Saudi Arabia

Change comes slowly in the patriarchal and religiously conservative society of Saudi Arabia. Yet women in the Saudi legal profession have achieved a phenomenal transformation in a relatively short period of time. This result is, in part, a reflection of the Saudi government’s new focus on increasing women’s participation in the labor market. But this...

The recent adoption by overwhelming majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) is a grave threat – not only to U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia, which is the primary target of the legislation – but also for conducting U.S. foreign policy generally and,...

There is no shortage of calamity in Yemen right now. The poorest country in the Arab world endures a debilitating civil war and increasing humanitarian disaster. Trends in global economics have not been in Yemen’s favor either.

Amal contacted me two years ago. She was 30 years old, a junior university professor, and she needed help. For four years her father had beaten her, locked her in her room, and threatened to stop her from working because she wanted to marry a non-Saudi professor. Now she wanted to explore a potential escape...

When Hala Abdullah started the Riyadh Writing Club with her best friend, Mashael Alblehed, in 2009, they had in mind an easy way to meet and get inspired by other writers. Six years later, the small writers’ club has blossomed into a monthly meet-up where dozens of young female writers gather to discuss writing projects...

Saudi Arabia has long reigned as the most important holder of oil reserves in the world but new data from a leading oil consultancy estimates volumes are sharply lower than official government projections, placing the kingdom below the United States and Russia. Rystad Energy estimates for Saudi Arabia’s proved reserves at 70 billion barrels are...

As Saudi Arabia embarks on Vision 2030, its comprehensive plan to confront oil dependence and meet the challenges of economic diversification and social change, there are signs that the leadership is opening space for much-needed religious debate. During the recent holy month of Ramadan, when religious talk shows enjoy popular viewership, one program took the...

The appalling massacre on Bastille Day in Nice, France – in which at least 84 people were killed by a French-Tunisian man driving a 19-ton refrigerated truck and armed with an automatic pistol – capped off several weeks of virtually unprecedented terrorist carnage around the world. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)...