LitArk » Books » Science

Mark C. Thompson - Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society

Here you can read online Mark C. Thompson - Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society full text of the book (entire story) in english for free. Download pdf and epub, get meaning, cover and reviews about this ebook. City: London, year: 2014, publisher: I.B. Tauris, genre: Science / Politics. Description of the work, (preface) as well as reviews are available. Best literature library LitArk.com created for fans of good reading and offers a wide selection of genres:

Romance novel Science fiction Adventure Detective Science History Home and family Prose Art Politics Computer Non-fiction Religion Business Children Humor

Choose a favorite category and find really read worthwhile books. Enjoy immersion in the world of imagination, feel the emotions of the characters or learn something new for yourself, make an fascinating discovery.

Book:
Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society
Author:
Mark C Thompson
Publisher:
I.B. Tauris
Genre:
Science / Politics
Year:
2014
City:
London
Rating:
4 / 5
Favourites:
Add to favourites
Your mark:
- 80
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5

Description
Author's other books
Similar books

Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society: summary, description and annotation

We offer to read an annotation, description, summary or preface (depends on what the author of the book "Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society" wrote himself). If you haven't found the necessary information about the book — write in the comments, we will try to find it.

State-society dialogue in Saudi Arabia is one of the most contested issues in the country today, yet little is known about the National Dialogue process, and its relationship with Saudi society is frequently and widely misunderstood. The first to examine the Saudi Arabian National Dialogue process in its entirety, Mark C. Thompson investigates the relationship between the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND) and the key social constituencies of Saudi society. Since its establishment in 2003, the KACND has attempted to promote a culture of dialogue and has encouraged the debate of contentious socio-political issues by bringing individuals together from across the Kingdom. Drawing on Antonio Gramscis theory of hegemony, the author asks whether the Saudi socio-political system is moving from a form of patrimonial state to one of ideological hegemony and, if this is the case, whether the KACND is a catalyst, or even a driving force, in this transition.Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change investigates the practices and the impact of the KACND and assesses the extent to which the institutions activities, and the ongoing National Dialogue process, represent a viable attempt to address emerging political concerns in Saudi Arabia. Covering pivotal issues including womens empowerment, public health and employment, the author here explores the extensive impact of the KACNDs activities on internal cross-constituency communication and discourse and shows how the process relates to wider regime strategies and to the evolution of the Saudi polity. Based on approximately 120 interviews conducted in Saudi Arabia from 2009 to 2011 and drawing on the evidence of a wide range of focus groups and interviews with National Dialogue participants, KACND officials, government ministers, lawyers and journalists, this book provides a unique insight into the effects and consequences of Saudi National Dialogue, and questions the extent to which wider ideological debate is possible in the Kingdom.

Mark C. Thompson: author's other books

Who wrote Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society? Find out the surname, the name of the author of the book and a list of all author's works by series.

Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Mark C. Thompson is Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia. He completed his PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter. He has worked in Saudi Arabia intermittently since January 2001.

Published in 2014 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd

6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU

175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010

www.ibtauris.com

Distributed in the United States and Canada

Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan

175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010

The right of Mark C Thompson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Library of Modern Middle East Studies 159

ISBN 978 1 78076 671 3

eISBN 978 0 85773 623 9

A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

A full CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

Library of Congress catalog card: available

Typeset in Garamond Three by OKS Prepress Services, Chennai, India

References to websites were accurate at the time of writing

To the memory of my parents

For all the Saudis, throughout the Kingdom, interviewees, colleagues, students and friends who have shown me so much hospitality and kindness over the years

