This thesis covers the historical era from the emergence of the state of Kuwait and its political, economical and social developments. It establishes that the history of Kuwait as an independent entity goes back to 1613, and supports this with reference to different sources and by details of the regional and international relations of Kuwait with its neighbours and allies. ,;", •.....•.. Further, it details the situation of Kuwait under the protection treaty of 1899 between Britain and Kuwait under the rule of Sheikh Mubarak AI-Sabah 1896-1915 at his request to protect Kuwait from the dominance of the Ottoman state. It handles the treaty of 1913 between Britain and the Ottoman state, concerning Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait under the rule of Sheikh Mubarak. This treaty was not completed due to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and the collapse of the Ottoman state. Finally, it details the AI-Aqeer conference treaty of 1922, during which the final land and sea borders were demarcated between Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. This thesis is considered a contribution in its field concerning the establishment of the State of Kuwait, the history of its borders, demarcation and regional and international relations. 4

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The study examined the four major political reforms undertaken in Kuwait post- liberation: the restoration of the National Assembly in 1992, the separation of posts of the Crown Prince from the post of the Prime Minister in 2003, women’s suffrage in 2005 and the redefining of the electoral districts in 2006. These were analysed to establish whether these political reforms represented a process of democratisation or political liberalisation that ultimately consolidated the power of liberalised autocracy and was merely a regime survival strategy. To do that the study employed a theoretical framework that considers Robert Dahl’s (1971) criteria: political participation, contestation and expansion of civil and political rights to assess whether Kuwait’s political system is democratic or not, in conjunction with David Potter’s scheme (1997) of the six pre-requisites that can promote and/or inhibit the process of democratisation: relation of state and political institutions, societal divisions, economic development, civil society, political culture and transnational/international engagement in order to identify the drivers and/or the obstacles to a democratic transition. This analysis contributes to the wider discussions on democratisation processes, furthering the understanding of the necessary conditions for democratisation, as well as what the nature of the obstacles to reform are in the Gulf region. The study concluded that the political reforms were not evidence of democratisation; rather they were part of Al Sabah’s own survival strategy and are better understood in terms of a liberalising autocracy. Nonetheless, they brought to the surface the contradictions inherent in the political structures and processes and allowed a space for civil society movements to emerge, mobilise and attempt to counter the dominance of the state as well as coming forth as another significant factor (the first being the National Assembly) pushing for democratisation. This apparent increase in civil society activism gives hope that change is possible.

By presenting Kuwaiti merchants as a case study for the Arab merchants of the Gulf, this dissertation takes a fresh look at the way that the merchants of this region conducted trade as part of the first global economy. This has been useful in helping us paint a broad picture of the Gulf merchants’ communities in the pre-oil period. This serves to elucidate a model and the relationships and reasons for success or failure in this network and thereby to add to the large historiography on Indian Ocean networks. The main analytic framework of this study is based on Claude Markovit’s argument for going back to the idea of a trade network by examining it through “the circulation of men and things”. This was developed into a “circulation society” by Aslanian. The dissertation draws on original materials from Kuwait, Bahrain and London, in addition to the rozenamahs of the nakhodas (log books of the dhow captains) and interviews with some pre-oil merchants in particular, which together constitute important Asian primary sources. These sources which are pivotal to it for a framework of the circulation connections trace the concomitant development of the family firms of merchants based in India but centred on Kuwait and explores how they operated/integrated legally and illegally in the Indian Ocean economy. At the same time, it examines how the merchants expressed the economic and social institutions of pre-oil Kuwait through their long-distance trading and pearl industry and even their smuggling networks. It further explores how Kuwaiti merchants in an ocean-wide commercial society constructed relationships of economic mutualism with one another by mobilizing mudaraba (commenda) partnerships with trusted partners. Taking the broadest picture, the dissertation argues that by organizing business in creative ways in the developing world of commerce, adjusting to the rise in contemporary capitalism in the Indian Ocean and by tactically moving into global markets, the merchants could develop their increasing commercial organization whilst becoming fundamental to economic and social life in Kuwait. From the middle of the 19th century to 1946, they played a critical role in structuring and developing Kuwait’s social, economic and political life and also its stability. More importantly, by making a case study of the Kuwaiti network, the dissertation demonstrates Kuwait’s importance in the global economic structure.

