Informal Networks And Saudi Regime Stability

Author : David H. McAllister
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781423565222
Total Pages : 122 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Informal Networks and Saudi Regime Stability written by David H. McAllister and published by . This book was released on 1997-09-01 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The increasingly vocal Islamist opposition to the Saudi regime, which gathered strength following the Gulf War, lent new urgency to predictions of the regime's demise. The fact that the Saud family has retained control of the government throughout this period of gloomy forecasting prompts the question - how has the Saudi regime managed to confound popular expectations and maintain power in the face of increasing Islamist opposition? The central thesis of this study is that the Saudi government has prevented opposition groups from gaining significant popular following or developing power bases by eliminating or controlling informal networks within Saudi Arabia. This position differs from the most widely accepted explanations, which center around oil revenues resulting from the 1970's oil boom as the key factor in the longevity of the royal family. While undoubtedly an important tool used liberally by the Al Saud, this thesis argues oil revenues are secondary in importance and only part of a much larger and more significant effort in the regime's struggle against its opposition. This study assesses whether Islamist opposition can seriously challenge the Saudi government by analyzing three case studies (concerning Pakistan and Egypt as well as Saudi Arabia) which consider how Islamist groups organize, what types of organizations are successfull in challenging central authority, and how regimes respond to such challenges. Placing this information in context with the dominant roles tribe, class, and religion play in Saudi society provides a better foundation for assessing the future stability of the Saudi regime than traditional rentier theory.

Author : Stig Stenslie
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0415693349
Total Pages : 183 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Regime Stability in Saudi Arabia written by Stig Stenslie and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the structure of political power amongst elites inside Saudi Arabia and how they might cope with the very serious challenge posed by succession. Presenting a new and refreshing theoretical approach that links elite integration with regime stability, the author shows that the kingdom's royal elite is far more integrated than it has generally been given credit for. Based on extensive field work inside Saudi Arabia, the book offers a detailed, up-to-date survey and assessment of all the key sectors of the elites in the country. The author examines how the succession process has been used in highly different circumstances - including deposition, assassination, and death by old age - and demonstrates how regime stability in Saudi Arabia rests on the royal family's ability to unite and to solve the challenge of succession. He offers a strong analysis of intra-ruling family mechanisms and dynamics in this notoriously private royal family, and addresses the question of whether, as the number of royals rapidly grows, the elite is able to remain integrated. Providing a rare insight into the issues facing the royal family and ruling elite in Saudi Arabia, this book will be of great interest to scholars and students of Middle Eastern politics, and Saudi Arabia in particular.

