A scholar who has closely followed reforms that MBS has made to Wahhabism, an austere form of Islam, explains the changes taking place in the Saudi kingdom and their impact.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on Saudi Arabia
Displaying 21 - 40 of 306 articles
Money talks, and sportswashing often works. Some of football’s biggest names now call the Saudi Pro League home.
The Sudanese state today betrays its history as a plunder state on the margins of the global order.
Ukraine was able to advance its plan for peace with an audience including China and other Brics nations.
A scholar of the Hebrew Bible argues that very little is known about the location of Mount Sinai, and it is likely that it was once part of a foundational legend.
A religion scholar argues that the communal nature of Islamic pilgrimage helps worshippers go through a physically demanding schedule and creates camaraderie that continues beyond the pilgrimage.
Prince Mohammad bin Salman is trying to rebrand the kingdom in the model of Qatar and the UAE – two states with human rights issues that have become part of the global order.
Millions of men, women and children are converging on Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage, a return to pre-pandemic numbers.
The US administration said that it had received ‘written assurances’ from Ukraine that it would use cluster bombs carefully. Nonetheless, the munition will provide an additional risk to civilians.
The Saudi government is using digital technology to help the hajj run smoothly and safely – the latest updates in a 200-year history of technology and the hajj.
So much international trade happens in dollars that it would be very difficult to turn the tide against the currency any time soon.
History is filled with stories of business magnates taking big financial risks on the next big sports sensation. But emerging sports are more like social movements than business enterprises.
As the rivalry between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf ends not with a bang, but with a merger, it’s clear both sides are far more interested in financial gain than issues of morality.
French soccer star Karim Benzema will join Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League, and others may follow.
Today’s big sport story is LIV Golf, but Saudi Arabia’s involvement in sport will generate many more money-driven, politics-heavy headlines.
An African-led process would take into account complex regional dynamics – which would lead to a better and more stable peace agreement.
Yemen’s brutal civil war has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. But a recent Beijing-brokered rapprochement between two regional powers could unlock a path to peace.
After eight years of bombs, missiles, destruction and hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, it is the Yemeni people who have lost the most in this war.
Saudi Arabia is edging closer to China and away from the US, says an expert.
But is it a fair way to build sporting influence?
Top contributors
-
Professor of International Relations, Lancaster University
-
Senior Lecturer in History and International Relations, Curtin University
-
Senior Research Fellow, Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at IUPUI and Journalist-fellow, Religion and Civic Culture Center, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
-
Professor of International Politics, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin
-
Chair, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, and Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy, UMass Amherst
-
Lecturer in International Relations, University of Glasgow
-
Research Associate, King's College London, King's College London
-
PhD Candidate, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Birmingham
-
Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy, SKEMA Business School
-
Professor of Peace Studies, University of Bradford
-
Lecturer in Politics and International Studies, The Open University
-
PhD Researcher, SOAS, University of London
-
Tony Walker is a Friend of The Conversation.
Vice-Chancellor's Fellow, La Trobe University
-
Director of Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities; Associate Professor of International Relations, Michigan State University
-
Associate Professor of International Relations, Gulf University for Science and Technology
