The Political Theater in Kuwait

 
This study aims to examine the influence of the political theater in Kuwait by examining the following questions: what is the historical background of the political theater in Kuwait? What are the factors that influenced the emergence of the Kuwaiti political theater? What are the internal and external factors and events that influence the political theater of Kuwait? What are the most important factors that led to the recent decline of the influence of the Kuwaiti political theater? In order to answer these questions, a descriptive-analytical case study was conducted. The results of the study showed that the development of the political theater in Kuwait resulted from several factors, mainly, the government’s financial support, the existence of political freedom, its geographical location and the effects of the political theater experiences of its neighboring Arabic countries. On the other hand, the study found that the political theater in Kuwait has been influenced by some internal and external variables and events, such as the discovery of oil and its impact on Kuwaiti society, the relationship between Kuwait’s political authority and its political theater, the political and economic crises in Kuwait, the sectarian tension in Kuwaiti society, and several regional events such as the Arabic-Israeli conflict, the Iraqi-Iranian war, and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Furthermore, the study concludes that the influence of the Kuwaiti political theater has recently declined because of the decline of the governmental support, the decline of freedom of expression in Kuwait, the role of the governmental censorship, and the emergence of the communication revolution and several social media networks that have replaced the role of political theater in affecting and influencing public opinion.