8/13/2019 Politics of Culture

1/2

Politics of Culture

Aleena Khan

The political culture in Saudi Arabia, between the justifications of the

conservatives, the dreams of the reformists and the fears of the realistsThe Saudi intellectuals preceded their Arab counterparts in submitting a number

of collective demands to their government to affect political reform. The Saudi

culture faces two main streams of thought: the reformist stream and the

conservative stream, both cutting across the intellectuals and the Saudi

administration. The following study is written by the Saudi media figure Abdel

Aziz Al-Khamis, former editor of Al-Magala magazine, which is issued from the

London-based Asharq Al-Awsat institution. He manages the Saudi Center for

Human Rights that is based in the British capital.

The following study shows how complex the economic and political reform issue

is and how society should deal with the issue with seriousness and

tolerance:Saudi Arabia is undergoing changes that make political reform an imperative;

however, the will for reform is absent. Saudi Arabia is resisting political reform

because it is a strictly conservative and traditional state that depends for its

legitimacy on tradition and divine laws. The ruling class is divided into two groups:

There are those who are against any call for reform regardless of that call's

strength. This group is the majority. Another group, weaker and lesser in numbers,

tends to accept reform. An example of this group is Crown Prince Abdullah.The group represented by Prince Abdullah- who is now King Abdullah bin

Abdulaziz Al Saud- could be described as half-reformist, while the other stronger

trend strongly opposes reform because they see it as the beginning of the end of

the ruling family. They believe that calls for reform have appeared becauseof the tight security in the country. Development in the general sense is seenas a comprehensive process that includes economic, social and political aspects.

However, in past years, development in Saudi Arabia had been focused solely on

the social and economic aspects, including education and health, and in so doing,

has overlooked political development as an activity carried out by the average

citizen to influence the decision-making of the government. Today, on the other

hand, under the rule of King Abdullah, new reforms are taking place. On the 11 th

of January 2013, King Abdullah issued a historic decree allowing women to be

members of the kingdoms previously all-male Shura Council for the first time.

Saudi Arabia is known for its conservative culture where women are not allowed

to drive despite the absence of a law saying so. King Abdullah has introduced

cautious economic and social reforms aimed at reconciling Saudi Arabias

religious traditions with the needs of a modern economy and youthful

population. The Saudi government, and perhaps other Gulf countries, hasplayed two contradictory roles. The oil wealth helped the government enhance

8/13/2019 Politics of Culture

2/2

its security and military system and enhanced the centralization of decision-

making.

The government made Saudi citizens disregard the political aspects of

development. But at the same time, by being involved in the social and the

economic aspects of development, Saudi citizens begin to have politicalaspirations and are now beginning to be involved in politics. For example, the

educational system [seen as a social aspect of development] raised a class of

educated Saudis who could not overlook their need to participate in political

decision-making. A lot of groups in Saudi society reject the notion of anational state, but prefer to subscribe to the idea of an Islamic Umma [nation].

The Saudi government has closed the door in the face of mobilization of the

people based on national grounds. The religious institutions and their offshoots

are responsible for mobilizing people, whether these institutions are embracing

all Saudis or only certain classes of Saudi society. Some officials speak theirfears and state their reservations on political change. They give justifications in

order to delay the process of political change or reject it altogether. One of the

justifications is that political reform would lead to destabilizing the unity of the

state and would lead to the emergence of local violence. Some believe that tribal

affiliation and voting according to one's sectarian or tribal belonging, as

happened in Kuwait and to some extent in Bahrain, justify the rejection of

political reform and of public participation in decision-making. They state this

justification to prove that the Saudi public is not yet ready and not politically

mature.As for the Arab Spring- many wonder why it has yet to reach the Kingdom. Intruth, its absolute monarchy holds the line. It controls every aspect of society

making it difficult to remove the regime as it would require the elimination of the

whole Al Saud clan. There have been a few small protests by minorities in the

country, but as such this caused the bulk of the population to support the

crackdown against them.

Anyone who has visited Saudi Arabia or resided in the country will know that it

is unlikely a protest will ever be seen on the streets. This reality is making social

media very popular and will only lead to more questioning of the role of the

regime. The Saudi monarchy has for the moment survived the Arab spring, but

the regions architecture is rapidly changing and many are questioning the Saud

clans domination of political life of the country. As Saudi society accesses

international opinion regarding the Saudi monarchy through social media, the

Saudi monarchy will find the pillars of its rule eventually questioned and

challenged.