Religion In International Politics- Minorities Seek Political Influence

            It is very difficult to be a religious minority in any country; especially when one religion is the clear majority and is in charge of the government.  Oftentimes, the minority will have to take steps in order to get their voices heard.  They may need to figure out ways to have their opinions represented in government.  For some groups, this would involve political protests or demonstrations.  Some groups would resort to violent riots.  It is important to realize, that when people’s important opinions are not being heard, it leads to problems within a country.  As Americans, we can easily relate to this.  Our nation’s very foundation is based upon a revolution that started when people became tired of not having their voices heard in government.  I have decided to take a look at three cases of a minority religion group that is trying to get their voice heard within their respective government.  One example comes from England where a new association was formed for Sikh police.  Another example discusses India’s important Muslim vote in their upcoming election.  Lastly, is an example from Australia where a Sikh man won a discrimination battle in court.  All three of these examples demonstrate peaceful ways that minority groups have taken steps towards having their voices heard in their respective governments. 

            A new organization was recently formed in the United Kingdom.  It is called the British Sikh Police Association (BSPA).  Its goal is to help “recruit, retain, and progress Sikh staff” in the police force.  Sgt Kashmira Singh Mann, the chair of the group, said, “This is an important step towards improving the profile of Sikh officers within the police and giving them an officially recognized voice, but also of improving the police’s understanding of the communities it serves”.  This step not only improves the Sikh representation within the British police force, but also helps to promote cohesion within British society.  Perhaps, by giving the Sikh official recognition within the police force in Britain, the Sikh community will be less likely to be unruly and disobey the law.  Sgt Singh Mann stated that it gives the Sikh officers better position “to strengthen the bridge that already exists between our employer and our community and promote understanding on both sides”. 

            I think that this is a great step for the Sikh community.  It is a great way to promote peace within a community because it is true that people are less likely to act out against their own people because there is a feeling of respect that is more likely to be there.  In my opinion it was a brilliant move by the British police force because it is a really practical way to lower crime rates and encourage cooperation and integration.  It is literally killing two birds with one stone.  The Sikhs are getting the respect and integration that they want and deserve while the British police have the possibility of getting lowered crime rates. 

            Another important story involving a religious minority trying to impact the government comes from India’s elections.  Muslims, comprising of nearly 13% of India’s population, are clearly a minority.  In fact, India’s entire social structure, although supposedly now eradicated, is entirely based off of the Hindu faith.  And, because Muslims did not participate in the Hindu tradition at all, they were automatically placed in the lowest caste in the social hierarchy of India.  Today, Muslims are still struggling to gain representation in the government of India. 

            This election might just be the place that this representation comes from.  With the recent Muslim terrorist attacks that have come in India, the Congress party (the dominant Hindu party in India) has launched a “war on terrorism”.  However, this “war on terrorism” has led to the “arrests and alleged extrajudicial killings of Muslim youths”, which have angered the Islamic community.  Henceforth, this sense of injustice has led to the formation of multiple new Muslim political parties over the past couple of months.  The goal of these new political parties is to create a sense of safety and security in all communities; especially Muslim communities.  These political parties view the way that the Indian government is targeting the Muslim youth as not only a major injustice, but also as a security issue that must be addressed by the new government that takes office.  There are approximately two dozen Muslim political parties that are participating in this upcoming election, which is up drastically since the last election.  The Muslim people in India are strongly searching for their voice to be heard in the government, and what better way is there to do this than go gain physical representation in the government?  “Interestingly, even the staunchest supporters of these parties do not believe they are going to win”.  Instead, they are merely looking to “erode” the vote of the Congress party and to win a few seats so that they may have some form of representation. 

            However, the Congress party does not feel that they will lose too much support from the Muslim community, that usually votes in favor of the Congress party.  They believe that because the other major political party is even more right wing than they are, the Muslims are forced to vote in their favor. 

            In all, I think that it is great for the Muslim community in India to stand up for their rights and to become politically active.  It is extremely important for people to speak up when they want their voice to be heard and voting for an elected official is a great way to do this.  It is peaceful, effective, and is a great example for future generations.

            My last example comes from a Sikh man in Australia who won a discrimination battle in the Australian courts. Kanwal Preet Singh Pahwa, a local youth from Canberra, Australia, was refused entry to a nightclub because he was wearing a turban.  He sued the nightclub for discrimination and was victorious. “The authorities of the Canberra night club have been directed to change their dress code to allow the entry of visitors who sport a headgear associated with their beliefs and culture”.  Kanwal Preet was humiliated because of the incident and, rightfully, put his foot down in the court of law.

