Kuwait, Political Violence and the Syrian War

ABSTRACT

Kuwait’s support of civilians in war-torn Syria has been commended by the international community. In addition, the Gulf state has joined US-led coalitions against the ‘Islamic State’ and affirmed many international agreements designed to choke off international assistance to militias operating in Syria. In 2015, Kuwait paid a heavy price for its involvement, becoming a victim of IS-affiliated terrorism. Whilst this suggests that Kuwait’s position on radical Islamist movements involved in the Syrian conflict is clear cut, this article will argue that Kuwait’s government has had to balance this official position against domestic support for elements of the radical Islamist opposition in Syria. These cross-cutting tensions were underscored by the US designation of the state as the ‘epicentre’ of private fund raising for militias in Syria. To explore these contradictions, this article will analyse Kuwait’s engagement with the Syrian war, its new anti-terror legislation and the tensions between the official and unofficial views on support for foreign militias. This analysis will highlight the challenges the Kuwait government has faced in addressing unofficial Kuwaiti engagement with the radical Islamist opposition in Syria.

KEYWORDS:

• Arab Uprisings
• GCC
• Middle East
• terrorism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 5 of these convictions were in absentia. For details see The National (2015).

2 For a general statement on Daesh’s anti-Shia agenda see Islamic State (2015b, 32–45). For an explicit claim of responsibility for the Kuwait attack see Islamic State (2015a, 3–5).

3 In March 2009 the Parliament agitated for the right to question Ministers over misuse of public funds. The government resigned and the Emir dissolved parliament in response. See Freedom House (2013).

4 The figure given here is 28%, the usual range is 25–30%. See Al-Mdaires (2010, 76).

5 The Bidoon community is comprised of stateless Arab immigrants to Kuwait who seek the protection of Kuwaiti citizenship and are classified as illegal residents. A 2013 law granted citizenship to 4000 members of this community.

6 The government’s decision to restrict voter choice to one candidate (from a previous choice of four), led to public protests and triggered the opposition boycott.

7 It should be noted that Kuwait registered its reservation to Article 24 of the Convention which pertains to the role of the ICC in arbitration of disputes. See UN (1999).

8 Hamid al-Ali was also designated as an SDTG on August 22, 2014. See US Department of the Treasury (2014b).

9 Al-Shemmari’s supporters contend the ruling is illegal as Al-Shemmari was born to a naturalized Kuwaiti father and is thus, Kuwaiti by birth. This sets the scene for an appeal based on the wrongful application, rather than the essence of the Nationality Law. See Kuwait Times (2015c).

10 In relation to GCC exploration of sharing security information see Gulf Times (2010).