© Columbia University Press
The Kingdom: Saudi Arabia and the Challenge of the Twenty-first Century
October, 2009
Cloth, 256 pages,
ISBN: 978-0-231-15434-5
$50.00
Since its launch in 2006, SaudiDebate.com has become the foremost independent, English-language Web site to address issues facing contemporary Saudi Arabians. Adhering to a nonpartisan stance, the site fosters open debate between distinguished contributors from across the Arab world, quickly making it the chosen destination for perspectives on Arabia and the wider Arab Middle East.
The Kingdom brings together for the first time a targeted selection of these writings, providing readers with much-needed context for the role of Saudi Arabia in the world today. Contributors include such established figures as Madawi Al-Rasheed, Khalid Al-Dakhil, Badriyyah Al-Bishr, Saad Sowayan, and Mona Eltahawy. Chapter topics range from reformism under King Abdullah to Saudi Arabia's position as a regional power broker, speaking to the breadth of issues that currently preoccupy Saudis and other Arab intellectuals.
This collection particularly illuminates the struggle to build a modern society with respect to religious, cultural, and historical traditions. Divided into four sections, the volume specifically tackles domestic politics in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's role in regional affairs, studies of Saudi society, and Saudi cultural and religious life.