Qatar Too, which was subsequently banned in Qatar due to its critical views of government policies.{{cite web|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21579063-rumours-change-top-do-not-include-moves-democracy-democracy-thats|title=Democracy? That's for other Arabs|publisher=The Economist|date=8 June 2013|access-date=4 April 2015}} He is one of the primary advocates for political reform in the country.{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/youth-activism-in-the-small-gulf-states|title=Youth Activism in the Small Gulf States|publisher=Washington Institute|date=28 March 2013|access-date=4 April 2015}}
Education
He obtained a BA in business administration from Damascus University in 1966 and received a PhD in philosophy from Durham University in 1974.
Career
Al-Kuwari started his career in Qatar's oil and gas industry, where he served as vice chairman of Qatar Liquefied Gas Company and the National Company for Petroleum Products.{{cite web|url=http://bakerinstitute.org/files/9162/|title=The Political Economy Of Arab Gulf States|publisher=James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy|author=Kristian Coates Ulrichsen|access-date=31 May 2015}} He also served as chairman of the Qatar–United Kingdom Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation. In 1959, he was involved in the founding of Taliaa Club Qatar, a self-titled cultural club which often held political discussions. The club's headquarters was raided by tanks and its members imprisoned in 1961.{{cite web|url=http://dr-alkuwari.net/node/41.html|title=نادي الطليعة|website=dr-alkuwari.net|language=Arabic|access-date=23 August 2018}}
From 1975 to 1982, he worked as an economics professor at Qatar University. He co-founded the project Democracy Studies in the Arab Countries in 1991 with Raghid Al-Solh.{{cite web|url=http://ibn-rushd.org/pages/int/Awards/2008/documents/jury-en.html|title=Mohammed Abed al-Jabri|publisher=ibn-rushd.org|access-date=4 April 2015}}
He has published research on the 1963 Qatari nationalist movement.{{cite book|last=Herb|first=Michael|title=The Wages of Oil: Parliaments and Economic Development in Kuwait and the UAE|url=https://archive.org/details/wagesofoilparlia00herb|url-access=registration|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0801453366}} He traces this movement as the origin of opposition to government policies and demands for reform in the country.{{cite web|url=http://lb.boell.org/en/2014/03/03/interview-dr-ali-khalifa-al-kuwari-author-people-want-reform-qatar-too-statehood|title=Interview with Dr. Ali Khalifa Al Kuwari, author of "The People Want Reform… In Qatar, Too" - Statehood & Participation|publisher=Heinrich Böll Stiftung Middle East|date=3 March 2014|access-date=4 April 2015}} He is the host of a monthly meeting, known as The Monday Meetings, in which Qatari citizens debate issues related to reform.
In an interview with Heinrich Böll Stiftung Middle East, he commented on the demographic imbalance between foreigners and citizens in Qatar, claiming that rulers benefit from this imbalance. He goes on to state the imbalance could "uproot Qatari society, erase its identity and culture, take its mother tongue, Arabic, out of circulation".{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-dorsey/qatar-labour-controversy_b_4971312.html|title=Qatar Labour Controversy Becomes Part of Gulf Dispute Over Muslim Brotherhood|publisher=Huffington Post|date=15 March 2014|access-date=4 April 2015}}
=The People Want Reform in Qatar, Too=
In 2012, he published the book The People Want Reform in Qatar Too after successive year-long talks with 60 other Qatari writers, who formed the "Qataris for Reform" group. In it, the authors criticize the country's unpredictable economic policy and lack of transparency.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibanet.org/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleUid=171c1d27-ef46-4a6c-a776-e15a7c4e02c5|title=Qatar: Qatar: meteoric growth must not distract from 'severe human rights shortcomings' - part 2|publisher=International Bar Association|access-date=4 April 2015}} They also address topics such as education, over-reliance on the United States, and the declining use of Arabic language in administration and education.{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2012/10/how-to-call-for-reform-in-qatar.html#|title=Qatari Activists Publish Blueprint for Reform|publisher=Al Monitor.com|date=13 October 2012|access-date=4 April 2015}} The book refrained from criticizing the Qatari royal family, however.{{cite book|last=Kamrava|first=Mehran|title=Qatar: Small State, Big Politics (updated version)|publisher=Cornell University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TDitCQAAQBAJ|date=26 May 2015|page=12|isbn=978-0801454301}}
In the book's introduction, Al-Kuwari highlights four primary obstacles to reform: the lack of availability to information related to public affairs; the lack of transparency in decision-making; the absence of free and independent civil society; and the unclear boundaries between the public and private sectors, in addition to sub-par administration of these sectors. Furthermore, the book proposes alterations to the country's administration and describes ways in which the changes could be implemented.
Though local authorities permitted the book's publication,{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2013/nea/220373.htm|title=Country report on human rights practices|publisher=U.S. Department of State|date=27 February 2014|access-date=4 April 2015}} Al-Kuwari's blog was censored{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/10/01/policy-brief-qatar-s-human-rights-record|publisher=Human Rights Watch|title=Policy brief: Qatar's Human Rights Record|date=1 October 2013|access-date=4 April 2015}} and the book was banned in Qatar.
He has previously authored numerous works in which he criticizes the lack of democracy in Arab countries.
References
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Category:Academic staff of Qatar University