            I think that it is great that this man not only stood up for his rights, but did so in a court of law.  In this way, news agencies, like the one in Australia that this article came from, could share his victory around the world.  It is great to see nations moving forward and religious minorities gain their rights.

            All three of these articles were great examples of ways that minority religious groups have tried to influence the government.  

Model UN reflection

1) The thing that I enjoyed the most about the Model UN simulation was the way in which we, for an extended period of time, were another country and essentially other people.  We all were given different characters to be that we had to research and develop in order to act as them in the international arena.  It was a lot of fun to have some “power” and be able to think and work as a team and country in order to handle crises and push our country’s agenda.  It was also really cool to try to forget our own personal thoughts and agendas in order to act purely as our country.

2) Looking back now, I would definitely say that I was prepared enough to act in my role of my country.  It was definitely very useful to research specific areas individually so that we could all bring our own information to the table when we felt that it was useful or important.  However, writing our paper on the general information of Kuwait was also extremely useful because it gave everyone common ground and information so that they could still participate, even when the topic did not exactly fit in with our own research, we could still participate.  It also gave us a better sense of our country’s position and goals in the world.

3) In general, I was really happy with the way in which our group interacted and acted as our state.  I feel that, with excluding our decision to assassinate the Prime Minister of China, all of our actions were true to the nature of Kuwait.  We carefully balanced out all of the options and factors that could have an impact on our decision in order to make an accurate and informed decision.  One decision that I was particularly proud of was the way in which we dealt with the crisis surrounding the struggle between our elected government and traditional heredity to the throne.  W e managed to keep our state’s traditions in mind while trying to move forward and embrace Western ideals, much like our government would do and is doing.  Particularly we gave our elected government a ¾ over ride vote to bring parliament back into session when the Emir decides to dissolve it.

4)One action that I do wish our group had undertaken is surrounding our relations with China.  When China decided to send us unwanted and unneeded aid, we decided to send it to Darfur.  One reason we did this was to make sure that we did not appear to be weak to the other nations.  In turn China decided to support our action in sending aid to Darfur.  However, currently China’s actions in Sudan have been questioned because they are not taking any actions to reprimand Sudan.  Therefore, I do not believe that, in reality, China would have supported our decision fully.  For that reason I would have liked to have publically “called out” the Chinese government in their actions in the Darfur region and their decision to support our actions.  

Religion In Kuwait

Religion is an extremely important institution in The State of Kuwait.  The majority of people in Kuwait are Muslim, consisting of nearly 85% of the population.  In fact, Islam is so popular in Kuwait that much of the political practices of the Kuwaiti government revolve around Islamic principles.  For example Kuwait’s Constitution states that “the religion of the State is Islam, and the Islamic Shari’a shall be a main source of legislation”.  Therefore, it is clear that Islam is a major source of power in Kuwait.  It is deeply ingrained in the social and political life in Kuwait.  As a matter of fact, Islam is a major uniting factor for the people within Kuwait.  The demographics of Kuwait are very interesting because only 45% of people in Kuwait are actually Kuwaiti.  35% of the people are from other Arab nations, 9% are from Asia, 4% are from Iran, and 7% are from other parts of the world.  However, because nearly 85% of the people are Muslim, the religion creates common ground among the people of Kuwait.  It is for that reason that religion is such a major influence in Kuwait.

            Out of the 85% of people living in Kuwait that are Muslims, approximately 70% are Sunni and 30% are Shi’a.  The Shi’a in Kuwait make up a very diverse population of people, many of them immigrants from other places.  A large portion of the Shi’a are from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, or Iran.  Many of the Shi’a of Iranian origin speak Persian and Arabic.  Because of these close ties to Iran that many Shi’a feel, a sense of conflict was created as a result of the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980’s.  Many of the Shi’a in Kuwait began experiencing a renewed sense of sectarian identification.  The sectarian identification was also due to an increase in governmental and social discrimination.  As a result, the 1980s were filled with a sense of tension between the Sunnis and Shi’a.  The remains of this tension still linger within the social climate of Kuwait.  However, even with the ruling family and majority of people in Kuwait being Sunni, the Shi’a are allowed to practice their traditional forms of worship without government interference.  The constitution of Kuwait declares that all people are equal in human dignity, and in public rights and duties before the law, without distinction as to race, origin, language or religion.

