The Arab Spring Impact on Kuwaiti “Exceptionalism”

The democratic “exceptionalism” which the emirate of Kuwait boasted after 1962 did not survive the 2000’s. Well before the “Arab Spring“, protest movements had taken shape there, demanding more democracy, less corruption and better-functioning institutions. Between 2011 and 2013, the new social media culture gave such demands a new impetus as a youth movement mostly hailing from the tribal periphery was joined by the traditional urban middle class.In the face of this innovative and determined opposition, the Gulf Cooperation Council, driven by Saudi Arabia, also stated its resolve, as it stren... Mehr ...