The Making of a Modern Kingdom: Globalization and Change in Saudi Arabia

This timely and relevant case study presents an unparalleled anthropological overview of Saudi Arabia, a nation-state of prime importance, while it builds a vital understanding of globalization--the connectedness of the world. In its beautifully written pages, Jordan describes how a country with no modern education system and no modern technology or infrastructure developed all of these and became a first-rate world player in economics, education, and medicine in just a few short decades.

After situating the work in current anthropological theory, Jordan presents a summary of the unique geography, history, and traditional cultures of the Arabian Peninsula. From there readers land in a world of traffic jams, skyscrapers, and marble shopping malls. They learn the steps of the modernization process, its effects on people's lives, and the reasons for its success through examples from education, the oil industry, and a mini case study of a hospital. This fast-moving, eye-opening account casts a wide net. It includes multifaceted discussions of international politics and political organization, the position of women and the role of religion, the global importance of the oil industry, and the impact of the 9/11 tragedy on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In addition to introductory cultural anthropology and Middle East survey courses, The Making of a Modern Kingdom serves as an ideal casebook with modern applicability in political and economic anthropology courses.

Titles of related interest from Waveland Press: Azoy, Buzkashi: Game and Power in Afghanistan, Third Edition (ISBN 9781577667209); Barth, Nomads of South Persia: The Basseri Tribe of the Khamseh Confederacy (ISBN 9780881332070); Brenneman, As Strong as the Mountains: A Kurdish Cultural Journey, Second Edition (ISBN: 9781478629306); Fakhouri, Kafr El-Elow: Continuity and Change in an Egyptian Community, Second Edition (ISBN 9780881332858); Fernea, A Street in Marrakech: A Personal View of Urban Women in Morocco (ISBN 9780881334043); and Omidian, When Bamboo Bloom: An Anthropologist in Taliban's Afghanistan (ISBN 9781577667001).

“Written in clear, accessible prose, this ethnography serves as an excellent case study for undergraduate courses on globalization and culture change.” Anton Daughters, Cornell College

“The author presents a straightforward, simplified narrative of the country’s transformation from a congeries of separate, warring chiefdoms to a highly centralized, authoritarian state ruled by one extended family whose legitimacy is based on its strict adherence to the Wahhabi doctrines, a puritanical version of Islam that is unique to Saudi Arabia. Weaving together personal experiences, academic literature, and her own in-country research, Jordan presents a fascinating case study. . . . Recommended.” Choice