            Islamic tradition is deeply engrained in Kuwait’s political structure.  The Islamic Sharia is the main source of legislation.  However, the government is required to protect the freedom of practicing any religion so long as the way that the people practice their religion does not interfere with public policy or morals.  However, expatriate religions that are not sanctioned in the Koran, including Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists are not allowed to build places of worship; they are required instead to practice their religions in their homes.  There are, however, some expatriate Christian denominations that are legally recognized in Kuwait.  These denominations include a Catholic diocese and several Protestant churches.  One interesting fact about Kuwait is that the government prohibits Muslims from converting to another religion and it also prohibits the religious education of religions other than Islam.  Recently, a former Muslim by the name of Robert Hussein was convicted of apostasy for converting to Christianity.  He was ordered to pay all legal costs and affected certain personal rights, such as child custody and property inheritance.  At one point, the judge and other citizens spoke up saying that the Koran stated that death should be the punishment for apostasy.  However, the government invaded on Hussein’s behalf and protected his constitutional rights.  Kuwaiti law also prohibits the establishment of non-Islamic publishing companies and it prohibits non-Muslims from becoming citizens. 

            Kuwaiti government even has its own family court system revolving around Islam.    There is a Sunni court and a Shi’a court that deal with family law matters.  Furthermore, there is an appellate court for the Sunnis, for the occasions in which a person wants to make an appeal to a higher court.  However, there is no Shi’a appellate court, meaning that if a Shi’a wanted to make an appeal to a higher court they would have to appeal to the Sunni appellate court.  These family courts are based out of Islamic law.  However, there are separate domestic courts for non-Muslims. 

            It is very clear that religion, especially Islam, is a monumental force in Kuwait.  Because such a large percentage of the people subscribe to one religion, it has seeped into the very foundation upon which the nation was built and has become a dominating factor in social and political matters.  There is not a single issue that occurs in Kuwait that is not approached at least once on a religious level whether it pertains to foreign policy, domestic policy, or the economy.  

Religion In International Politics- Interesting Interactions

            As it has been shown, religion plays an extremely important role in the way that a nation operates both domestically and internationally.  Religion can be the glue that holds a nation together or the force that is keeping it apart.  It is often the source for alliances between two nations, but can also be used to pose two nations against one another.  Even in a nation such as the United States, where freedom of religion is practiced and cherished, it is hard to deny the importance of religion.  Out of the 44 presidents that we have had, each one has been a Christian.  In fact, no person of another religion has even come close to being the president.  Furthermore, the United States was founded upon “Christian ideals” and phrases and actions such as “one nation under God” and taking an oath on the bible are used everyday in our society.  However, some of the most interesting examples of religion in international politics come from when two different religions meet and interact for the betterment of the world; especially when these groups cross international boundaries.  Three important examples demonstrate the power that mystery that surrounds the interaction between two different religions and the impact that their interactions can have on a nation or even the world at large.  The first of these interactions discusses the nation of Bahrain and their relations with the Jewish people in their country.  The second involves a small group of Catholics in Cape Verdean whom have decided to embrace their Jewish ancestry.  The third and final example comes from President Barack Obama’s recent efforts to calm the tension between the United States and the Muslim world. 

            The story behind the Jewish people in the nation of Bahrain is an extremely interesting one.  Bahrain is an extremely small Muslim nation, which is surrounded by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Iran, and the U.A.E, which are all Muslim nations as well.  In fact, the Jewish population in Bahrain consists of only thirty-six people.  These people are “mostly descendants of merchants from Iraq and Iran whose families have lived in Bahrain for centuries, experts here said” (New York Times) and are older adults.  However, unlike many of his fellow Muslim monarchs, the king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, has outwardly shown support for the Jewish community.  At one point in time, in the 1940s, the Jewish population in Bahrain consisted of nearly six hundred people.  However, after Israel became a state in 1948, many of the Jews in Bahrain moved away to the newly formed Jewish country.  The numbers have been dwindling ever since.  Some of the major steps that Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has taken in support of the Jewish community include appointing a Jewish woman as the ambassador to the United States and appointing Jewish business leaders to the Shura Council, which is the council that acts as an upper house in Parliament, among other things.  However, these gestures towards the Jewish community stir up negative feelings in another community in Bahrain.  A group of Shiite Muslims in Bahrain sees the actions of the Sunni King as an insult to them.  “Shiites complain that the 36 Jews are treated better than they are, and that the king’s Jewish outreach is intended to make Bahrain appear to be a tolerant society, papering over the systemic discrimination they say they experience” (New York Times).  This relationship creates a very interesting atmosphere in Bahrain.  Personally, I believe that the support that the king of Bahrain has been showing to the Jewish community is outstanding.  For a Muslim nation that is surrounded by other Muslim nations to go out on a limb to reach out to their Jewish community, no matter how small, is incredible.  This is especially true due to the current climate in the Middle East with tensions soaring between Jews and Muslims due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Any step that can be taken towards a peace between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East I see as a huge positive.

