King Salman and his son: Winning the US losing the rest

This article assesses the prospects for new directions in Saudi foreign policy following the appointment of Muhammad ibn Salman as crown prince in June 2017, highlighting its continuities and discontinuities under the new leadership of King Salman and his son. It draws tentative conclusions that amidst a series of foreign policy failures, winning the favour of the US under Trump has been the major achievement of the new Saudi leadership. However, Saudi foreign policy in Europe has taken a back seat, where there are serious doubts as to the merit of the assertive interventionist Saudi regional policy. With an erratic and failing bid to control the region and emerge as a regional power on a par with Iran, Turkey and Israel, King Salman and his son have proved to be unwilling to extinguish the many fires that are currently raging across the Arab world

Is it always good to be King? Saudi regime resilience after the 2011 Arab popular uprisings

Although all Arab monarchies (Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Jordan and Morocco) witnessed varying degrees of mass protest during the Arab uprisings of 2011, none of the kings and princes has thus far been deposed. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia saw pockets of sporadic protest in many cities in the early months of 2011, but those failed to evolve into a mass protest movement across the country. This paper analyses the conditions that helped maintain Saudi stability, attributing it to a combination of domestic and regional factors. This paper highlights how the conditions that led to monarchical resilience over the last five years may result in unexpected upheavals in the future

Divine politics reconsidered: Saudi Islamists on peaceful revolution

Focusing on mutations of Saudi Islamism during the Arab uprisings, this paper examines the responses of Salman al-Awdah, one of the most influential Saudi Islamist scholars. As he reflects on peaceful revolution in the Arab world, al-Awdah combines his Salafi heritage with insights from western thought, thus producing a hybrid discourse that engages with the inevitability of political change. I argue that al-Awdah goes beyond the two now well-known Islamist strategies, namely jihadi militant struggle and Salafi acquiescent positions, that dominated debate in Saudi Arabia for several decades. His treatise on peaceful revolution offers a ‘third way’ between these two binary opposites. I assess whether a new Islamism that values peaceful action and mobilisation in the pursuit of political change has already reached maturity in Saudi Arabia

Brute force and hollow reforms in Saudi Arabia

The rapid ascent of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the past several years has shaken Saudi Arabia. Delegated unusual authority by his aged father, King Salman, the crown prince has promised bold steps to modernize the economy and loosen social restrictions on youth and women. Yet his actions on these fronts have been overshadowed by his ruthless moves to intimidate rivals to the throne and silence dissidents at home and abroad. Mohammed’s aggressive foreign policies have also caused many to question his judgment. Now the COVID-19 pandemic and a fall in the oil market have added to the kingdom’s discontents

A new diaspora of Saudi exiles: challenging repression from abroad

Although Saudi Arabia has generated waves of exiles throughout its modern history, the recent diaspora is different in its diversity, demographic profile and aspirations. The repression that accompanied the rise of current Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has pushed feminists, young students, secularists, Islamists and others to flee the country in search of safe havens in the US, Europe, Canada and Australia. Based on ethnographic research across several diaspora locations, this paper traces the diversity of the young cohort of exiles who are currently seeking to counter domestic repression from abroad. It focuses on digital activism, for example Twitter, that is also used by the regime to amplify its popularity and propaganda. From abroad, exiles try to counter regime narratives about promised prosperity, freedoms and opportunities. As social media has become more controlled and even dangerous for critics at home, exiles insert their voices to assert their rights as citizens, hoping that this activism will put pressure on the regime to allow political participation. Exiles also began to institutionalise opposition to the regime through the creation of several institutions in the diaspora. The paper surveys a sample of such institutions that serve the immediate needs of the diaspora and create solidarity across generations and locations. The paper assesses the challenges and prospects for the success of political activism from abroad

From research to the mainstream - Judging the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding

As nominations for this year’s prize open, Madawi Al-Rasheed reflects on the experience of judging the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding and considers how research based non-fiction writing can reach beyond local and disciplinary concerns to engage global audiences

Lumbar disc surgery in pediatric population, Is it a special entity distinct from adult?

Background data: Lumbar disc prolapse is rare in pediatric patients though it may lead to significant pain and disability. Due to different structural properties and environmental and occupational exposures, pediatric LDP may be considered as a separate entity distinct from adult.Aim: This retrospective analytic outcome study was undertaken to determine the clinical outcome and the peculiar characteristics of LDP in pediatric patients.Methods: The medical records of patients younger than 18 years old who were operated for LDP between 1996 and 2011 were reviewed. Patients’ preoperative clinical and radiographic data, operative, early and late postoperative data were reviewed.Results: 17 patients were enrolled in this study, 12 males and 5 females. The average age was 15.2 years. The average duration of symptoms was 13.1 months. The average clinical follow-up was 12.1 months. Prior to surgery, all patients had sciatica, 24% had motor deficit, 59% had paresthesia, and 82% had tight hamstring. At the last follow-up, 41% of our patients had excellent, 47% had good, 12% had fair, and none had poor clinical outcome. Regarding the Pain Visual Analogue Scale, back pain reduced from 78.5 to 32.2, and leg pain from 92.1 to 21.3.Conclusion: Lumbar disc surgery in pediatric patients is safe and does not lead to chronic back illness or affect physical activity of patients. It should be considered as a special clinical entity distinct from adult disease (2012ESJ002

Telling Tales: Bearing Witness in Jennifer Fox's The Tale

Award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer Jennifer Fox is best known for her documentary projects exploring themes of trauma and identity with both sensitivity and insight. But, in her 2018 film The Tale, Fox turns her subjective scrutiny inwards to construct a filmic testimony that interrogates the machinations of memory and selfhood in the belated realization of her experience of childhood sexual abuse. The Tale institutes a complex witnessing model that encompasses the filmic and narrative construction of the testimonial ‘I’, and the coalescent empathic invitation of autobiography and testimonial witnessing. By incorporating critical perspectives from trauma, testimony and autobiography studies, The Tale is posited for analysis as filmic testimony, and considered within a multi-layered witnessing structure that includes production, viewership, and cultural impact. Ultimately, the analysis concludes that the empathic relation filmic testimony invites is tantamount to ethical witnessing, which persists as a form of activism beyond the viewing experience