The Impact of Globalization on Saudi Arabia - Essay and Articles Review

Article 1: I will return Saudi Arabia to moderate Islam, says crown prince

URL: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/24/i-will-return-saudi-arabia-moderate-islam-crown-princeSummary

In this article, Chulov (2017) reported Mohammed bin Salman said that Globalization has influenced Saudi Arabias cultural values and norms. The impact of the new media on the culture has been profound over the last decade. Even though Saudi Arabia argue that they support globalization on an economic level, there is significant evidence that globalization has impacted the countrys culture and political organization both positively and negatively. While the country still views globalization as Americanization, Mohammed bin Salman argues that the political globalization would reduce contributed to less hierarchy, and more democracy is thereby affecting the open society. Because Saudi Arabian values do not allow an election, there is a limited democracy; the country also argues that hat globalization is a major threat to their faith, undermine their mortals but it is clear that the political elite is against globalization because it would mean their loss of political power. By protecting the country from the impact of globalization, the elites are protecting the structures that suites the autocratic regime.

Article 2: Once Shunned as Drivers, Saudi Women Who Fought Ban Now Celebrate

URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/07/world/middleeast/saudi-Arabia-women-driving-ban.htmlSummary

In this article, Hubbard (2017) reported that Saudi Arabia was one of the most conservative societies where women were considered second-rate citizens and were not given the opportunities to thrive. Women were banned from doing a lot of things, but these conditions are increasingly changing thanks to globalization. Globalization has seen the countrys rules adopt a more lenient stand. In the recent past after the ban was reversed women are allowed to drive cars. Globalization, the social media, and economic pressures, as well as the leadership change, have created a condition that enabled the ban. The impact of globalization on the countrys culture is evident to be both positive and negative

Article 3: How Globalization Reached the Cradle of Islam

URL: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/omar-sayfo/globalization-reached-the-cradle-of-islam_b_11864856.htmlSummary

In this article, Sayfo (2017) Mecca gas been globalized and the globalization of mecca has led to a lot OF changes both socially and culturally. The once forbidden areas are nowadays open to everyone. The once conservative society is increasingly opening up for global experiences. Technology has permeated the cradle of Islam. Churches are increasingly being built in Saudi Arabia just the same way mosques are built around the world. Sayfo (2017) also argues that the globalized western values are spread not by missionaries but also by the promotion of a lifestyle and a society that is also based on the consumption of goods.

Describe how Saudi Arabia (or Jeddah) is facing this globalization issue. (250 words)

The country should accept globalization as an inevitable phenomenon. The country should consider adapting their laws and adopting strategies that would make globalization work for them. They should adopt reforms that are large in both scale and scope to help the country prosper at a time when oil reserves are dwindling, and globalization cannot be stopped.

To avert the influence of globalization, the country does not only leverage the strong Islamic doctrines that abhor sexual promiscuity, online gambling, alcohol importation and internet pornography. The county has in place sharia laws that call for strict adherence and strong punishment to those that break the sharia laws' their government has strict strategies that involved eliminating pages from international magazines that have contents considered undesirable. The country still intend to continue supporting and benefiting from the global

Saudi Arabia has in the recent past passed laws allowing women to drive. There are also some other laws that are aimed at opening Saudi Arabia for global culture including reversing the bank on a movie theater, reducing control on the internet and adopting a more one culture that allows people to interact freely with the external world.

Provide specific details of the current situation.

The country has been continuously resisting outside political, social and cultural interferences that globalization could have on their people. Saudi Arabia is torn between the close internal mindedness and the far-reaching impact of globalization that has integrated the world economy. The country is a veritable linchpin of the global markets as it oil accounts for over 11% of the world's current oil production. The fact that Saudi Arabia is continuing to sell its oil to global markets means that they are increasingly acquiescing in supporting global integration. Leadership changes have seen the country adopt a more open culture where everyone is accepted irrespective of their religion or political background. However, while these changes are still in their infancy, there are hopes that the current king and princes would adopt a more open system, ban conservative, backward cultures and develop policies that would allow the country to participate and accept globalization as the country contribute to benefit from globalization.

Examine at least one solution suitable for Saudi Arabia

Globalization is the force that no country can stop and the only way that any country can benefit from globalization is by putting in place structures that allow the country to leverage the benefits of globalization. A country such as Saudi Arabia should focus on improving their comparative advantage, and take advantage of the opportunities brought about by globalization to grow. Saudi Arabia should develop laws and policies that promote economic integration because they only produce oil and need the global market for their oil.

References

Chulov, M. (2017). I will return Saudi Arabia to moderate Islam, says crown prince. The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/24/i-will-return-saudi-arabia-moderate-islam-crown-prince

Hubbard, B. (2017). Once Shunned as Drivers, Saudi Women Who Fought Ban Now Celebrate. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 16 December 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/07/world/middleeast/saudi-Arabia-women-driving-ban.html

Sayfo, O. (2017). How Globalization Reached The Cradle Of Islam. HuffPost. Retrieved 16 December 2017, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/omar-sayfo/globalization-reached-the-cradle-of-islam_b_11864856.html

References

The Globalist. (2017). Saudi Arabia Versus Globalization - The Globalist. The Globalist. Retrieved 16 December 2017, from https://www.theglobalist.com/saudi-arabia-versus-globalization/