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A GSN researcher in Kuwait sounded out local opinion and social media in the week after the Taliban took over in Afghanistan. She reported:

Risk grade - B↓2↓ Overview Politics: Governed by the Al-Sabah family since the 18th century, Kuwait gained independence from Britain in 1961, with a constitution confirming the hereditary monarchy but giving significant powers to an independent judiciary and elected assembly.

Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah remains in Germany where he is undergoing medical treatments and tests,  sources told GSN. Sheikh Nawaf, who was sworn in late last year, travelled to Germany on 24 June. He has suffered complications from stomach cancer for many years and continues to receive regular stem cell and other treatments to stay relatively healthy.

The Army Fund scandal continues to drag on in court, with little information of the trial’s proceedings reaching the public due to a ban on media coverage of the case. However, a document was leaked in July, purported to have come from the lawyers of former defence minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah’s defence team.

Tunisian leaders have been reaching out to wealthy Gulf countries in search of support, as the country struggles with a surge in Covid-19 cases which has brought the healthcare system to the point of collapse. Prime minister Hichem Mechichi held talks with Qatar’s ambassador to Tunis Saad Bin Nasser Al-Humaidi on 8 July.

The Kuwaiti government continues to crack down on dissenting voices, amid the political crisis in which Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is absent and MPs continue to clash with the executive. The latest episode came when prominent Kuwaiti poet and businessman Jamal Al-Sayer was detained on 5 July over comments he had made on his widely-followed Twitter account.

The United States State Department on 1 July approved a request from Kuwait to buy $445m worth of heavy tactical vehicles, along with support, spare parts and related equipment. The order covers 517 vehicles including 100 fuel tanker trucks and 188 guided missile transporter trucks to perform resupply missions.

Crown princes Mohammed Bin Salman and Mohammed Bin Zayed were once close partners but appear now to be competing as much as co-operating. In contrast, Qatar and Oman have been moving closer to a Saudi leadership keen to develop a better international reputation. This feeds into Muscat’s approach to Yemen, where Sultan Haitham has sought to guard Omani security via direct talks with the Houthis.

Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah departed for Germany on 24 June for what was described in official reports as a “private visit”. He was seen off from the airport by his brother Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal, prime minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and other senior officials. 

Kuwait’s political, social and economic landscape has been irrevocably changed by the pandemic and the death of the late Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in September 2020. These events have deepened and widened the struggles within a political and economic system already characterised by paralysis and stagnation. The medium-term outlook looks grim, with a political leadership seemingly unable or unwilling to make the tough policy decisions needed to create a more stable course.

Hussain Sajwani has made an offer to buy out the minority shareholders of the Dubai Financial Market-listed Damac Properties Dubai for Dh2.19bn ($599m). In a statement on 9 June, Damac said it had received an offer through a Sajwani-owned vehicle, Maple Invest Company, and that Sajwani had subsequently resigned as chairman and board director of Damac, to prevent a conflict of interest.

Sheikh Mansour Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah died on 10 June, aged 79. He was buried after the afternoon prayer on 11 June. Sheikh Mansour was a brother of Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal. He maintained a relatively low public profile, being more involved in business than in politics.

Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was in Saudi Arabia on 1 June for talks with his counterpart Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh. It was Sheikh Mishaal’s first official trip overseas since his appointment in October 2020.

The tribes of Kuwait, which constitute up to 60% of the country’s citizens, are becoming increasingly important political and economic actors. Often feeling shut out of the lucrative market for government contracts, they are looking for changes which the Al-Sabah leadership finds hard to deliver. GSN investigates a major social force in the complex Kuwaiti political environment.

In the early 1600s, a group of families and tribes, largely from the Al-Enezi tribal federation, immigrated from the Nadj region of Saudi Arabia to Kuwait. These early settlers formed the core of a political community that became the foundation of Kuwaiti politics and business – and remains relevant to this day.