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Anastasia Nosova (London School of Economics and Political Science)
Kuwait and the Arab Spring
During the peak of the Arab Spring, Kuwait seemed to stay immune from any
large-scale anti-government movements. The regional unrest inevitably had some
tangible impact on the country, but Kuwaiti population in bulk did not follow the
pattern and stood aside from organizing any serious protests against the regime at
that time.
The escalation of political unrest in Kuwait came later in 2011, resulting in
mass street protests and remarkable storming of Parliament. Analyzing these events
one might assume that they are of the same nature as the Arab Spring uprisings in
the rest of the region. However, tracing the recent political development of one of
the wealthiest countries in the world, I argue that it would be incorrect to rush to
a conclusion that we observe the beginning of Kuwaiti Arab Spring. The process
that started in November 2011 is rather a culmination of the long-lasting political
struggle between the elected Parliament and the appointed government. Kuwaiti
protesters were drawn to the streets not by economic grievances, but by the demands
of greater political participation, elimination of corruption and the establishment
of constitutional monarchy. Generally, there were no anti-monarchical slogans or
calls for the fall of the regime.
This does not undermine the importance of the current political development in
Kuwait. The protest movement has clearly shown that the underlying socioeconomic
conflict between the ruling elite, which holds the main source of wealth in the
country, and the rest of the population, which is the dependent subject of the
distribution of oil revenues by the state, is complex and fundamental. Kuwait’s
example has strengthened the argument about the growing class-based division of
the Gulf societies, according to which the polarization and antagonism caused by
the oil-wealth distribution patterns will sooner or later push the Gulf population to
question the existing social contract.
Секция XVI.
«Куда идет Восток?»:
круглый стол по проблеме «восточных революций»
и перспективам развития современного Востока
Where the East is heading?
Round table discussion: “Oriental Revolutions”
and possible developments in the modern Orient