Author : F Gregory Gause, III
Publisher : Council on Foreign Relations
ISBN 13 : 0876095171
Total Pages : 64 pages
Book Rating : 4.71/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Saudi Arabia in the New Middle East written by F Gregory Gause, III and published by Council on Foreign Relations. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States'' relationship with Saudi Arabia has been one of the cornerstones of U.S. policy in the Middle East for decades. Despite their substantial differences in history, culture, and governance, the two countries have generally agreed on important political and economic issues and have often relied on each other to secure mutual aims. The 1990-91 Gulf War is perhaps the most obvious example, but their ongoing cooperation on maintaining regional stability, moderating the global oil market, and pursuing terrorists should not be downplayed. Yet for all the relationship''s importance, it is increasingly imperiled by mistrust and misunderstanding. One major question is Saudi Arabia''s stability. In this Council Special Report, sponsored by the Center for Preventive Action, F. Gregory Gause III first explores the foundations of Riyadh''s present stability and potential sources of future unrest. It is difficult not to notice that Saudi Arabia avoided significant upheaval during the political uprisings that swept the Middle East in 2011, despite sharing many of the social and economic problems of Egypt, Yemen, and Libya. But unlike their counterparts in Cairo, Sanaa, and Tripoli, Riyadh''s leadership was able to maintain order in large part by increasing public spending on housing and salaries, relying on loyal and well-equipped security forces, and utilizing its extensive patronage networks. The divisions within the political opposition also helped the government''s cause. This is not to say that Gause believes that the stability of the House of Saud is assured. He points out that the top heirs to the throne are elderly and the potential for disorderly squabbling may increase as a new generation enters the line of succession. Moreover, the population is growing quickly, and there is little reason to believe that oil will forever be able to buy social tranquility. Perhaps most important, Gause argues, the leadership''s response to the 2011 uprisings did little to forestall future crises; an opportunity for manageable political reform was mostly lost. Turning to the regional situation, Gause finds it no less complex. Saudi Arabia has wielded considerable influence with its neighbors through its vast oil reserves, its quiet financial and political support for allies, and the ideological influence of salafism, the austere interpretation of Islam that is perhaps Riyadh''s most controversial export. For all its wealth and religious influence, however, Saudi Arabia''s recent record has been less than successful. It was unable to counter Iranian influence in post-Saddam Iraq, it could not prevent Hezbollah taking power in Lebanon, and its ongoing efforts to reconcile Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have come to naught. The U.S.-Saudi relationship has, unsurprisingly, been affected by these and other challenges, including Saudi unhappiness with Washington''s decision to distance itself from Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the lack of progress on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and Iran. For its part, the United States is unhappy with the Saudi intervention in Bahrain and Saudi support for radical Islamists around the region and the world. The two traditional anchors of the U.S.-Saudi relationship-the Cold War and U.S. operation of Riyadh''s oil fields-are, Gause notes, no longer factors. It is no wonder, he contends, that the relationship is strained when problems are myriad and the old foundations of the informal alliance are gone. It would be far better, Gause argues, to acknowledge that the two countries can no longer expect to act in close concert under such conditions. He recommends that the United States reimagine the relationship as simply transactional, based on cooperation when interests-rather than habit-dictate. Prioritizing those interests will therefore be critical. Rather than pressuring Riyadh for domestic political reform, or asking it to reduce global oil prices, Gause recommends that the United States spend its political capital where it really matters: on maintaining regional security, dismantling terrorist networks, and preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. There have been few relationships more important to the United States than that with Saudi Arabia, and it is vital that, as it enters a new phase, the expectations and priorities of both countries are clear. In Saudi Arabia in the New Middle East, Gause effectively assesses the challenges and opportunities facing Saudi Arabia and makes a compelling argument for a more modest, businesslike relationship between Washington and Riyadh that better reflects modern realities. As the United States begins reassessing its commitments in the Greater Middle East, this report offers a clear vision for a more limited-but perhaps more appropriate and sustainable-future partnership.

Author : Paul Aarts
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 0814707181
Total Pages : 479 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Saudi Arabia in the Balance written by Paul Aarts and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2007-09 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Saudi Arabia in the Balance brings together today’s leading scholars in the field to investigate the domestic, regional, and international affairs of a Kingdom whose policies have so far eluded the outside world. With the passing of King Fahd and the installation of King Abdullah, a contemporary understanding of Saudi Arabia is essential as the Kingdom enters a new era of leadership and particularly when many Saudis themselves are increasingly debating, and actively shaping, the future direction of domestic and foreign affairs. Each of the essays, framed in the aftermath of 9/11 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, offers a systematic perspective into the country’s political and economic realities as well as the tension between its regional and global roles. Important topics covered include U.S. and Saudi relations; Saudi oil policy; the Islamist threat to the monarchy regime; educational opportunities; the domestic rise of liberal opposition; economic reform; the role of the royal family; and the country's foreign relations in a changing international world. Contributors: Paul Aarts, Madawi Al-Rasheed, Rachel Bronson, Iris Glosemeyer, Steffen Hertog, Yossi Kostiner, Stéphane Lacroix, Giacomo Luciani, Monica Malik, Roel Meijer, Tim Niblock, Gerd Nonneman, Michaela Prokop, Abdulaziz Sager, Guido Steinberg

Author : Christopher M. Blanchard
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1437928382
Total Pages : 55 pages
Book Rating : 4.89/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Saudi Arabia written by Christopher M. Blanchard and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contents: (1) Recent Developments; (2) Background: Saudi Arabia (SA)-U.S. Relations, 1931-2001; 9/11 and its Aftermath; Recent Assessments; Terrorist Financing; (3) Congress. Interest in SA: U.S. Foreign Assist. to SA and Prohibitions; Counter-terrorism Assist.; BAE Corruption Inquiry; (4) Current Issues in U.S.-SA Relations; Mil. Cooperation: Counterterrorism; Al Qaeda; Combating Extremism; Arab-Israeli Conflict; SA-Palestinian Relations; SA Policy Priorities in Iraq; U.S.-SA Trade; U.S. Oil Imports and SA Policy; SA Boycott of Israel and WTO Membership; Human Rights, Religious Freedom, and Political Reform; Leadership and Succession; Social Reform Debates and Recent Leadership Changes; Human Rights; Religious Freedom.

Author : Bernard Haykel
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107006295
Total Pages : 361 pages
Book Rating : 4.94/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Saudi Arabia in Transition written by Bernard Haykel and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-01-19 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents new insights and the most up-to-date research on Saudi Arabia's social, cultural, economic and political dynamics.

