Evolution of Civil Society in Kuwait (1961–2020)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the development of civil society in Kuwait, one of the oil–producing monarchies of the Gulf region, which was distinguished by a high degree of civic activity. The purpose of the article is to trace the stages of the development of civil society in the context of domestic and international situation dynamics. The role of several key political events from the history of the country in the direction of civil activism of its inhabitants is shown The first stage refers to the period when the country gained political independence. At that time, the formation of civil society was influenced by the Kuwaiti crisis, when Iraq put forward claims to Kuwait as part of its state, which led to the growth of civil consciousness.The next stage was the period following the Iraqi aggression against the country in August 1990, creating another factor of civil society mobilization aimed at resisting the occupiers and protecting its national identity. Its further transformation takes place during the mass protests of 2011, to the present state. At that time, civil activity in Kuwait reached a peak level, especially among youth groups, but soon began to decline under the influence of turbulence that became reality of the region and related threats to society as a whole. Mass protests demonstrated that civil activity in Kuwait reached a peak level, especially among youth groups, but soon began to decline under the influence of turbulence that engulfed the region and related threats to society as a whole. The non-governmental organizations that emerged at that time were fragmentary. Most of them were created on the basis of the interests of small groups that solved tasks that had no significance for the broad strata of Kuwaiti society.