The History of Kuwait Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The History of Kuwait - Assignment Example The country is a constitutional monarchy but has a parliamentary system of governance. The constitutional emirate is a hereditary position and the emir is the chief of state while the head of government is the Prime Minister and deputy prime ministers who both are appointed by the emir. The legislature consists of 66 seats with 50 states elected by popular vote while appointed cabinet ministers occupy the rest. The judiciary is based on Sharia law and is impendent from government influence (Casey 19). Most of the Kuwaitis are Arabs and Islam is the dominant religion in the country with the majority being Sunni Muslims. Foreign groups include Iranians, South Asians, and expatriates and the official language is Arabic, but English is also spoken (O’Shea and Spilling 45). The religious minorities include Parsi, Hindu, and Christians and Native Kuwaitis do not pay any taxes. Kuwait’s foreign-policy making is based on quiet diplomacy, clarity, and straightforwardness and aim s at strengthening cooperation with other countries on the basis of non-intervention in the internal country affairs and mutual trust. Kuwait’s foreign policy is based on the ideals of sovereignty and freedom of political decision (O’Shea and Spilling 17). The Emir, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and government ministers occupy the executive branch and are key decision-makers. The chief of State is Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 2006) and Crown Prince is Nawafal – Ahmad. The decrees and pardons are executed by the Emir and have a lot of influence on the foreign policy decisions. The Emir is hereditary and is tasked with appointing the Prime Minister, and deputy prime ministers and approves the council of government ministers that is appointed by the Prime Minister (Casey 61). The parliament is a key decision-maker in foreign policy since it has the power to initiate legislation, remove the Emir and question actions of government ministers.