Since 2011, the Arab Spring has revealed a feverish desire within the populations of Arab countries to introduce political, economic and social changes. Although this trend has reached the Gulf countries, it has not had the same radical impact on their political architecture as it has had in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. However, protests were organized in four of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. Moreover, the Arab Spring has fueled debate among the intelligentsia about the roots of such movements in recent local history. In Kuwait, the Arab Spring has accelerated the government's response to members of the opposition who were eager to replace the Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasir al-Mohammed al-Sabah. As a result, the number of petitions mounted and the opposition called for the implementation of a constitutional monarchy, the possibility to create political parties and an elected government. All these factors led to a storm of debates in the traditional and social media arena about the political rights of Kuwaitis through an investigation of their rights throughout the history of the country. This has brought to the surface the imperative to re-examine the history of the country's constitutional development.

With this in mind, this book focuses on the constitutional history of Kuwait, showing that the genuine claims expressed since 2011 are not new but, rather, have deep roots in Kuwait's political history. In particular, a number of shortcomings, due to the lack of consideration given to the role played by some important social forces on the Kuwaiti political scene, still prevail in the historical analysis of the country's constitutional development. Most historians and political analysts working on Kuwait's modern politics have focused on two main forces: the ruling family and the merchants. Although, undoubtedly, these two categories have played a prominent role, other segments of Kuwaiti society should not be overlooked since they have had a decisive impact on the balance of power – with varying levels of influence before the proclamation of independence in 1961.

As early as 1716, an unwritten social contract emerged among Kuwaiti social constituents, including the ruling family, based on Shura, a system wherein the ruler would take into account the elites’ opinions. However, after Mubarak (r. 1896- 1915) seized power from his brothers Mohammed (r. 1893-6) and Jarrah in 1896, the traditional Shura system was replaced by an authoritarian rule, initially led by Mubarak, until his sons Jabir (r. 1915-7) and Salim (r. 1917-21) succeeded him. Upon the death of Salim in 1921, a group of Kuwaiti merchants, religious scholars and members of the ruling family requested that the new ruler, Ahmad (r. 1921-50), should restore the Shura system. This resulted in Kuwait's first written constitutional document in 1921.