A solid-state NMR study of a range of tin- and silver-containing compounds has been carried out in order to obtain information on the chemical shifts, coupling constants and relaxation times. The results are discussed in relation to the crystal structures, where known, and some crystallographic information obtained in cases with no previously-known structures. For tin-containing compounds, solid-state (^119)Sn and (^31)P NMR comprise the majority of this work. Nevertheless, (^13)C NMR studies have been also carried out to assist the structure determination. Six Sn(II) compounds have been examined, including three which also contain phosphorus. Spinning sideband analysis has been achieved for (^119)Sn (in some cases (^31)P), giving information on the shielding tensors. Satellite peaks observed on the (^119)Sn NMR spectra of SnHPO(_3) and SnHP0(_4) reveal that the spectra contain information about indirect Sn(_2)Sn coupling. Since surprisingly large values of 2600 ±200 Hz and 4150 ± 200 Hz are found for SnHPO(_3)and SnHPO(_4), respectively, the calculated relative intensities of the satellites and the results of a single Hahn echo experiment have been discussed in detail. The relatively isolated ((^1)H,(^31)P) spin pair in solid SnHPO(_3) have been extensively investigated in this work, though the systems are rather complicated. The (^1)H and (^31)P spectra display an intensity distribution of the spinning sidebands, which is the characteristic of an interplay of shielding, dipolar and indirect coupling tensors dominated, by the strong dipolar interactions. A single Hahn echo experiment was employed to reveal indirect spin-spin coupling ((^1)JPH). Strong oscillatory polarization transfer by dipolar interaction occurs during short contact times on moderately fast magic-angle spinning and the P,H distances were extracted (including for SnHPO(_4)).Rather complicated (^1)H NMR spectra under (^31)P continuous-wave decoupling arises from a second-order recoupling of the heteronuclear dipolar-coupling tensor and the shielding tensor of ^'P, leading to line-splittings and broadenings in the {(^31)P}(^1)H spectra. Additionally, measurement of (^1)H and (^31)P relaxation times has been undertaken, producing results which were expected to follow the behaviour characteristic of an isolated two-spin system, but anomalies were observed. Various nuclei, such as (^13)C, (^15)N, (^31)P and (^109)Ag, in silver-containing compounds have been studied, and provide information on indirect spin-spin interactions, (^1)J((^109)Ag (^14)N) and (^1)J((^109)Ag(^15)N). The (^109)Ag NMR spectra for [Ag(NH(_3)(_2))(_2)X where X = SO(_4), SeO(_4), NO(_3)show spinning sideband manifolds, which are typical for systems with moderately large shielding anisotropy. Other silver compounds namely [Ag(R)(_2)]NO(_3) where R = pyridine, collidine, 2-picoline, quinoline and AgY where Y = HPO(_4) and PO(_4), have been investigated to give as much complementary information about the chemical shifts as possible.

This thesis studies the historical evolution of mercantile influence in Kuwaiti politics from the historical beginnings of Kuwait until the 1990 Iraqi invasion. Primary archival material and arguments from the field of political economy are utilised, particularly relying on the concepts of structural and instrumental powers for analysis. The main conclusion is that there was a shift from merchants' reliance on structural powers in the pre-oil era to a utilisation of instrumental powers after oil began to be exported. Pre-oil, local rulers depended on mercantile economic activity to generate state revenues and provide local employment. Merchants could use these structural powers to influence and punish rulers. This is vividly illustrated in the 1910 episode of the migration of the pearl merchants and the 1921 and 1938 council movements demanding more executive powers. Oil exports freed the government from its historical dependence on merchants for both finance and employment. Merchants' structural powers started to erode and they had to shift to instrumental powers to influence the political sphere. They also had to contend with the rising political roles of other social groups, including the Bedouin and the Shi‘a. Thus merchants had to diversify their strategies for political influence. These included becoming active in parliamentary politics, participating in the emerging state bureaucracy, establishing chambers of commerce, setting up media outlets and forming alliances with other forces in society. Although merchants were part of one economic class, they formed a group of notables which was not necessarily politically cohesive and frequently exhibited differing political actions, particularly on non-economic issues. It is therefore important to move away from the view that merchants were a homogenous group and towards a more nuanced understanding at the micro- and meso-level that links individuals with the institutions and networks in which they operated. Factors such as political ideology also played an important role in the actions of individual members.

