The arena for Saudi political engagement and civil society has expanded since the end of the 20th century; social reform, initially encouraged in the late 1990s by the then Crown Prince Abdullah, has gained some momentum; and charitable organizations and the country’s formal and informal associations have moved forward. The domestic voluntary sector in Saudi Arabia is broad and deep, and is made up of charities, NGOs, not-for-profit organizations (NPOs), chambers of commerce, and professional and informal associations and groupings.
Statehood in the Middle East is the subject of much analysis – in terms of where the state begins or ends, the shortcomings of authoritarian governments, the use of coercion, the lack of representation, and the overarching structure of Islam. In the Saudi context, those who use a narrowly Western definition of civil society can claim that Saudi Arabia has none. Since the late 1990s, however, civil society has been seen more as a more informal process of associations and activities than as a concept requiring an enabling political structure, and this is the case in the Middle East.
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Civil Society in Saudi Arabia The Power and Challenges of Association
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