The participation and election of women in Saudi Arabia’s December 2015 municipal elections have drawn international attention and assertions of progress for women’s empowerment in the kingdom. Yet any assessment of the significance of this noteworthy milestone needs to consider the role of municipal councils and their contribution to political dynamics in Saudi Arabia, and in the Arab Gulf states more generally.
Municipal councils are among the earliest civil institutions in the Gulf region. This objective study of their history and political significance reveals three distinct periods which constitute a cyclical rise and fall of popular municipal governance. It also identifies four political dynamics that characterize the current revival of popular input into municipal governance.
The flow of Kurdish oil via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to the international market after more than two years demonstrates the effectiveness of sustained U.S. diplomacy.
Saudi Arabia’s strategic defense agreement with Pakistan is part of a wider formation of alignments within the broader Muslim world meant to counter Israel’s expanding power and ambitions in the region, as the threat perception has shifted from Iran to Israel.
Saudi Arabia’s first Cultural Investment Conference sought to convince domestic and global investors that arts and culture in the kingdom are a value proposition and to entice them to share in this project.
An apology from Israel’s prime minister – delivered under the watchful eye of President Trump in the Oval Office – and a written promise of a U.S. response if Qatar is attacked go a long way toward restoring Qatar's deterrence and bolstering its security and stability following the Israeli attack.
A shift in Saudi priorities away from normalizing ties with Israel and toward building international recognition for a Palestinian state has succeeded, as Western states pledge support among mounting outrage over famine in Gaza.
