Madawi Al-Rasheed

Madawi Al-Rasheed is professor of the anthropology of religion at Kings College, London. Her books include Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New Generation (Cambridge University Press, 2006); Kingdom Without Borders: Saudi Arabia's Political, Religious and Media Frontiers (C Hurst, 2008); and A History of Saudi Arabia (Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2011). Her website is here

Saudi Arabia and Syria: logic of dictators

Saudi Arabia's support for the armed opposition in Syria reflects the way that the Arab spring is now hostage to regional rivalry, says Madawi Al-Rasheed.

By Madawi Al-Rasheed

/ 20 Mar 2012

The Saudi response to the ‘Arab spring’: containment and co-option

Saudi Arabia’s response to the ‘Arab spring’ has been an attempt to co-opt movements for change in a bid to maintain the status quo. Madawi Al-Rasheed talks to Deniz Kandiyoti about the contradictions of a ruling elite that promotes a conservative Islam, that threatens women’s existing rights abro

By Madawi Al-Rasheed

/ 10 Jan 2012

9/11: the memory of violence

The atrocity of 11 September 2001 entrenched an imaginary polarisation between “the west and the rest” - and buried a deeper reality that is only now emerging to light, says Madawi al-Rasheed.

By Madawi Al-Rasheed

/ 7 Sep 2011

The Saudi complex: power vs rights

Saudi Arabia's rulers are deploying a mix of force and largesse to contain the threat of democratic protest. But an emerging civic movement is determined to persist, says Madawi Al-Rasheed.

By Madawi Al-Rasheed

/ 19 Apr 2011