October 10, 2022 | Foreign Policy

Anti-Israel Gridlock Makes Kuwait The Odd Man Out

The latest parliamentary election blocked needed change in the oil-rich nation.
October 10, 2022 | Foreign Policy

Anti-Israel Gridlock Makes Kuwait The Odd Man Out

The latest parliamentary election blocked needed change in the oil-rich nation.

Excerpt

Among the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Kuwait is the odd man out. Mired in chronic political gridlock, the oil-rich nation appears to have no intention of following its neighbors to the south, where change-oriented leaders have been modernizing their societies, diversifying their economies, and redrawing the region’s security map by partnering with Israel.

Kuwait’s ailing, 85-year-old Emir Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah only came to power in September 2020. In June, his 82-year-old brother, Crown Prince Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber, acted on the ill emir’s behalf and dissolved the National Assembly, calling for an early election to “correct the country’s path.” On Sept. 29, around 300,000 Kuwaitis went to the polls to elect their 18th parliament since 1962. But instead of jump-starting change, they returned old faces known for their ultra-conservative or Islamist policies to power. Kuwait’s path will not be corrected, and international organizations, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, will continue to press the country for reforms, which the election made even harder to implement.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former managing editor at the Daily Star. Twitter: @hahussain

Issues:

Gulf States Israel