In 1613, the town of Kuwait was founded in modern-day Kuwait City. In 1716, the Bani Utubs settled in Kuwait, which at this time was inhabited by a few fishermen and primarily functioned as a fishing village.[19] In the eighteenth century, Kuwait prospered and rapidly became the principal commercial center for the transit of goods between India, Muscat, Baghdad and Arabia.[20][21] By the mid 1700s, Kuwait had already established itself as the major trading route from the Persian Gulf to Aleppo.During the Persian siege of Basra in 1775–79, Iraqi merchants took refuge in Kuwait and were partly instrumental in the expansion of Kuwait's boat-building and trading activities.[23] As a result, Kuwait's maritime commerce boomed.[23] Between the years 1775 and 1779, the Indian trade routes with Baghdad, Aleppo, Smyrna and Constantinople were diverted to Kuwait.[22][24] The East India Company was diverted to Kuwait in 1792.[25] The East India Company secured the sea routes between Kuwait, India and the east coasts of Africa.[25] After the Persians withdrew from Basra in 1779, Kuwait continued to attract trade away from Basra.Kuwait was the center of boat building in the Persian Gulf region.[27][28] During the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, vessels made in Kuwait carried the bulk of trade between the ports of India, East Africa and the Red Sea.[29][30][31] Kuwaiti ships were renowned throughout the Indian Ocean.[32] Regional geopolitical turbulence helped foster economic prosperity in Kuwait in the second half of the 18th century.[33] Kuwait became prosperous due to Basra's instability in the late 18th century.[34] In the late 18th century, Kuwait partly functioned as a haven for Basra's merchants, who were fleeing Ottoman government persecution.[35] According to Palgrave, Kuwaitis developed a reputation as the best sailors in the Persian Gulf.
Kuwait is often regarded as the most democratic country in the region.[101] Regionally, Kuwait is noted for having a robust public sphere and active civil society with greater freedom for political and social organizations that are parties in everything but name.[102][103][104] Professional groups like the Chamber of Commerce maintain their autonomy from the government.The National Assembly is the legislature and has oversight authority. The National Assembly consists of fifty elected members, who are chosen in elections held every four years. Since the parliament can conduct inquiries into government actions and pass motions of no confidence, checks and balances are robust in Kuwait.[102] The parliament can be dissolved under a set of conditions based on constitutional provisions.[105] The Constitutional Court and Emir both have the power to dissolve the parliament, although the Constitutional Court can invalidate the Emir's dissolve.Executive power is executed by the government. The Emir appoints the prime minister, who in turn chooses the ministers comprising the government. According to the constitution, at least one minister has to be an elected MP from the parliament. The parliament is often rigorous in holding the government accountable, government ministers are frequently interpellated and forced to resign.[105][106] Kuwait has more government accountability and transparency than other GCC countries.The judiciary is nominally independent of the executive and the legislature, and the Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution.[105] The judiciary's independence has come under question, although the Constitutional Court is widely regarded as one of the most judicially independent courts in the Arab world.[107] The Constitutional Court has the power to dissolve the parliament and invalidate the Emir's decrees, as happened in 2013 when the dissolved 2009 parliament resumed its role.The political participation of Kuwaiti women has been limited,[108] although Kuwaiti women are among the most emancipated women in the Middle East. In 2014 and 2015, Kuwait was ranked first among Arab countries in the Global Gender Gap Report. In 2013, 53% of Kuwaiti women participated in the labor force.[65] Kuwait has higher female citizen participation in the workforce than other GCC countries.[16][65][109] Kuwaiti women outnumber men in the workforce.Political groups and parliamentary voting blocs exist, although most candidates run as independents. Once elected, many deputies form voting blocs in the National Assembly. Kuwaiti law does not recognize political parties.[110] However, numerous political groups function as de facto political parties in elections, and there are blocs in the parliament. Major de facto political parties include the National Democratic Alliance, Popular Action Bloc, Hadas (Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood), National Islamic Alliance and the Justice and Peace Alliance.
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