Poet and businessman: Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain and the formation of modern Kuwait

Poet and businessman: Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain and the formation of modern Kuwait

Description

A history of contemporary Kuwait as seen through the life of an individual Kuwaiti. This book reviews and analyzes the modern history of Kuwait through the life of Abd al-Aziz Sa'ud al-Babtain, a wealthy businessman, philanthropist, and poet. He is the head of a large, influential international cultural foundation based in Kuwait City. Abd al-Aziz's life story tightly interweaves with modern discussions on the history of the state of Kuwait. There are very few books taking a collective grip on the history of the state of Kuwait. Likewise, there are very few studies about the generation of Gulf individuals who experienced, benefitted from, and even suffered from the discovery of oil, and who has been a crucial part of socioeconomic and cultural developments in countries like Kuwait in recent history. By constructing a cohesive overview of the modern history of Kuwait enriched by the life of an individual that has lived through the better part of that particular history, this book fills a lacuna in contemporary scholarship on the Middle East, and especially the Arabian or the Persian Gulf.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements-- 1. THE STATE OF KUWAIT AND ABD AL-AZIZ SA‘UD AL-BABTAIN-- --Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain: businessman and poet-- Introducing Kuwait, the life of al-Babtain and the al-Babtain Foundation-- The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and identity insecurity-- The National Assembly and the politics of citizenship:gender, statelessness and tribal traditions-- A second war in the Gulf 24 Studying Kuwait and Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain-- 2. ARABS, TRIBES, THE DESERT AND OIL: ACKGROUND AND KEY THEMES --The notion of being Arab Tribal history and the founding of Kuwait-- Escape from the Najd-- Desert, depression and downturn-- The game-changing discovery of oil: the opportunity for entrepreneurship-- 3. SETTING THE SCENE: THE FOUNDING OF MODERN KUWAIT-- Early years of the oil industry: political and economic changes-- Property, the State, Islam and Arabism-- The emergence of the State of Kuwait: from Sheikh Mubarak to Sheikh Abd Allah-- Transformed by wealth: changes for government and citizens alike-- 4. KUWAIT ON THE WAY UP: THE WORLD OF AL-BABTAIN-- A fertile business environment-- The financial services rush-- A society in flux: citizenship laws, limitations, difference and identity-- A loss of heritage? Kuwaiti culture and the diwaniya-- Crafting Kuwaiti citizens: the rise of a welfare state for nationals-- Developing healthcare-- From local to global media-- Education: schooling modern Kuwaitis-- 5. KUWAIT EXPERIENCING CHALLENGES: THE SUCCESS OF AL-BABTAIN-- 1960s boom and 1970s chaos: the desire to diversify and industrialize-- Speculation and Kuwait’s nouveau riche-- Crash and aftermath-- War in the Gulf-- A state on its knees, and an exodus-- The international community and an end to the war-- 6. CONTEMPORARY KUWAIT AND THE AL-BABTAIN FOUNDATION-- Developments after the liberation of Kuwait-- Economic recovery after the Gulf wars-- Striving to become a major financial centre-- The al-Babtain Foundation: aid programmes and foreign policy-- Kuwaiti politics and uprisings in the Middle East-- Politics, Islamists and the quest for democratization-- Demography and Kuwait’s migrant workers-- Women in Kuwaiti society: political participation-- 7. ABD AL-AZIZ AL-BABTAIN: THINKING ABOUT-- A LIFE OF CONTINUITY AND CHANGE-- Abd al-Aziz, Kuwait and the first scholarships-- Expanding the al-Babtain Foundation-- The library, changing ambitions and the “dialogue among civilizations”-- The al-Babtain Foundation and the media-- Promoting a culture of peace and influencing new generations-- Poetry, Arab culture, Islam, identity politics and nationalism-- 8. FINAL REFLECTIONS-- KUWAIT TIMELINE-- BIBLIOGRAPHY-- INDEX.

Publication Information

Gingko Library, London, 2022

ISBN

9781914983009

Keywords

History, Middle East studies, business

Poet and businessman: Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain and the formation of modern Kuwait

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