Current Analysis Looking for Revolution in Kuwait In the New York Review of Books, Hussein Agha and Robert Malley imagine the results of the Arab revolts as the possible beginning of a reconstitution of the Ottoman Empire. They see the regional unrest as media-driven, with various partisans asserting their own versions of reality to mobilize popula Mary Ann Tétreault • 21 min read
Current Analysis The Day After “Victory”: Kuwait’s 2009 Election and the Contentious Present The May 2009 parliamentary election in Kuwait produced a number of surprising results. Occurring on the fourth anniversary of the achievement of full political rights for Kuwaiti women, the outcome attracting the most commentary was the victory of four female candidates. But there were other happeni Mohammed Al-Ghanim, Mary Ann Tétreault • 18 min read
Current Analysis Kuwait’s Annus Mirabilis Kuwait has had an exceptional year, and it isn’t over yet—though one might not know from reading even the alternative press in the West. Fast on the heels of two remarkable developments in the slow democratization of the emirate, a convulsion gripped another part of the Middle East, Mary Ann Tétreault • 22 min read
Current Analysis Three Emirs and a Tale of Two Transitions On the surface, the brief succession crisis that gripped Kuwait in January 2006 ended in the arbitrary replacement of one member of the ruling Al Sabah family with another. When Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir died after a long illness on January 15, he was succeeded by the crown prince, Sheikh Mary Ann Tétreault • 12 min read
Current Analysis Women's Rights and the Meaning of Citizenship in Kuwait Prosperous and possessed of a spirited parliament, Kuwait has prided itself on being a standard setter among the Arab monarchies on the Persian Gulf. With respect to women's rights, however, today Kuwait ranks just above Saudi Arabia. Kuwaiti women are allowed to drive and they occupy positions in p Mary Ann Tétreault • 13 min read
Current Analysis Kuwait's Parliament Considers Women's Political Rights, Again When Kuwait's parliament reconvenes in late October, it will be facing a full agenda. Member initiatives include an ambitious redistricting bill and threats to interpellate at least two cabinet ministers. The government's wish list is equally contentious; it includes a wide-ranging privatization pro Mary Ann Tétreault • 10 min read
MER Article Advice and Dissent in Kuwait In sharp contrast to the diplomatic ineptitude that has characterized the Anglo-American march to war against Iraq, military preparations have been systematic, extensive and inexorable. As the military buildup has progressed through the autumn and winter of 2002 and into the succeeding spring, the f Mary Ann Tétreault • 10 min read