Kuwait’s Security, Autonomy and Survival: A Small Nation-State in the International System

Abstract

Kuwait has been regarded as a small, vulnerable state, exposed to pressures from its geographically proximate and significantly larger and influential neighbours. Kuwait represents a classic example of a small state seeking ways of co-habiting with lager neighbours with significantly greater regional presence. Kuwait’s decision-making approach to regional pressures and wider international transformations has been shaped by the need for survival and security. This study assesses Kuwait as a small state in the international system, exploring how the country can safeguard its security and pursue a viable survival strategy within the political context which has shaped its policies. Ambitious due to its enormous oil wealth, Kuwait has been able to punch above its weight as a small state by adopting a dynamic and proactive foreign policy in global affairs. The study evaluates Kuwait's survival and security strategies through five chronological phases. The first phase (1961-1979), characterised by self-defence, regional security, and balance, focuses on Kuwait from its independence to its arrival as a major oil exporter. The second period (1979-1988) analyses Kuwait’s strategies in a period of uncertainty, apprehension, and regional disorder. The third phase (1990 and 1991) focuses on Kuwait’s security dilemmas brought about by invasion, massive geopolitical disruptions, and the search for alliances. The theme of the fourth phase (1991-2003) is liberation, retrenchment, and strategic consciousness. The fifth and final period (2003-present), the thesis argues, is that of Kuwait adopting a strategy based on hedging and balancing. This dissertation uses neoclassical realism to understand Kuwait's strategy and to consider whether or not Kuwait has succeeded in its survival and security strategies. The fundamental purpose of employing neoclassical realism to study Kuwait as a small state is to consider the combination of systemic stimuli and domestic aspects that shape the country's choices. This provides the framework for a fuller understanding of how Kuwait’s decision-makers developed their survival strategy and search for security. Thus, this study finds that Kuwait succeeded in achieving its survival strategy through the first stage, establishing itself as a nation-state in 1961 and interacting with regional players and international forces to nourish its autonomy. It sought to reduce its vulnerabilities during the second phase by using both superpowers in the bipolar international system. The Iraqi invasion (in the third period) arguably exposed the weaknesses of Kuwait’s previous policies. Consequently, Kuwait needed to re-examine its survival strategy and seek a new approach in the fourth period after the liberation of 1991. Finally, this dissertation also analyses Kuwait's survival and security policy after 2003, as Kuwait consolidated its alliance with the U.S. and balanced its foreign relations with other global powers. This thesis also contributed to the field of neoclassical realism by adding 'regional context as an intervening variable' to a comprehensive analysis of Kuwait's security and survival strategies. The study has utilised primary sources, such as intensive archival materials and some quantitative data from primary and secondary literature, to provide granular detail of Kuwait's survival and security strategies.