The extent to which ideational and material concerns were driving factors in saddam's decision to invade Kuwait

الملخص EN

Objectives : This paper aims to theorize Saddam's decision to invade Kuwait in August 1990, which had a huge and changing impact on the Middle East, especially the Gulf re gion.

Such an act of aggression was not influenced by one or two variables but a consequence of inter-Arab politics as well as a product of the international environment, which was dominated by a nation-state conflict.

Method : This paper is mainly based on secondary sources, such as books and academic articles, for theorizing the stated objective and analyzing the internal and external implications of the study regarding the invasion.

However, using primary sources or competing or emphasizing narratives on the Gulf War is im possible due to the limitations of the article.

Instead, many best-known sources are cited because these materials have been carefully selected to reflect the position and ideology of Saddam during this particular time period.

Results : The dominant discourse espoused from Iraq from the end of the Iran Iraq war up to the invasion of Kuwait was the demoni zation of Gulf Arab states, especially Kuwait.

Towards this end, the regime cited material interests as antagonism for the aggressive foreign policy move but these were imbued with ideational overtones.

Conclusion : Saddam did not expect the armed response elicited by his invasion.

Material gains from the invasion would be realized in the long-term, not im mediately.

It is possible that that Saddam miscalculated the American response with hindsight.