ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to report the findings of two separate studies that sought to examine the political socialization processes in Kuwait. A Kuwaiti, when compared with an expatriate, is indeed a member of a privileged and affluent group. In a region of the world where political freedoms are not the norm, thirty-five thousand Kuwaiti men have recently elected a consultative body, a parliament. The Palestinians constitute the largest single expatriate community in Kuwait. The relationship between support for Arafat and trust in the Palestine Liberation Organization and support fo r the Amir and trust in the Kuwaiti system of government is difficult to analyze vigorously because of the lack of longitudinal data. Placed in the context of comparative socialization research, the cases of Palestinian and Kuwaiti youths seem to support the "benevolent leader thesis." Given the comparative newness of both political systems, the growth and intensity of support for the leaders and their political systems are impressive.
