The development of institutions in Kuwait between 1716 and 1921 is highly significant considering that the country was the first one in the Gulf to elect a parliament. In addition, institutions, including Customs (al-Jumruk), the al-Mubarakiyya School (al-Madrasa al-Mubarakiyya), and the first charitable society (al-Jamʿiyya al-Khayriyya) were created during this period. The way how these modern institutions functioned marked a clear break with the earlier modus operandi, which explains why their impact on the political decision-making process and on the conflict between Mubarak and his sons, Jabir and Salim, and the merchants, until 1921 needs to be examined. Three stages in the development of these emerging Kuwaiti institutions and their influence on politics can be observed. While the political regime was mainly based on consensus until 1896, involving a degree of consultation with other forces, the period between 1896 and 1915 can be described as a one-man rule (1896-1915). This second stage witnessed the political emergence of the balancing powers, the divers and religious scholars, and challenged the Sheikh's authority. The third stage covers the rule of his two sons, Jabir Bin Mubarak (r. 1915-17) and Salim bin Mubarak (r. 1917-21).

Establishment of the Ruling System in Kuwait

Kuwait has been of particular interest to political researchers because it is the first Gulf country to elect a parliament with a genuine right to draft legislation. The relationship, or, more accurately, the struggle for power between the Sheikhs, the merchants and the balancing powers during this period of institutional development set the stage for the historical backdrop to the country's political reality. These key players greatly affected the political, social, and economic fields during a span of at least two centuries, beginning with the arrival of the al-‘Utub in Kuwait and ending with the rule of the sons of Mubarak, Jabir and Salim.

During the eighteenth century, Grane (the old name for Kuwait), along with the Eastern Coast of the Gulf, was under the control of the Bani Khalid tribe. Al-ʿUtub clans of the ‘Anaiza tribe moved from al-Hadar in central Najd to the Gulf shore with the ambition to establish their own rule there.