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.