Author : Sarah Phillips
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 135122512X
Total Pages : 162 pages
Book Rating : 4.20/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Yemen and the Politics of Permanent Crisis written by Sarah Phillips and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Middle East is in the midst of considerable and unpredictable changes, but deeply patrimonial political systems do not change overnight and neither do the international and regional structures that have helped them to endure for so long. The informal rules that guide Yemeni society and its dysfunctional political settlement look set to endure, in spite of unprecedented protests. Entangled in a narrative of acute crisis and possible state failure, the country still relies on foreign assistance to prop up its ailing economy. Fearing the threat from al-Qaeda on Yemeni soil as well as the crisis of the Houthi insurgency and the southern secessionist movement, regional and Western powers have continued to bankroll the regime without taking significant steps to address the underlying causes of instability and threat. Drawing on research carried out on the ground in Yemen, this Adelphi examines the shadowy structures that govern political life and sustain a network of social elites predisposed against any far-reaching systemic reform. It looks behind the scenes at the regimes opaque internal politics, at its entrenched patronage system and at the rules of the game that will shape the behaviour of the post-Saleh rulers, to offer insights for how the West may better engage within that game

Author : Karel Černý
Publisher : Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press
ISBN 13 : 8024634279
Total Pages : 476 pages
Book Rating : 4.72/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Instability in the Middle East written by Karel Černý and published by Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press. This book was released on 2017-07-01 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Middle Eastern instability is manifest externally in many ways: by crises afflicting governing regimes, the rise of political Islam, terrorism, revolution, civil war, increased migration, and the collapse of many states. This book examines the roots of this instability using a theoretically original and empirically supported historical sociological comparative analysis. Up till now interpretations of the development of the post-colonial Middle East have been dominated by two opposing theses. The first views the region as backward, unchanging and rigid, the second as undergoing excessively rapid transformation. This book offers an alternative perspective focusing on the highly uneven and unsynchronised pace of change in individual dimensions of Middle Eastern modernisation. What we are seeing is (1) rapid socio-demographic change (a sharp increase in the population and the proportion of young people, rapid urbanisation, and the expansion of the media and education), (2) slower and unstable economic change (dependency on oil exports, high unemployment), and (3) slow or regressive political change (erosion of the capacity to govern, the absence of democratisation and liberalisation). The theoretical model employed emerged from a critical reading of theories of modernisation and a concept of multiple modernities that also allows for an interrogation of the broader cultural, religious and international political context of uneven modernisation in the Middle East. This model is then tested empirically using the time series (1960–2010) of dozens of indicators covering the demographic, social, economic and political dimensions of the modernisation process. In general the book does not concentrate on externally monitorable political actors and their rivalries, as so often is the case. Instead, it focuses on the political rivalries of deep, long-term cumulative demographic, social and economic change taking place beneath the surface. It looks at changes that are not simply taking place in individual countries of the Middle East, but since the end of the Second World War have affected the entire region and are responsible for the emergence of a Middle East completely different to that to which we were accustomed for many decades.

Author : Barry Rubin
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135288828
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.22/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Crises in the Contemporary Persian Gulf written by Barry Rubin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work addresses the main strategic issues in today's Persian Gulf, a region that could easily produce a crisis that would encourage international political and economic involvement. Topics discussed include: strategic balances, modernization, internal stability, and weapons of mass destruction.

Author : Leila Nicolas
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 104011640X
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.01/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Global and Regional Strategies in the Middle East written by Leila Nicolas and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-08-12 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global and Regional Strategies in the Middle East explores hegemony in the Middle East through understanding different dimensions of power politics and the consequences of the hegemonic ambitions of both global and regional powers. The book adds new aspects to the extensive literature on grand strategies in the Middle East by exploring and evaluating competing strategies from an "insider" perspective. First, it highlights the main determinants of Global powers' grand strategies, assesses the ones applied in the Middle East, and forecasts future strategies after the Ukraine war in alignment with other rival states' capabilities and goals. It then underlines regional dynamics and the hegemonic quest of regional powers and their power politics' determinants since the "War on terror," the Arab Spring, and, more recently, the Russian intervention in Ukraine and Israel-Gaza conflict. The book broadens readers' perspectives by clarifying the region's dynamics that shaped the global and regional power rivalries, where security concerns, economic interests, oil supplies, and hegemonic ambitions make it complicated for the US to keep influence and the total control it had during the late 20th century. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of the MENA region, International Relations and Strategic Studies.