            Another interesting interaction between religions occurred in Cape Verdean, a small nation consisting of many islands, off the shore western shore of Africa.  The majority of the people in Cape Verdean are a mix of black African and Portuguese descent, making them Creole.  Also, over eighty-five percent of the population of Cape Verdean is Roman Catholic.  Interestingly, a group of these Roman Catholics in Cape Verdean decided to embrace their Jewish roots by participating in a Jewish Serder in the basement of a Catholic church.  Another motivation for their continued observance of this Jewish tradition stems from a murder of three Cape Verdeans by a man who was a white supremacist that was planning on killing Jews.  “In light of the fact that both of our communities needed some healing after that tragedy, this even serves that purpose” (WBUR).  I find this interaction of faiths to be extremely interesting for multiple reasons.  Firstly, a society that is so strongly Catholic rarely ever strays to anything outside of their traditions because of the strict structure of the denomination.  Therefore, to hear about a Seder being performed in the basement of a Catholic church by a society that has been Catholic and strictly Catholic for hundreds of years is fairly shocking.  Another reason for my interest in the story comes from their reasoning behind their interest in the Jewish faith and traditions.  Personally, I would have thought the connection would have been because of Christianity’s lineage to Judaism and not from each individual’s possible lineage to someone who is Jewish.  It seems as if the people are more concerned with having Jewish ancestors rather than the close ties that the religions have to one another, which I find interesting. 

            One final example comes from the San Francisco Chronicle on April 7^th.  President Barack Obama recently took a trip to multiple Islamic countries in the Middle East and has been promoting an attitude of togetherness and peace between the United States and the Muslim community.  This is a stance that has never been seen before from a President of the United States.  President Obama is using his Muslim heritage as an important tool to reach out to the Muslim world.  According to the article “he's the first president to talk about respect for the Muslim world”.  However, one problem with President Obama tapping into his Muslim heritage to extended a peaceful hand towards the Muslims is that many of the people who accuse President Obama of being Muslim in the United States will see this as further proof.  Although President Obama is a Christian, during his presidential campaign many right wing republicans accused Obama of being a Muslim and the fact that he is reaching back to his Muslim heritage will only further these claims.  However, with all of that said, I believe that what President Obama is doing in these Islamic countries is amazing.  For one thing, the fact that, so far, his gestures have been well received shows that the Muslim world at large is willing to cooperate and work with the United States.  President Obama realized that one of the major problems with the Muslim community is that many of these people are feeling like they are being ignored and disrespected.  The way that President Obama has handled this situation thus far has been far better than any other United States President to date.  

Religion in International Politics- Peace

            When religion is mixed with international politics, the result, or at least the thing that is most often reported, is a conflict.  Religious conflict is seen in the news everyday.  The news constantly reports religious conflicts ranging from the conflict in the Middle East between Muslims and Jews to the religious intolerance in Africa to the constant tension between the United States and the Arab world to the divisions within religions including the rift between Sunnis and Shi’a.  Clearly, most often when religion and international politics are in the news a major conflict is the topic.  However, not all news about religion is bad news.  In fact, all over the world giant strides are being made toward religious tolerance and peace.  One example of this is from a group of forty-five teens in Nashville, another from the co-chairmen of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, and a third from a large convention of forty-five interfaith organizations from around the world.  These three examples prove that not everything that involves religion and international politics is a bad thing.

