Bader Mousa Al-Saif is no longer with the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center.
Bader Mousa Al-Saif was a nonresident fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where his research focuses on the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula. Al-Saif is also assistant professor of history at Kuwait University. He holds a Ph.D. with distinction from Georgetown University.
Al-Saif focuses on the modern history and contemporary affairs of the Middle East, namely political and intellectual history, Islamic thought, reform dynamics, transnational trends, and gender studies. Al-Saif is the author of numerous publications, including “Musulman-e Marksisti: The Islamic Modernism of Ali Shariati in Religion vs. Religion” (2017); co-author of “Higher Education and Contestation in the State of Kuwait After the Arab Spring: Identity Construction and Ideologies of Domination in the American University of Kuwait” (2016); and “Neither Fulul nor Ikhwan: Abdulrahman Yusuf and the Rise of an Alternative Current in Post-Morsi Egypt” (2015). He is the founding president of Al-Saif Consulting, specializing in public policy research, education, women and youth empowerment, and inter-religious dialogue in the Middle East. He has held senior roles in both the private and public sectors in Kuwait.
Al-Saif holds a master of education and a master of theology, both with honors from Harvard University, and a master of law with honors from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Al-Saif graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a double major in political science and history.
An addictive recourse to the same political class and governance scheme suggests Kuwait’s new government, like its predecessors, will prove unable to effectively confront the country’s many challenges.
Iraq has been holding a regional summit, aimed at promoting peace and reconciliation in the Middle East.
The ongoing Saudi-Emirati spat over oil output reflects a wider change in regional power dynamics.
A recent dispute at an OPEC+ meeting, has exposed the growing strains between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The decisions taken by the Biden administration to end the war in Yemen have ironically yielded the opposite effect: an unprecedented military escalation, more victims, and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Over time, the Kuwait-Saudi border has developed a unique, flexible approach of firm physical boundaries but open economic boundaries. This approach allows both countries to resolve border disputes, such as an oil-related dispute from 2009 to 2019, but more investment could further strengthen Kuwait-Saudi ties.
Kuwait and Iraq have worked hard to rebuild bilateral ties. Resolving their maritime dispute as part of larger discussions could provide a model of diplomacy.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have signed an agreement to end a 3.5 year blockade of Qatar. While all sides have agreed to restore relations, it's unclear whether the issues at the heart of the dispute have been resolved.
Kuwait’s new government has affirmed a sense of continuity, when the country’s problems require change.
As elections near, among the country’s priorities will be to address the shortcomings of its political system and its identity.
