erest and that the more empowered actors there are in a given state, the more participative decision-making is likely to be.
Lim (2003, 3-10) described the case study approach as one of the central strategies used in comparative political inquiry to compare and contrast specific entities or variables. Case studies offer a unique opportunity to simultaneously, in both intensive and extensive manner, to examine political and social phenomena. In the proposed study, the independent variable to be examined is the rentier state, a state characterized by Evans (1995, 24) as likely to have a relatively closed economy and to have an economy that is largely dependent upon a single resource. In the case of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iran, all of which are oil-dependent rentier states with some significant social, religious and cultural similarities, a case study of the type proposed herein offers a special opportunity to explore the dependent variable of democratization. Using a control case - that of Venezuela - provides for a more comprehensive comparison of the underpinning elements in society that foster democratization.
Lim (2003, 27-28) further asserts that the case study aims at generalizations. In this instance, the three nations to be studied share many characteristics; all are Islamic, each was once a European colony or protectorate, all have had or now have hereditary monarchies, and each belongs to OPEC. The dependent variable is defined for the purposes of the proposed study as consisting of the presence of an elected assembly or parliament, the existence of universal suffrage, the right to stand for election, the rule of law, and so on.
From the perspective of rationality, it can be argued that as dependence upon rentier income declines, institutions of and processes of democratization are likely to increase. From this research tradition, one would expect to find rational choice exerting enormous influence on social...