            On Sunday February 15, 2009 a group of 45 Muslim and Jewish teenagers met in Brentwood, Tennessee to discuss the fighting that recently took place in Gaza between Israeli and Palestinian forces.  The point of this gathering was to try to develop a better understanding between the teens of two different religions.  Hopefully, both groups would come out with an appreciation for the other religion and possibly even influence the future of this conflict.  Maybe they would even inspire their parents and larger Jewish and Muslim communities to approach each other with more respect, rather than just resorting to anger, shouting, and violence right away.  One very interesting aspect of the discussions that took place was that no adults were allowed to participate; it was strictly to be one group of young adults talking to another.  Throughout the conversations the teenagers discussed many important topics ranging from the history of Zionism to the current conflict and the reasons behind it to the future of the conflict and possible resolutions (including the two state solution).  Both groups were heavily educated on the practices, traditions, and history of the other so that they might learn that their religions are not all together that different.  One of the Muslim students made a very profound conclusion after learning more about the history of Judaism.  He said, "We should focus on our similarities, and less on our differences”.  In all the dialogue that took place was very productive and both sides took a great deal out of the meeting.  One student put it simply, saying, "Everybody wants to meet halfway, but no one knows where halfway is”. 

            In Nigeria, the two co-chairmen of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council are calling for political action to be taken to enforce the preaching of religious tolerance.  One of the co-chairs, Rt. Rev. John Onaiyekan, “has advocated sanctions for religious leaders who preach inciting messages as a way of curtailing incessant religious crisis in the country”.  The other co-chair, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Muhammad Abubakar III, has also spoken up for political involvement in religious tolerance.  He is advocating for “a constitutional advisory role for traditional rulers to enable them contribute meaningfully to forging peace”.  The religious problems that are occurring in Nigeria are often preventable.  However, many religious preachers speak negatively towards other religious groups and often incite violence against them.  Dr. Onaiyekan said, “I have not heard of any serious religious institution, whether Christian or Islam, that teaches its members to be thieves or murderers”.  In fact, he is calling for religious groups to disown and isolate themselves from preachers that preach such violence and negativity towards other religious groups.  He argued that religious groups should view themselves less as rivals and more as teammates working towards a common goal.  He said, “A social revolution backed with fervent prayers from various religious groups was needed to bring about good, honest and purposeful leadership that would promote good governance”.  The Sultan stated that “necessary institutional support as canvassed by him would enable religious and traditional institutions contribute meaningfully to national development”.  This is way important political measures must be taken to ensure that religious tolerance is seen as an important goal.  With religious tolerance achieved, Nigeria can work better as one nation. "Nigerian leaders must be true believers in the vision they have for Nigeria. It is then and only then that we can expect other Nigerians to have faith in the commitment of our leaders to the nation's developmental goals and objectives".

            A third group that is dedicated to the maintenance of peace between religious groups is the United Nations.  A coalition of forty-five members was formed to advance a “United Nations Decade for Inter-Religious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding, and Cooperation for Peace”.  This decade will start in 2011 and last until 2020.  This coalition will promote the peaceful talks and relations between various religions.  The coalition calls for a “new spirit of solidarity and a powerful injection of moral and ethical values into our business and political lives".  These religious organizations will hopefully allow an important dialogue to take place between these religious communities. "Time and space created by the decade should make a difference for the poor, marginalized, and oppressed peoples of the world".  I believe that this is a huge step taken by the United Nations.  This international system crossed over state boundaries to focus on an issue that often transcends international politics, religion.  It is my hope that through this decade, great strides can be taken to heal wounds that certain religious groups have inflicted on one another, including between the Jewish people of Israel and the Muslims of Palestine.  

Kuwait- Model United Nations

The State of Kuwait is a small country in the Middle East.  It is located at the northern end of the Persian Gulf; to the northeast of Saudi Arabia and at the northern end of Iraq.  In all, Kuwait is only slightly larger than the state of Hawaii.  Generally, the land of Kuwait is mostly sandy and barren due to the desert topography.  Furthermore, due to the fact that Kuwait is located in a desert climate the air is very dry and the summers are very long and hot while the winters are short and cool.  There are six governorates in Kuwait; Al Ahmadi, Al ‘Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra’, Hawalli, and Mubarak al Kabir and the capital of Kuwait is Kuwait.  The area of Kuwait stretches out 6,880 square miles and the population of Kuwait is estimated around 2.9 million people (as estimated by the United Nations in 2008).  The major language of Kuwait is Arabic with the prominent religion practiced being Islam.  The GNI per capita is US $31,640 (as estimated by the World Bank in 2007).  The average life expectancy of a male in Kuwait is 76 years while the average life expectancy of a female in Kuwait is 80 years. 

