The Saudi State as an Identity Racketeer

Abstract

Although substantial research has examined the Saudi state’s symbiosis with the Islamic revivalist movement commonly known as ‘Wahhabism’, few studies have considered how the dynamics of state formation underpin this relationship. This article argues that a continuous and circular political logic lies behind the Saudi state’s patronage of the revivalist movement since 1744 and proposes a four-stage model that explains how and why the regime has maintained its support for the revivalist movement over such a prolonged period. This article first outlines the model, then presents a detailed analysis of its persistent presence in the development of Saudi state authority in order to highlight the recurrent manner by which the state often has constructed the spiritual concerns of revivalists to counter challenges to its authority, a pattern demonstrated most recently during the Arab Spring and the war in Yemen. The effects of this model will continue to shape the decisions, policies and perceptions of the Saudi political elite for the foreseeable future.

Key Words:

• Charles Tilly
• Identity
• Religious revivalism
• Saudi Arabia
• State building
• State protection racketeering
• Wahhabism

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank doctors David Commins, Remy Davison, Michael Humphrey, Catarina Kinnvall, Pete Lentini and Alana Sharp as well as our two anonymous reviewers for all the help, comments and input they contributed to this paper.

Notes

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² A. Vassiliev (2000) The History Of Saudi Arabia (London: Saqi Books).

³ See M. al-Atawneh (2009) Is Saudi Arabia a Theocracy? Religion and Governance in Contemporary Saudi Arabia, Middle Eastern Studies, 45(5), pp. 721–737; and T. Alsaid (2013) Relationship Between State and Religion in Saudi Arabia: The Role of Wahabism in Governance, Contemporary Arab Affairs, 6(3), pp. 376–403.

⁴ Two exceptions to this have been A. Shahi (2013) The Politics of Truth Management in Saudi Arabia, (Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis); and T. K. Firro (2013) The Political Context of Early Wahhabi Discourse of Takfir, Middle Eastern Studies, 49(5), pp. 770–789.

⁵ C. Tilly (1985) War Making and State Making as Organized Crime, in: P. Evans, D. Rueschermeyer & T. Skocpol (eds) Bringing the State Back In, pp. 169–187 (Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press).

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⁸ Defined by M. Mann as a large-scale territorial entity that possesses a centralized and institutionalized core holding a monopoly on authoritative rule-making and physical violence, in: M. Mann (1984) The Autonomous Power of the State: Its Origins, Mechanisms and Results, European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie, 25(02), pp. 185–213.

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¹⁰ Tilly, War Making and State Making as Organized Crime, p. 171.

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¹² Vassiliev, The History Of Saudi Arabia, p. 6.

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¹⁷ Kinnvall, Globalization and Religious Nationalism: Self, Identity, and the Search for Ontological Security, pp. 741–767.

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³⁴ Firro, The Political Context of Early Wahhabi Discourse of Takfir, Middle Eastern Studies, 49(5), pp. 770–789.

³⁵ Steinberg, The Wahhabi ulama and the Saudi State: 1745 to the Present, p. 19.

³⁶ Firro, The Political Context of Early Wahhabi Discourse of Takfir, p. 783.

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⁴⁰ al-Rasheed, A History of Saudi Arabia, p. 62.

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⁴⁶ See A. B. Toth (2005) Tribes and Tribulations: Bedouin Losses in the Saudi and Iraqi Struggles Over Kuwait’s Frontiers, 1921–1943, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 32(2), pp. 145–167; and Commins, The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia, p. 90.

⁴⁷ Vassiliev, The History Of Saudi Arabia, p. 273.

⁴⁸ Shahi, The Politics of Truth Management in Saudi Arabia, p. 170–171.

⁴⁹ S. Lacroix (2011) Awakening Islam: The Politics of Religious Dissent in Contemporary Saudi Arabia (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press), p. 74.

⁵⁰ Ibid, p. 24.

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⁵² Authors who reference this factor include Commins, Vassiliev and al-Rasheed.

⁵³ Cronin, Tribes, Coups and Princes: Building a Modern Army in Saudi Arabia, Middle Eastern Studies, p. 17.

⁵⁴ J. Nevo (1998) Religion and National Identity in Saudi Arabia, in ibid, 34(3), p. 46.

⁵⁵ al-Rasheed, A History of Saudi Arabia, p. 191.

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⁵⁸ Vassiliev, The History Of Saudi Arabia, p. 364.

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⁶¹ See further T. Hegghammer (2011) The Meccan Rebellion: The Story of Juhayman al-‘Utaybi Revisited (Bristol, UK: Amal Press).

⁶² J. A. Kechichian (1986) The Role of the Ulama in the Politics of an Islamic State: the Case of Saudi Arabia, International Journal of Middle East Studies, 18(1), p. 59.

⁶³ See further Lacroix, Awakening Islam: The Politics of Religious Dissent in Contemporary Saudi Arabia.

⁶⁴ Middle East Monitor (2014) Saudis most likely to join ISIS, 10% of group’s fighters are women. Available at https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/14758-saudis-most-likely-to-join-isis-10-of-groups-fighters-are-women, accessed January 5, 2017.

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⁷¹ Tilly, War Making and State Making as Organized Crime, p. 171.

⁷² T. Matthiesen (2013) Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the Arab Spring that Wasn’t (Stanford University Press), p. 80.