Dirasat (KFCRIS Papers)
Number: 52
Author: Mohammed Al-Sudairi
The report explores how the Red Sea is conceived in Chinese-language academic discussions as a means towards understanding the strategic perceptions and calculations of Chinese political elites toward the region.
It provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of China’s multifaceted and dynamic material footprint across the Red Sea, focusing primarily on its political, econo
Number: 51
Author: Javier Bordón
From 2014 onwards, Saudi-Iraqi relations depict an emerging set of drivers at the international, domestic and decision-making levels framing the steps in a process of bilateral rapprochement. Among the various aspects in which cooperative schemes are gaining momentum, the present paper deals with the untapped potential of the Saudi-Iraqi land border, its idiosyncrasy, challenges and opportunities. For doing so, the analysis will unfold in the areas of border security, cross-border infrastructure and regulation, trade, oil transport, electricity interconnection and religious pilgrimage.
Number: 50
Author: Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
Although the Gulf is not highlighted on the official map of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, it is one of the main regions where the BRI is being implemented. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that Gulf countries are essential partners in jointly building the BRI. Since then, various actors from China, mainly firms, banks, and financial institutions have actively embarked on efforts to implement the BRI in the Gulf. This report aims to analyse how China's legitimating efforts are being carried out and who are the actors involved. It does so by dividing China’s efforts into two components: the efforts, which concerns
Number: 49
Author: Fahad Alsharif
This article seeks to trace the impact that gradual changes in higher education have had on women’s inclusion into the Saudi workforce. It focuses, in particular, on the early efforts to enhance the educational system, the nationalization of jobs, culminating with the Nitaqat system; the impact of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP); and the most recent Vision 2030 initiatives; all of which have left their imprint on the social role of women in Saudi society. This paper attempts to answer a wide array of interrelated questions, relying on a path-dependence assessment up to the present juncture, which aims at mirroring the nexuses between
Number: 48
Author: Kyle Haddad - Fonda
This article investigates the experiences of Arab dignitaries, journalists, youth groups, and trade envoys who have visited the People’s Republic of China in an official or semiofficial capacity since China’s initial overtures to Middle Eastern countries in 1955. First, it outlines the “standard itineraries” given to Arab delegations touring China both in the 1950s and in the twenty first century, demonstrating how the changes to this agenda reflect the shifting priorities of the Chinese state. Second, it explores how the Chinese government has refined
Number: 47
Author: Paul Musgrave
Political polarization plays an increasingly prominent and formative role in American politics. Its effects are visible in how Americans feel about politics, how candidates for office win election, how compromises can (or, more often, cannot) be reached, and how U.S. institutions increasingly face risks in carrying out even ordinary functions, including periodic crises over shutdowns or defaults. Yet the meaning of political polarization for U.S. foreign policy has been overlooked. This report argues that polarization has begun to produce a great effect on how the United States makes policy, including policy toward allied and partner states. Since the
Number: 46
Author: Mohammed Alrmizan
This article provides a historical overview of the development of the Turkish press since its beginning during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the Ottoman Empire and through various critical periods of the Turkish Republic. It explores, first, how the press and the printing houses developed during the last stages of the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, it reveals the abuses of the press, assassinations of many Turkish journalists and other important figures, and appearance of newspapers during times of critical transformations, like those of Tanzimat, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, and the Young Turks. Second, it offers a detailed account and analysis of th
Number: 45
Author: WAN Lei
The Hui in China is a singular ethnic group. They speak Chinese but appear to have pursued a uniquely cultural evolution following immigration of its main grouping into China during the Mongol Yuan dynasty nearly eight centuries ago. But Hui societies only became evident in the first half of the 20th century, symbolizing Hui in–group consciousness; a nationwide semi–official China Huijiao [Islamic] Nation–Salvation Association was the national organization that played a significant part in uniting the Hui minority to support the Second Sino–Japanese War (The Resistance War against Japan) and in protecting the Hui minority in man
Number: 44
Author: Andrew Leber
This Dirasat seeks to understand the present opposition in Congress and especially the Senate. First, it explains the indirect role that Congress can play in U.S. foreign policy, while highlighting the potential role of partisan polarization in U.S. foreign policy. Next, it provides context for the U.S.-Saudi relationship in Congress by examining past congressional actions with respect to the Kingdom. Finally, it examines congressional activity since the death of Jamal Khashoggi, focusing in particular on the coalition of senators that has formed to advance legislation critical of the Kingdom.
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