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The Saudi File: People, Power, Politics
Saudi Arabia remains a closed society with its own interpretation of Islamic Law, an insistence on royal privilege, and an uneven record on human rights. This book represents a unique documentary insight into this hidden kingdom. Anders Jerichow has assembled a comprehensive collection of primary source documents on the elements of state power in Saudi Arabia. These range from laws, royal decrees, extracts from speeches to opposition comment, international reports and other previously unpublished confidential material.
The Saudi File: People, Power, Politics, by Anders Jerichow. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.340 pages, with chronology, bibliography and index. $49.95, hardcover.
In his page-long introduction, Anders Jerichow, a Danish journalist at the Copenhagen daily Politiken, maintains that “Saudi Arabia remains a closed society with a unique interpretation of Islamic Law, an insistence on royal privilege and a disputed record on human rights” (p. ix). He concludes that the kingdom “is facing a sensitive and volatile struggle on issues such as power distribution, accountability, democratization, freedom of speech, the role of the state and the citizen, legal standards and gender,” and that “any development is shrouded by a veil of government control.” Despite his own introductory remarks, the author is bewildered that Riyadh was “able to attract the forces of some thirty countries to its defense in 1990-91” and asserts that in addition to oil, “the plight of its citizens may be of even greater importance.” Thus, according to the author, The Saudi File “illuminates the condition of the citizen of Saudi Arabia” who, one may deduce from this train of thought, is in dire straits. The author insists that “no answers are offered by the book,” because “the development of any country rests with its citizens, not with its censors” (sic). Rather, he intends to let Saudis — and non-Saudis — speak for themselves, inviting readers to reach their own conclusions.
The Saudi File: People, Power, Politics
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