The politics of encapsulation: Saudi policy towards tribal and religious opposition

Middle Eastern Studies

Volumn 32, Issue 1, 1996, Pages 96-119

  Al Rasheed, Madawi ^a   Al Rasheed, Loulouwa ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CONFLICT; ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE; POLITICAL OPPOSITION; STATE POWER;

SAUDI ARABIA;

EID: 0029730895     PISSN: 00263206     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00263209608701093     Document Type: Article

References (60)

1. Research on the Shammar and their Hail dynasty was conducted by M. Al-Rasheed. The Shia opposition was researched by L. Al-Rasheed in 1993. In both studies, a variety of sources and research techniques were employed. These included archival research, library and secondary sources, fieldwork and interviewing members of the opposition groups, especially those in exile.
2. Opposition in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states during the 1960s has been the subject of many publications. See for example F. Halliday, Arabia without Sultans (London, 1974).
3. The post-Gulf War Wahhabi religious opposition in Saudi Arabia is the subject of another research project. A summary of results will appear in a forthcoming article by M. Al-Rasheed, entitled, 'The Crown and the Turban: the Saudi state re-negotiating its legitimacy in the post Gulf War period' (Paris, 1996).
4. The study of political centralization in various societies where anthropologists have traditionally worked produced models to account for the evolution of these political systems. The work of American anthropologists have been influential. See for example E. Service, The Origins of State and Civilisations (New York, 1975) and M. Fried, The Evolution of Political Society: An Essay in Political Anthropology (New York, 1967). More recent studies of politics and states in primitive societies are found in H. Claessen and P. Skalnik (eds.), The Early State (the Hague, 1978) and The Study of the State (the Hague, 1981). The evolution of the state in nomadic societies is well documented in A. Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World (Cambridge, 1984).
5. The study of political centralization in various societies where anthropologists have traditionally worked produced models to account for the evolution of these political systems. The work of American anthropologists have been influential. See for example E. Service, The Origins of State and Civilisations (New York, 1975) and M. Fried, The Evolution of Political Society: An Essay in Political Anthropology (New York, 1967). More recent studies of politics and states in primitive societies are found in H. Claessen and P. Skalnik (eds.), The Early State (the Hague, 1978) and The Study of the State (the Hague, 1981). The evolution of the state in nomadic societies is well documented in A. Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World (Cambridge, 1984).
6. The study of political centralization in various societies where anthropologists have traditionally worked produced models to account for the evolution of these political systems. The work of American anthropologists have been influential. See for example E. Service, The Origins of State and Civilisations (New York, 1975) and M. Fried, The Evolution of Political Society: An Essay in Political Anthropology (New York, 1967). More recent studies of politics and states in primitive societies are found in H. Claessen and P. Skalnik (eds.), The Early State (the Hague, 1978) and The Study of the State (the Hague, 1981). The evolution of the state in nomadic societies is well documented in A. Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World (Cambridge, 1984).
7. The study of political centralization in various societies where anthropologists have traditionally worked produced models to account for the evolution of these political systems. The work of American anthropologists have been influential. See for example E. Service, The Origins of State and Civilisations (New York, 1975) and M. Fried, The Evolution of Political Society: An Essay in Political Anthropology (New York, 1967). More recent studies of politics and states in primitive societies are found in H. Claessen and P. Skalnik (eds.), The Early State (the Hague, 1978) and The Study of the State (the Hague, 1981). The evolution of the state in nomadic societies is well documented in A. Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World (Cambridge, 1984).
8. The study of political centralization in various societies where anthropologists have traditionally worked produced models to account for the evolution of these political systems. The work of American anthropologists have been influential. See for example E. Service, The Origins of State and Civilisations (New York, 1975) and M. Fried, The Evolution of Political Society: An Essay in Political Anthropology (New York, 1967). More recent studies of politics and states in primitive societies are found in H. Claessen and P. Skalnik (eds.), The Early State (the Hague, 1978) and The Study of the State (the Hague, 1981). The evolution of the state in nomadic societies is well documented in A. Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World (Cambridge, 1984).
