In today's fast-changing international humanitarian landscape, non-traditional/new donors are prominent amongst the more diversified group of humanitarian donors operating in the same settings as Development Assistance Committee donors. Kuwait was the first 'new donor' in the Gulf region and was recently given the status of an 'International Humanitarian Centre' by the former UN Secretary-General for the role it played in responding to the humanitarian needs of Syria. Yet Kuwaiti humanitarianism remains under-analysed in academic research. This paper aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of Kuwait's humanitarian landscape by identifying its humanitarian actors, governing principles, preferred modalities of aid disbursement and by examining Kuwait's humanitarian strengths, weaknesses and potential.