Abstract
This thesis discusses the causes and characteristics of mobilisation in the country s stateless community. There are more than 106 000 stateless Arabs, locally known as Bidoon, living in Kuwait today. In the wake of the uprisings that erupted throughout the Middle East during the winter of 2010-11, parts of the Bidoon population in Kuwait took to the streets and demanded citizenship and rights. The mobilisation of Bidoons was something new in Kuwait. Bidoons were well integrated in the Kuwaiti society and they constituted the backbone of the Kuwaiti Army until 1986. Following the Iraqi invasion and the US-led liberation in 1991 they were deprived of all rights and treated as illegal residents . This thesis identifies a governmental policy that has resulted in a hierarchy among Bidoons. This, combined with imminent threats of deportation and further deprivation confined Bidoons ability to demand rights. When Bidoons finally started protesting they did so because they no longer tolerated the discrimination and repression. Instead they identified themselves as victims of an unjust policy and they found that the only way their situation could be improved was by imposing pressure on the government. The mobilisation of Bidoons was assisted by support from Kuwaiti citizens and enabled by Bidoons access to technology and information. The Bidoon community remains affected by decades of discrimination, and this paper analyses how this affects the mobilisation of two groups working for Bidoon rights. Nevertheless, the Bidoon rights movement have succeeded in imposing significant pressure on the regime in Kuwait, and Kuwaiti politicians are compelled to find a solution to the problem of statelessness.
An edited version is available at
https://www.academia.edu/19225835/Fighting_for_Citizenship_in_Kuwait