9. D. Hiro, Inside the Middle East (London, 1982).
10. H. Lackner, A House Built on Sand: A Political Economy of Saudi Arabia (London, 1978).
11. J. Kostiner, The Making of Saudi Arabia 1916-1936 (London, 1993).
12. H. Lackner, A House Built on Sand.
13. On the rentier state within political science discourse, see H. Beblawi and G. Luciani (eds.) The Rentier State (London, 1987); G. Luiciani (ed.) The Arab State (Berkeley, 1990) and G. Salame, 'Political power and the Saudi State', MERIP Report, No.91 (October 1980). For an adaptation of the theory by anthropologists, see J. Davis, Libyan Politics: Tribe and Revolution (London, 1987) and R. Fernea, 'Technological Innovation and Class Development among the Bedouin of Hail', in B. Cannon (ed.), Terroirs et Sociétés au Maghreb et Moyen Orient (Paris, 1987).
14. On the rentier state within political science discourse, see H. Beblawi and G. Luciani (eds.) The Rentier State (London, 1987); G. Luiciani (ed.) The Arab State (Berkeley, 1990) and G. Salame, 'Political power and the Saudi State', MERIP Report, No.91 (October 1980). For an adaptation of the theory by anthropologists, see J. Davis, Libyan Politics: Tribe and Revolution (London, 1987) and R. Fernea, 'Technological Innovation and Class Development among the Bedouin of Hail', in B. Cannon (ed.), Terroirs et Sociétés au Maghreb et Moyen Orient (Paris, 1987).
15. On the rentier state within political science discourse, see H. Beblawi and G. Luciani (eds.) The Rentier State (London, 1987); G. Luiciani (ed.) The Arab State (Berkeley, 1990) and G. Salame, 'Political power and the Saudi State', MERIP Report, No.91 (October 1980). For an adaptation of the theory by anthropologists, see J. Davis, Libyan Politics: Tribe and Revolution (London, 1987) and R. Fernea, 'Technological Innovation and Class Development among the Bedouin of Hail', in B. Cannon (ed.), Terroirs et Sociétés au Maghreb et Moyen Orient (Paris, 1987).
16. On the rentier state within political science discourse, see H. Beblawi and G. Luciani (eds.) The Rentier State (London, 1987); G. Luiciani (ed.) The Arab State (Berkeley, 1990) and G. Salame, 'Political power and the Saudi State', MERIP Report, No.91 (October 1980). For an adaptation of the theory by anthropologists, see J. Davis, Libyan Politics: Tribe and Revolution (London, 1987) and R. Fernea, 'Technological Innovation and Class Development among the Bedouin of Hail', in B. Cannon (ed.), Terroirs et Sociétés au Maghreb et Moyen Orient (Paris, 1987).
17. On the rentier state within political science discourse, see H. Beblawi and G. Luciani (eds.) The Rentier State (London, 1987); G. Luiciani (ed.) The Arab State (Berkeley, 1990) and G. Salame, 'Political power and the Saudi State', MERIP Report, No.91 (October 1980). For an adaptation of the theory by anthropologists, see J. Davis, Libyan Politics: Tribe and Revolution (London, 1987) and R. Fernea, 'Technological Innovation and Class Development among the Bedouin of Hail', in B. Cannon (ed.), Terroirs et Sociétés au Maghreb et Moyen Orient (Paris, 1987).
18. J. Davis, Libyan Politics, pp.18-19.
19. F. Gregory Cause III, Oil Monarchies Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States (New York, 1994), p.4.
20. S. Altorki and D. Cole Arabian Oasis City: the Transformaton of Unayzah (Texas, 1989.
21. R. Winder, Saudi Arabia in the Nineteenth Century (London, 1965).
22. M. Al-Rasheed, Politics in an Arabian Oasis: the Rashidi Tribal Dynasty (London, 1991) and 'The Rhasidi Dynasty: Political Centralisation among the Shammar of North Arabia', in R. Bidwell, G. Smith and J. Serjeant (eds.) New Arabian Studies, Vol.2, pp.140-52, (1994).
23. M. Al-Rasheed, Politics in an Arabian Oasis: the Rashidi Tribal Dynasty (London, 1991) and 'The Rhasidi Dynasty: Political Centralisation among the Shammar of North Arabia', in R. Bidwell, G. Smith and J. Serjeant (eds.) New Arabian Studies, Vol.2, pp.140-52, (1994).
24. N. Safran, Saudi Arabia: Ceaseless Quest for Security (Harvard, 1985).
25. Ibid., p.439.
26. The Independent, 3 March 1992.
27. For example on Iraq see S. Al-Khalil, Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq (London, 1989).
28. M. Al-Rasheed, Politics in an Arabian Oasis.
29. The documentation of this period is derived from reading of archival sources in India Office Library (IOR) and other locations. For further details, see M. Al-Rasheed, Politics in an Arabian Oasis, pp.283-4.
30. IOR, R/15/5/104, Reply to Hamilton on a recent Journey to Nejd 1917-1919.
31. M. Al-Rasheed, Politics in an Arabian Oasis, p.231.
32. IOR/15/5/28, from High commissioner Baghdad to Political Agent Kuwait 1921, p.16.
33. M. Al-Rasheed, Politics in an Arabian Oasis, p.248.
