The Foreign Policy of Small State Kuwait During the Period of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

Abstract

A major part of the states that continue to be the most important actors in international politics are small states. Smallness, which is considered as the limited power of the state in international politics, has an important role in the determination of the foreign policy of the states. With some common features such as small population, small area, diplomacy-oriented policy, each small state pursues a foreign policy according to the place it has positioned itself in the international arena in parallel with the material and spiritual power resources it owns. Kuwait is considered as a small state based on objective measurements such as population, military capacity, area, and subjective measurements of how the country's leaders and the international community perceive Kuwait,. Thereby, one of the most important determinants of Kuwait's foreign policy is smallness. Looking at its history, it is seen that Kuwait closely felt the security threats related to its continuous existence due to the weakness created by being a small country, moreover, it was directly invaded by an external power in 1990. At this point, Kuwait, whose primary national interest is the continuation of its existence, has developed foreign policy strategies to eliminate the sensitivity created due to the smallness of the country. Positioning itself in international politics according to its economic power as one of the few oil countries in the world and power-limiting factors such as military weakness, small population, ambitious big neighbors, and being in an unstable geographical region, Kuwait tries to ensure its security with foreign policy strategies based on creating soft power through oil power, relying on great power, balance in relations with neighboring great powers, impartiality and mediation in problems, and more generally diplomacy. The study, which examines the recent foreign policy of Kuwait through a small state, aims to reveal the effect of the phenomenon of smallness on the behavior of states in international politics. It was demonstrated through Kuwait example that smallness may be an important determinant in foreign policy, sometimes limiting the power of states in international politics, and may directly affect the security of countries.