Vision or Mirage
Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads
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Vision or Mirage
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Narrated by:
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Fajer Al-Kaisi
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By:
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David Rundell
About this listen
Something extraordinary is happening in Saudi Arabia. A traditional, tribal society once known for its lack of tolerance is rapidly implementing significant economic and social reforms. An army of foreign consultants is rewriting the social contract, King Salman has cracked down hard on corruption, and his dynamic though inexperienced son, the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, is promoting a more tolerant Islam. But is all this a new vision for Saudi Arabia or merely a mirage likely to dissolve into Iranian-style revolution?
David Rundell - one of America's foremost experts on Saudi Arabia - explains how the country has been stable for so long, why it is less so today, and what is most likely to happen in the future. The book is based on the author's close contacts and intimate knowledge of the country where he spent 15 years living and working as a diplomat. Vision or Mirage demystifies one of the most powerful, but least understood, states in the Middle East and is essential for anyone interested in the power dynamics and politics of the Arab world.
©2021 David H. Rundell (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
Book for those who seeking to understand
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excellent exposition
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On the other hand, in spite of the apparently detached and objective tone, the author tends to present an excessively rosy and acritical picture of the Kingdom and to sugar-coat its worst aspects. Emblematic and rather revolting in this respect is the treatment of the Jamal Khashoggi assassination. Rundell comes close to victim blaming, presenting him as a "traitor". True, he ascribes this view to the Saudis. But just imagine if the author of a book about the Mafia, wrote (after pages and pages of rosy descriptions of its successful organisational reforms and deal-making ability with other organisations) something like: "people don't understand the reason why the Boss had X brutally assassinated: in his eyes he was a traitor who back-stabbed the organisation that had helped him, and just while it was navigating a difficult period".
In sum, this book is permeated by a justificatory attitude, an implicit acceptance bordering on admiration for the practices, policies and statesmanship of Saudi leaders over a century. But let's not forget that at present the endpoint of decades of amazing governance and brilliant reforms is that what has always been an authoritarian, repressive and illiberal regime is still an authoritarian, repressive and illiberal regime that feels the need to launch yet another amazing series of reforms (Vision 2030) because, evidently, not all is well. This book is certainly worth a read as it contains useful information. But I confess that I have often been on the verge of suspecting ulterior motives for the author writing it.
Partly historical work, partly puff piece
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