Shades of the past : the Iraq-Kuwait dispute, 1961

Abstract EN

Bringing to bear experiences from the past, this paper offers an analysis of the relationship between Iraq and Kuwait .

from a comparative perspective , it examines the Iraqi- Kuwaiti relations as reflected in two similar crisis- namely, the Iraqi-Kuwaiti dispute of 1961 and the Iraqi claims to Kuwait in 1990.

through a well documented analysis, the article argues that the most recent crisis was a 30-year- old repeat or tragic variation on the same issues, and involved the same conflicts, the same kind of protagonist, and unfolded on the same type of conclusions.

Both crisis were absorbed and neutralized by the geopolitical realities of the system that have prevailed in the gulf region for almost two centuries.