There have been traces of people located in the area of Kuwait dating back to the 3rd millennium BC.  In fact, during the 18^th and 19^th centuries parts of Kuwait were controlled by the Ottoman Empire.  The State of Kuwait as we know it today gained its independence in 1961 when Britain ended its protectorate over it.  Until that point, Britain controlled the foreign relations and defense for Al-Sabah, the dynasty that ruled Kuwait.  However, less than thirty years later, in 1990, Iraq, a neighboring nation to Kuwait, launched an attack against Kuwait and eventually overran it.  However, a United States led UN coalition intervened on the behalf of Kuwait and after four days, completely liberated Kuwait.  Today, there is still some tensions between Kuwait and Iraq, as no maritime boundary exists between the two countries in the Persian Gulf.  However, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are in the process of drawing their maritime boundaries with Iran. 

The political system in Kuwait is extremely complex.  Kuwait is a Constitutional Emirate with a parliamentary system.  In this political system the chief of state, Emir Sabah al-Ahmad has the most political authority.   The Emir, what we call the chief of state is passed down genetically through the al Sabah family.  The Emir has the power to appoint the prime minister and the deputy prime ministers.  Therefore, each member of the executive branch of the government, which consists of the Emir, Prime Minister, First Deputy Prime Minister, two other Deputy Prime Ministers, and the Council of Ministers, is not elected to their position.  They are either given the position through blood or appointed to their position by a higher authority.  The legislative branch of government is Kuwait’s National Assembly.  There are fifty seats in the National Assembly and the members are elected by popular vote to these positions where they serve four-year terms.  Furthermore, the cabinet members in the executive branch must first be ex officio voting members of the National Assembly.  In order to vote for the National Assembly representatives in Kuwait you must be 21 years of age and must have been a citizen of Kuwait for 20 years.  There was a recent struggle for the women’s right for suffrage that eventually led to the right being granted on May 16, 2005.  However, males that are in the military or police are not allowed to vote.  The judicial branch of the Kuwait government is extremely complex.  There are many different court systems on the lower level including summary courts in each administrative district.  The High Court of Appeals is a major system in the Kuwaiti judiciary system.  It is broken into two chambers, one involving personal status and civil cases and others involving commercial and criminal cases.  The highest court in the Kuwaiti judiciary system is the Superior Constitutional Court, which is a five-member court that discusses disputes related to the constitutionality of laws, statutes and by-laws.  There are also religious courts that decide family issues.  There is one for Sunni and one for Shi’a; however, there is no Shi’a appellate court, so if the Shi’a want to appeal in religious court, they must do so in a Sunni appellate court.  The last major feature of the Kuwaiti political system is that there are no legal political parties in existence.  There are, however, some de facto political parties that exist including The Islamic Constitutional Movement, The National Democratic Alliance, The National Islamic Alliance, The Islamic Salafi Alliance, The Popular Action Bloc, and The Justice and Peace Alliance.

Kuwait is known in the economic world as a small, wealthy, open economy with a strong influence in the area of oil.  They currently contain approximately 8% of the world’s oil reserves, which comes out to approximately 104 billion barrels.  The Kuwaiti economy is heavily reliant on oil.  It accounts for close to half of their GDP.  Furthermore, it includes 95% of their export revenues and 80% of their government income.  One major reason for their recent economic growth is because of the enormously high oil prices in 2008.  However, the recent financial crisis may end up hindering their recent growth.  The unemployment rate seems to be relatively low in Kuwait, only 2.2%.  This is compared to 7.2% in the United States.  Kuwait produces practically no crops that can be used as a commodity.  However, fishing is used as an agriculture product.  The major industries include petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, and construction materials.  The major trading partners of Kuwait include Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, the United States, Netherlands, China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Italy. 

Kuwait is currently a member of the United nations and various other related agencies including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.  Kuwait also played a major role in Operation Iraqi freedom by reserving 60% of its total landmass for use by coalition forces in 2002 and 2003.  Kuwait still is still involved in the United States efforts in Iraq and is a major part in the reconstruction efforts in Iraq. 

After Kuwait’s liberation in the Gulf War, there have been significant improvements in their defense system.  Before the Gulf War their military unit was very small and consisted of an army, navy, and air force units with most of the equipment coming from the United Kingdom.  However, recently Kuwait has made great strides in improving the size and developing the military technology of its armed forces. 

In all, Kuwait is a much younger player on the international scene.  However, in recent years the nation has taken great strides in becoming a more familiar name in international relations.  However, this is difficult due to the geography of the nation, which makes almost everything difficult.  With wealth increasing due to oil exports and production, Kuwait may continue to rise.