CONTENTS

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ACPRA	Saudi Political Rights Association
ARAMCO	Saudi Arabian Oil Company
ASDAA	ASDAA Burson-Marsteller
BBC	British Broadcasting Corporation
CEO	Chief Executive Officer
CFBT	Centre for British Teachers
DGI	Directorate of General Investigation
Est	Estimated
EU	European Union
GCC	Gulf Cooperation Council
GID	General Intelligence Directorate
GSN	Gulf States Newsletter
HRW	Human Rights Watch
ICG	International Crisis Group
ISI	Institute for Scientific Information
KAAU	King Abdulaziz University
KACND	King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue
KAUST	King Abdullah University for Science and
Technology
KFCRIS	King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies
KFU	King Faisal University
KFUPM	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
KPI	Key Performance Indicators
KSU	King Saud University
MBC	Middle East Broadcasting Corporation
MEMRI	The Middle East Media Research Institute
MENA	Middle East and North Africa
MP	Member of Parliament
NCAAA	Saudi Stages in Accreditation for New Institutions Responsible to the Ministry of Higher Education
NGO	Non-Governmental Organization
SAR	Saudi Arabian Riyal
NSC	Saudi National Security Council
NSHR	National Society for Human Rights
OIC	Organization of Islamic Cooperation
OIR	The Organisation of the Islamic Revolution
PMU	Prince Mohammed bin Fahd University
PSU	Prince Sultan University
RCCI	Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry
SABIC	Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation
SANG	Saudi Arabian National Guard
SCCCIA	Saudi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture
SHRC	Saudi Human Rights Commission
SUSRIS	Saudi-US Relations Information Service
SWOT	Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
TQM	Total Quality Management
UAE	United Arab Emirates
UK	United Kingdom
USA	United States of America
UNESCO	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
WTO	World Trade Organization

INTRODUCTION

National dialogue, state-society dialogue and demands for socio-political reform have been discussed widely since the advent of the so-called Arab Spring, in a highly visible intensification of a longer-running trend. The Arab world had, until then, come to be seen in the public eye as well as in much of academia, as an exceptional case where successive waves of democratization appeared to have no grip and authoritarianism proved especially persistent. The Arab Spring shattered this view, although by the same token at least some of the monarchies in the Arab world remained less perturbed. Even here, though, discussion proliferated and governments reacted in diverse ways.

Citizens across the Arab world have been questioning the lack of access to state actors and institutions and, in addition, to the narrow degree of participation in the political process. Whilst the internal dynamics of individual nations vary greatly, many of the societal issues and problems highlighted: unemployment; womens rights; youth aspirations; increased cost of living and education; resonate with societies across the region, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

However, in the Saudi context and prior to the Arab Spring, specific programmes had already been initiated to address these concerns under the umbrella of a process often referred to simply as the National Dialogue, organized by an institution named The King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND; in Arabic normally referred to as majlis al-hiwar al-watani).

KACND has its supporters and detractors both inside and outside Saudi Arabia. However, the role of the institution is often either misinterpreted or misunderstood by foreign observers and indeed sometimes within Saudi society. Whilst the annual National Meetings for Intellectual Dialogue attract most attention, the institution is also responsible for a wide variety of other dialogue-related activities that involve individuals across the Kingdom and at all societal levels. The aim of this book is to assess the extent to which the activities of KACND and the National Dialogue process represent a viable attempt to address socio-political issues and whether the on-going dialogue process accurately reflects the aspirations and concerns of contemporary Saudi society. It also attempts to advance our understanding of Saudi Arabias National Dialogue institution and to appraise its significance by examining its various forums and activities as well as the attitudes of participants, observers and critics.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society»

Look at similar books to Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Susan Katz Keating

Saudi Arabia

Tim Niblock

State, Society and Economy in Saudi Arabia (RLE Saudi Arabia)

Mordechai Abir

Saudi Arabia in the Oil Era (RLE Saudi Arabia)

Grace Edwards

Working and Living in Saudi Arabia

Naser M. Al-Tamimi

China-Saudi Arabia Relations, 1990-2012: Marriage of Convenience or Strategic Alliance?

Anthony Cordesman

Western Strategic Interests in Saudi Arabia (RLE Saudi Arabia)

Joseph A. Kéchichian

Legal and Political Reforms in Saudi Arabia

Joshua Teitelbaum

Saudi Arabia and the New Strategic Landscape

Mordechai Abir

Saudi Arabia in the Oil Era: Regime and Elites; Conflict and Collaboration

House of Āl Saʻūd

Sleeping with the devil: how Washington sold our soul for Saudi crude

Nadav Samin

Of Sand or Soil: Genealogy and Tribal Belonging in Saudi Arabia

Peter North

CultureShock! Saudi Arabia. A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

Reviews about «Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society»

Discussion, reviews of the book Saudi Arabia and the Path to Political Change: National Dialogue and Civil Society and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.