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
MER Article Kuwait's Economic Quandary Aiming to restore Kuwait's historic role as a hub of trade in the Persian Gulf, a member of the ruling family is spearheading a team to consider the deepening of economic ties with Iran and, eventually, with Iraq. Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah's effort to Karen Pfeifer • 8 min read
MER Article Letter from Kuwait Some ten years after a sudden, brutal occupation, Kuwait gives, at first sight, the appearance of having returned to normal. Virtually all the damage done to buildings has been repaired, the oilfields are functioning and the state has normal diplomatic relations even with states such as Jordan, Yemen and Sudan Fred Halliday • 9 min read
MER Article The End of the Counterrevolution? Over the last 50 years, a massive infusion of petrodollars enabled the new monarchies of the Gulf to engage in impressive experiments in counterrevolution. During the 1970s, King Faysal of Saudi Arabia attempted to preserve the traditional social hierarchy of his country by modernizing without indus Yahya Sadowski • 9 min read
MER Article Women's Organizations in Kuwait Women’s groups, like all voluntary associations in Kuwait, are controlled and funded by the state. They have elected boards, written constitutions and paid memberships. Law 24 of 1962 governing the activity of associations -- partially amended in 1965 and still in force -- gives the Ministry of Soci Haya al-Mughni • 10 min read
MER Article Muhammad al-Saqr on Kuwait's Press Muhammad al-Saqr has been editor-in-chief of the Kuwaiti daily al-Qabas since 1983. Although he has a business background, the paper’s reputation for balance and accuracy has grown under al-Saqr’s leadership. Al-Saqr was detained and interrogated a week before he received a Press Freedom Award from (Author not identified) • 2 min read
MER Article Calculating "Collateral Damage" Early reports of casualties in Iraq provided only a scattershot picture of damage to residential areas and loss of civilian life, not a clear sense of scope or scale. Only on February 11, after four weeks of intense bombing, did Iraqi officials acknowledge that civilian deaths were in the range of 5 Joost Hiltermann • 4 min read
MER Article Washington Watch House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Lee Hamilton (D-IN) offered the first criticism by a Washington insider of the Bush administration’s handling of the Gulf crisis when, on September 18, 1990, he blamed Assistant Secretary of State for Near East and South Asian Affairs John Kelly for not sending Fred Halliday • 4 min read
