Salman's Legacy: The Dilemmas of a New Era in Saudi Arabia

by Madawi Al-Rasheed

Overview

King Salman of Saudi Arabia began his rule in 2015 confronted with a series of unprecedented challenges. The dilemmas he has faced are new and significant, from leadership shuffles and falling oil prices to regional and international upheaval. Salman's Legacy interrogates this era and assesses its multiple social, political, regional and international challenges. Whether Salman's policies have saved the kingdom from serious upheaval is yet to be seen, but no doubt a new kingdom is emerging. This book offers historical and contemporary insights into the various problems that persist in haunting the Saudi state. Madawi Al-Rasheed brings together well-established historians and social scientists with deep knowledge of Saudi Arabia--its history, culture and contemporary politics--to reflect on Salman's kingdom. They trace both policy continuities and recent ruptures that have perplexed observers of Saudi Arabia. This lucid and nuanced analysis invites serious reflection on the Saudi leadership's capacity to withstand the recent challenges, especially those that came with the Arab uprisings. At stake is the future of a country that remains vital to regional stability, international security, and the global economy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190050269
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/01/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Madawi Al-Rasheed is Visiting Professor at the Middle East Centre, London School of Economics. In 2016, she was Visiting Research Professor at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore. She is the author of several books on Saudi Arabia. Her latest, Muted Modernists: The Struggle Over Divine Politics in Saudi Arabia, was published by Hurst in 2016.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

List of Contributors xi

Introduction: The Dilemmas of a New Era Madawi Al-Rasheed 1

Part I State and Society

1 Saudi Regime Stability and Challenges F. Gregory Cause III 31

2 Mystique of Monarchy: The Magic of Royal Succession in Saudi Arabia Madawi Al-Rasheed 45

3 Challenges to the Saudi Distributional State in the Age of Austerity Steffen Hertog 73

4 Beyond Sectarianism and Ideology: Regionalism and Collective Political Action in Saudi Arabia Sultan Alamer 97

5 From Hasm to Hazm: Saudi Feminism beyond Patriarchal Bargaining Nora Doaiji 117

Part II Saudi Arabia and Transnational Salafiyya

6 Producing Salafism: From Invented Tradition to State Agitprop Andrew Hammond 147

7 Transnational Religious Community and the Salafi Mission Michael Farquhar 165

8 Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic State: Abdullah ibn Jibrin and Turki al-Bin'ali Cole Bunzel 183

9 Parricide in the Kingdom: Genealogy, Nationalism, and the Islamic State Challenge Nadav Samin 197

Part III Foreign Relations

10 Saudi Arabia and the Cold War Toby Matthiesen 217

11 King Salman and His Son: Wirming the USA, Losing the Rest Madawi Al-Rasheed 235

12 China's 'Rise' in the Gulf: A Saudi Perspective Naser al-Tamimi 251

Notes 273

Select Bibliography 335

Index 351

Editorial Reviews

"Salman's Legacy offers a timely and extremely relevant look at a kingdom in flux. The contributors shed valuable light on the country that Mohammed bin Salman looks set to rule for decades to come. This volume assesses and contextualizes the accelerated pace of change in Saudi Arabia, where an old order is giving way rapidly to a new but uncertain future." — Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, author of Insecure Gulf: The End of Certainty and the Transition to the Post-Oil Era and Qatar and the Arab Spring

"In this meticulously edited volume, Madawi Al-Rasheed solidifies her reputation as the leading scholar on Saudi Arabia. Comprehensive in its scope, nuanced in its interpretation, with a plethora of fresh historical and political insights, no serious student of contemporary Saudi Arabia can afford to ignore this book." — Nader Hashemi, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver

"A timely intervention into some of the major debates concerning Saudi Arabia in the twenty-first century. Offering a wealth of new insight, the contributors depict a Saudi Arabia that is more complex, diverse, and globally central than much of the scholarship so often claims. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the contemporary regional landscape." — Rosie Bsheer, Assistant Professor of History, Yale University, co-editor of The Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of An Old Order?

"In Salman's Legacy, a series of academics examine the meaning and impact of the new policies, looking at the function of the state, regional and foreign policy, economics, and religion. As with all essay collections, the quality varies, but the range highlights just how many aspects of Saudi society are in transition-although it's hard to predict to what, exactly." - Lindsey Hilsum The New York Review of Books

From the Publisher