Political Adaptation In Sa'udi Arabia : A Study Of The Council Of Ministers

Examining the evolution of the Sa'udi government from 1901 to 1983, a period of major social and political transformation, Dr, Huyette looks at the ways in which a traditional elite, the Al Sa'ud, has managed to surmount the formidable obstacles of tribal and regional differences compounded by rapid modernization. The Council of Ministers, formed in 1953, is one method developed by the Sa'udis to cope with these problems and represented the first step toward a national administrative system. Dr. Huyette traces the Council's antecedents as well as the changes in its membership, procedures, and responsibilities and the concomitant changes in the political elite and its style of leadership. The book examines the various ways that fragile states (or states with limited statehood) in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas have adopted, and adapted to, the processes of liberal political governance in their quests to address the problem of political fragility. It presents the stories of resilience in the political adaptation to Western liberal conceptions of governance. In addition to singular or comparative country case studies, this project also examines the interplay of culture, identities, and politics in the creation of people-centric governance reforms. Towards these ends, this volume sheds light on weak states' often constructive engagement in the promotion of state governance with a variety of political conditions, adverse or otherwise; and their ability to remain resilient despite the complex political, sociocultural, and economic challenges affecting them. Through a multidisciplinary approach, the authors aim to counter the noticeable shortcomings in the discursive representations of fragility, and to contribute a more balanced examination of the narratives about and impact of political adaption and governance in people's lives and experiences.-- Provided by publisher Examining the evolution of the Sa'udi government from 1901 to 1983, a period of major social and political transformation, this book looks at the ways in which a traditional elite has managed to surmount the formidable obstacles of tribal and regional differences compounded by rapid modernization.