This is the first monograph-length academic study of Shaikh Abdullah al-Salim al-Sabah, Ruler of Kuwait between 1950 and 1965. It is based on British and US government records, interviews, and a wide range of secondary sources in Arabic and English. It traces the development of modern Kuwait from the mid-eighteenth century under the al-Sabah up to the accession of Shaikh Abdullah in 1950. It considers the succession question in Kuwait before 1950, and Abdullah’s lengthy period as a candidate for succession, which enabled him to develop and expand his ideas for his country before becoming ruler. The study also examines the way that Abdullah transformed Kuwait into the first rentier state in Eastern Arabia and analyses his impact on the development of Kuwait’s administrative system. The influence of Arab nationalism and Britain on his decision-making and his relationship with Arab nationalists and the British Government, as well as his subtle handling of Kuwait’s border dispute with Iraq, are also investigated in detail. This study focuses on the six major challenges that Abdullah overcame in order to transform Kuwait into a rentier state: (1) his political victories and defeats prior to his reign that shaped his political ideas, (2) his twenty-nine-year struggle to become ruler of Kuwait, (3) how he changed the direction of Kuwait’s development process by moving away from the politics of his predecessors, (4) his troubled relationship with the al-Sabah in Kuwait’s government administration, (5) how he dealt with the pressure exerted by Arab nationalists and the British Government on his political decisions, and (6) how he handled Kuwait’s troubled relationship with Iraq. This thesis argues that Shaikh Abdullah al-Salim al-Sabah was an exceptional leader not only among the rulers of Kuwait (1752 to present), but also among the rulers of the Gulf Arab states in general. He was the first ruler to introduce a rentier state system that provided extensive welfare services for all of his country’s citizens, securing his family’s position in government in the process. He led Kuwait to independence in 1961 and oversaw the drafting of its constitution in 1962. He was a skilled politician and diplomat, who negotiated a delicate balance between the competing interests of the Kuwaitis, the ruling family (the al-Sabah), the Arab nationalists, the British Government, and the Iraqi government. As a result, he has enjoyed a popularity within Kuwait second only to the founder of modern Kuwait, Shaikh Mubarak al-Sabah (r.1896-1915).

The study sheds light on the impact of the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990 on Kuwaiti foreign policy, with particular reference to changes in behaviour towards Iraq, from 1990-2010, and the impact of this invasion on changes to the concepts of Kuwaiti foreign policy at regional, Arab and international levels. Thus, the study investigates the ‘impact’ of this invasion on Kuwaiti foreign behavior towards Iraq during the period from 1990 to 2010, the principles and determinants of Kuwaiti foreign policy towards Iraq in this period, and the ‘outstanding issues’ between Iraq and Kuwait and the Kuwaiti vision for Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime from 2003 until 2010. It finds that the trauma of the invasion drastically affected both Arab politics overall and Kuwait’s own policy: for the first time the notion of alliance became a cornerstone of Kuwait’s overall foreign policy – even if its geographical location and exposure to possible threats from Iraq meant that, after Saddam’s fall in 2003, there was a gradual evolution towards trying to help a stabilisation in that country occur. The combination of geographical location and ideational factors in the shape of sectarian cleavages crossing domestic and regional theatres, meant a continued sharp focus not only on military security with external help, but also on the pre-emption of spill-over effects from the sectarianised Iraqi political landscape to Kuwait’s own latent ethno-sectarian divisions. Even so, there were certain red lines that remained uncrossed, in the shape of the so-called outstanding issues that remained to be resolved between Iraq and Kuwait.