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Andrew Hammond is a doctoral candidate at Oxford University and Middle East policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He was former Reuters bureau chief in Riyadh and authored The Islamic Utopia: The Illusion of Reform in Saudi Arabia.
Salafi discourse has made considerable inroads in Turkey over the past 30 years, making contributions to sectarianism in ways that have yet to be fully studied and understood.
Within the first months of ‘Abdullah’s term as King, the Saudi government pursued a number of policies to improve the Kingdom’s economic profile. Saudi Arabia became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the limits were raised on foreign stakes in sectors such as banking, telecommunications services, wholesale, retail, and franchising. These reforms were intended to answer the economic priorities of diversifying from dependence on oil revenues, finding jobs for young Saudis, and opening up foreign investment.
