Stories of democracy : politics and society in contemporary Kuwait / Mary Ann Tétreault.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tétreault, Mary Ann, 1942-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democratization.

Kuwait--Politics and government.

Kuwait.

Politics and government.

Democratization--Kuwait.

Physical Description:

xi, 309 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2000]

Summary:

This elegantly written book presents the first comprehensive perspective on the shifting tides of democratic governance in modern Kuwait, from 1921 to the present. Based on interviews -- both with political activists and members of the political elite -- this work sheds light on a wide array of issues concerning Middle Eastern politics and democratic institutions in general.

Mary Ann Tetreault explores how various political factions have sought to advance their own notions of Kuwaiti history and politics through two distinctive popular appeals: (1) pro-democracy forces focusing on Kuwait's relationship to the universal values of the democratic world around them, and (2) anti-democrats proffering Arab and Muslim religious and cultural traditions. She explores how such dramatic events as the suspension of the Kuwaiti constitution in 1986 and the invasion by Iraq in 1990 occasioned major shifts in the course of the democracy movement.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [283]-298) and index.

ISBN:

0231114885

0231114893

OCLC:

42428676