34. The segmentary politics of the tribes and their solidarity have been reconsidered in a number of anthropological studies. For an overview see D. Eickelman, The Middle East: An Anthropological Approach (Texas, 1981), pp.85-104. In political science, the debate on the relevance of tribalism to modern politics in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states is discussed in F. Gregory Gause III, Oil Monarchies Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States (New York, 1994).
35. The segmentary politics of the tribes and their solidarity have been reconsidered in a number of anthropological studies. For an overview see D. Eickelman, The Middle East: An Anthropological Approach (Texas, 1981), pp.85-104. In political science, the debate on the relevance of tribalism to modern politics in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states is discussed in F. Gregory Gause III, Oil Monarchies Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States (New York, 1994).
36. J. Habib, Ihn Saud's Warriors of Islam: The Ikhwan and Their Role in The Creation of The Saudi Kingdom 1910-1930 (Leiden, 1978).
37. IOR/15/5/101, from Philby to Political Agents Baghdad 1918.
38. M. Al-Rasheed 'Durable and Non-Durable Dynasties: the Rashidis and Saudis in Central Arabia', British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.19, No.2 (1992), pp.144-58.
39. Saudi Arabia is perhaps one of the least accessible countries for anthropological fieldork. This is reflected in the scarcity of anthropological monographs. Anthropologists Fabietti and Fernea were able to do research in the country because at the time of their respective studies, they worked in the field of development under strict supervision by the government.
40. U. Fabietti, 'Control and alienation of Territory among the Bedouin of Saudi Arabia', Nomadic Peole (1986), p.39.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid., p.35.
43. D. Cole, Nomads of the Nomads: The al-Murrah Bedouin of the Empty Quarter (USA 1975).
44. R. Fernea 'Technological Innovation'.
45. D. Holden and R. Johns, The House of Saud: The Rise and Rule of the Most Powerful Dynasty in the Arab World (New York, 1981).
46. J. Buchan, 'Secular and Religious Opposition in Saudi Arabia, in T. Niblock (ed.), State, Society and Economy in Saudi Arabia (London, 1982).
47. Interviews with Hamza al Hassan, Shia opposition spokesman, London January 1994. Other Shia discourse is found in A. Al-Shaykh, S. Al Dakhil and A. Al-Zayr, Intifadat alminteqa alsharqiyya (The Intifada in the Eastern Province) (London, 1981).
48. L. Champenois, 'Le Royaume d'Arabie Sauudite', in P. Bonnefant (ed.), la Péninsule Arabique Aujourd'hui, Vol.2, (Paris, 1982).
49. The Wahhabi atrocities against the Shia communities of the Arabian Peninsula are well documented in historical literature and travellers monographs. For a representative work, see C. Doughty, Travels in Arabia Deserta, 2 volumes (London, 1979).
50. A. Al Yassini. Religion and State in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, (Boulder, 1985).
51. The principle of taqiyya (concealing the faith) has always been practised by religious minority groups in the Middle East especially those who experienced violence on the basis of their faith. Such communities confined their religious practice and rituals to the safe private spheres of their homes while concealing their faith in public.
52. G. Grandguillaume 'Valorisation et Dévalorisation liées aux contacts de cultures en Arabie Saoudite', in Bonnenfant (ed.) La Péninsule Arabique.
53. Interview with Hamza al Hassan, see note 37.
54. J. Goldberg, 'The Shi'i Minority in Saudi Arabia', in J. Cole and N. Keddie (eds.), Shiism and Social Protest (New York, 1986) and J. Kostiner, 'Shi'i Unrest in the Gulf in M. Kramer (ed.), Shi'ism Resistance and Revolution (Boulder, 1987).
55. J. Goldberg, 'The Shi'i Minority in Saudi Arabia', in J. Cole and N. Keddie (eds.), Shiism and Social Protest (New York, 1986) and J. Kostiner, 'Shi'i Unrest in the Gulf in M. Kramer (ed.), Shi'ism Resistance and Revolution (Boulder, 1987).
56. al Jazira al arabiyya, No.1-31, London 1991-93.
57. Interview with Hamza al Hassan, see note 37.
58. Research on the Shia opposition was carried out in 1993-4 at the time when reconciliation with the Saudi regime was in its final stage.
59. For example, Gause argues that the political culture of Gulf states manifests itself in the way the rulers employ a political language redolent of Islamic and tribal overtones to convince their citizens of the legitimacy of their political system. Here the political culture is reduced to the role of a 'legitimation formula'. F. Gregory Cause III, Oil Monarchies, p.25.
60. Gause (see note 48) has an interesting discussion of how Gulf state rulers capitalise on 'tribalism' and 'Islam' to give themselves credibility. However, he seems to miss the mint that those two elements are not imposed from above, but are grounded in the social and political fabrics of these societies. When rulers invoke these images, they touch two important aspects of the lives of their citizens. Emphasizing the so-called 'mythical' and 'rhetorical' elements of the political culture leads him to ignore the social organizational dimension of both tribalism and Islam in society.