Kuwaiti political cartoons during the Arab Spring: Agenda setting and self-censorship

Abstract

Where criticism of a government could be punishable, political cartoons are used to make critical social commentary in a less direct way. In this study, political cartoons published in four Kuwaiti newspapers during Arab Spring protests were analyzed. Most of the 261 cartoons linked negative attributes to Arab Spring and Kuwaiti politics, society and economy despite certain press restrictions. Newspapers established after a change in press regulations in 2006 were remarkably similar to older newspapers. Liberal and conservative papers both published mainly negative messages but provided starkly different issue agendas; of the 89 cartoons depicting the Arab Spring, only 8 appeared in conservative papers. Conservative papers concentrated on topics relating to Kuwaiti society, economy, and politics.