KEEPING THE KINGDOM: THE POLITICS OF HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM IN SAUDI ARABIA A Thesis Presented to the Faculty Of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy By Leigh E. Nolan In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2011 Dissertation Committee Dr. Andrew C. Hess, Chair Dr. Anna Seleny Dr. Ibrahim Warde Education The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts UniversityMedford, MA Ph.D. Candidate in International Relations, A.B.D. Ph.D., August 2011 Dissertation, Keeping the Kingdom: The Politics of Education Reform in Saudi Arabia Comprehensive exam fields: Southwest Asia, Security Studies, International Negotiation The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts UniversityMedford, MA Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy May 2006 Concentration: International Law, Southwest Asia, and Security Studies Master‘s Thesis: Afghanistan, Education and the Formation of the Taliban Yemen College for Middle Eastern Languages Sana’a, Yemen Boren National Security Graduate Fellow Summer 2007 Boren Fellowship for Arabic language training Doctoral dissertation preliminary research Fulbright Scholar Seoul, South Korea Awarded through the U.S. Fulbright Commission 2000-2001 Korean language training and cultural immersion Researched South Korean education reform Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA Bachelor of Arts, graduated with Honors 1996-2000 Major English Literature; Minor Political Science Professional Experience Brookings Doha Center Doha, Qatar Visiting Fellow January-March 2011 Conducted research on Saudi Arabia‘s economic and social reforms Authored ―Managing Reform? Saudi Arabia and the King’s Dilemma‖, Brookings Institution Conducted research on education reform in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for forthcoming policy analysis paper Center on International Cooperation, New York UniversityNew York, NY Research Associate 2009-2010 Conducted field research in Lebanon and Israel and authored chapter on UN special political missions in the Middle East for Review of Political Missions 2010, NYU Press, 2010 ii Authored paper on emerging powers and multilateral institutions in the Middle East for CIC-Brookings Conference Coordinated outreach to high-level U.S. and international policy and academic participants for CIC-Brookings Conference in Abu Dhabi Fulbright – Hayes Public Diplomacy Fellowship Suleimaniyah, Iraq Public Diplomacy outreach to universities in Kurdish region April 2009 Lectured on International Relations in the 21st Century Barack Obama National Security Presidential Campaign Team Washington, DC Research Assistant for Richard Danzig (volunteer) 2008 Researched policy developments in the Middle East for former Secretary of the Navy and Senior Campaign Policy Advisor to Barack Obama, Richard Danzig Wrote background memos on Afghanistan National Army and Afghanistan National Police Fletcher -Dar Al Hekma Program Boston/Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Program Manager 2006-2008 Designed and managed International Relations Training Program partnership between Dar Al Hekma College in Jeddah, KSA and Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy Liaised with Fletcher School, U.S. and KSA government officials Managed all program budgets and program personnel in Jeddah, KSA and Boston Alchemy Project/CORD/UNHCR Adre, Chad Field Researcher Summer 2005; 40hrs/wk Developed a refugee needs assessment instrument for UNHCR partner NGO Conducted interviews and focus groups with Sudanese Refugees in Gaga refugee camp Presented findings to UNHCR, CORD and Professor Karen Jacobsen of the Feinstein Famine Center, Tufts University American Academy of Arts and Sciences Cambridge, MA Program Coordinator, Committee for International Security Studies 2003-2004 Managed publication and editing process of global security book series “International Security in Post-Soviet States” in both US and Russia The Atlantic Monthly Magazine Boston, MA Editorial Intern 2003 Reviewed and critiqued fiction submissions; Performed fact-checking and copyediting for non-fiction articles Wildcat Service Corporation New York, NY iii Development Associate 2001-2002 Wrote several successful grant proposals ($10 M as team, $2 M individually) for education and workforce development non-profit with a particular focus on immigrant community Awards, Fellowships and Grants Southwest Asia and Islamic Civilization Doctoral FellowshipMedford, MA Awarded to conduct doctoral dissertation research 2009-2010 Boren National Security Graduate Fellowship Sana’a, Yemen Arabic language training fellowship Summer 2007 Fulbright – Hayes Public Diplomacy Fellowship Suleimaniyah, Iraq Public Diplomacy outreach to universities in Kurdish region April 2009 Lecture series, ―International Relations in the 21st Century‖ at Arab Human Development University H.B. Earhart Foundation Fellowship Medford, MA Awarded to doctoral students of promise in International Security Studies 2006-2007 Scaife International Security Studies Fellowship Medford, MA Awarded to master degree students of promise in Security St. 2006-2008 Fulbright Scholarship Naju, South Korea Korean language training 2000-2001 Taught English at a Korean Boys Middle School and High School Teaching Experience Human Development University Suleimaniyah, Iraq Lecturer, International Relations and the Gulf April, 2009 Fulbright-Hayes teaching fellowship Dar Al Hekma College Jeddah, KSA Instructor, Introduction to International Relations May-June, 2009 January-May, 2008 Tufts University Medford, MA Teaching Assistant, U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East 2008 Teaching Assistant, Political Psychology and Methods 2007 Teaching Assistant, Globalization and Social Change 2007 Teaching Assistant, Epidemics: Plagues, Peoples and Politics 2006 Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Peace and Justice Studies 2006 iv Teaching Assistant, International Relations Theory 2005 Publications and Select Presentations Managing Reform? Saudi Arabia and the King’s Dilemma, Policy Brief, The Brookings Institution, May 2011 “Emerging Powers, the U.S. and the Middle East”, Conference Paper presented at Center on International Cooperation – Brookings Conference on Emerging Powers, Emirates Center of Strategic Research, Abu Dhabi, (February 2010) Authored chapter on ―Political Missions in the Middle East‖ for Review of Political Missions 2010, Center on International Cooperation, NYU available online at http://www.cic.nyu.edu/politicalmissions/index.html Guest Lecturer, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY ―Impact of Culture on Negotiation in the Arab Gulf‖, USMA (March, 2009) Fletcher Ph.D. Colloquium, Presenter, ―Keeping the Kingdom: The Politics of Reform in Saudi Arabia‖, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Medford, MA (February, 2009) Fletcher Doctoral Conference Presenter, ―Training the Afghan National Security Forces: A Policy Perspective‖, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Medford, MA (October, 2008) CESS International Conference Presenter: ―Education and State Building in Afghanistan‖, University of Washington, Seattle (October, 2007) Alchemy Project, ―Report on CORD Livelihood Programs in Eastern Chad‖, Feinstein Famine Center (January, 2006) MALD Thesis, ―Afghanistan, Education and the Formation of the Taliban”, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy ( February, 2006) included in UK Stabilization Unit resource library http://www.stabilisationunit.gov.uk/stabilisation-and-conflict- resources/geographic/doc_details/208-afghanistan-education-and-the- formation-of-the-taliban.html Additional Languages: Intermediate Arabic; Basic Korean; Proficient French Interests: Tae Kwon Do (1st Dan), Comedy improvisation Community Involvement: T-Plus tutoring, Swarthmore College Class Fund Officer v DISSERTATION ABSTRACT As the forces of globalization accelerate, Saudi Arabia is entering the 21st century with immense pressure on its traditional ruling balance. Possessing a largely statist economy, a growing youth demographic and the societal pressures attendant with rapid social and technological change, it is crucial to understand the possibilities and limits of the Al Saud monarchy‘s ability to adapt to meet these challenges. This dissertation focuses on the question of how institutional reform occurs in a monarchy. Is it possible for rigid systems to transition and transform themselves, short of political upheaval, to be more flexible and responsive? To do so, this dissertation will examine the trajectory of reform in a key soft institution of the state, the higher education sector, in Saudi Arabia. The process of Saudi Arabia‘s higher education reform and its negotiation of religious, political, and regional actors is perhaps the most fraught in the Gulf region due to its accelerated pace of development, deep religious traditions, and the complex political dynamics of the Kingdom. This dissertation examines Saudi Arabia‘s higher education reform model through process tracing and field work in the Kingdom to highlight the institutional and societal mechanisms that are essential to modernization in the region, the challenges such reform faces and ask how, in the face of significant political pressure against education reform, reform is initiated and implemented. The majority of literature on liberalization in the Middle East has focused on formal political reform, yet Gulf Arab Oil Monarchies have been largely resistant to democratization, even as they embark on ambitious societal and bureaucratic reform. How they actually pursue institutional reform and to what degree is a largely unexplored