This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ ANGLO-SAUDI CULTURAL RELATIONS CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF BILATERAL TIES, 1950- 2010 Alhargan, Haya Saleh Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). 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Sep. 2021 1 ANGLO-SAUDI CULTURAL RELATIONS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF BILATERAL TIES, 1950-2010 by Haya Saleh AlHargan Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Middle East and Mediterranean Studies Programme King’s College University of London 2015 2 ABSTRACT This study investigates Anglo-Saudi cultural relations from 1950 to 2010, with the aim of greater understanding the nature of those relations, analysing the factors affecting them and examining their role in enhancing cultural relations between the two countries. Furthermore, the thesis is grounded within the area of public diplomacy, using cultural exchange as a means of developing ties between the UK and Saudi Arabia, and evaluating the power of Saudi-British cultural diplomacy to improve bilateral relations. This thesis has been undertaken using an analysis methodology in order to examine the factors and events effecting Anglo-Saudi cultural relations by providing a study of political, economic, security and educational factors and their impact on such relations. It questions how and why certain events occurred, how these impacted on cultural ties, and then examines the ensuing consequences. The research is made up of seven chapters. The first chapter provides an explanation of the conceptual and theoretical development of culture, cultural relations and cultural diplomacy. In the second chapter the thesis deals with the historical background of Anglo-Saudi relations and its current development, and then examines the factors that have impacted on Saudi-British bilateral relations, specifically the Buraimi and the Suez crises during the 1950s and 1960s in chapter 3, booming oil prices in the 1970s in chapter 4, the higher education links between Saudi Arabia and Britain during the 1980s and 1990s in chapter 5, the relationship in the light of the events of 11 September 2001 in chapter 6, and finally the growth of educational co-operation and the role of the British Council in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the Saudi Cultural Bureau in London in chapter 7. 3 In its examination of cultural, political and educational factors, the study has drawn on primary data from various archives in both Britain and Saudi Arabia, in addition to reports from the British Council, the Saudi Embassy, the Cultural Bureau in London and other secondary sources. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... 4 List of Tables ................................................................................................................. 8 List of Figures .............................................................................................................. 11 Acknowledgments........................................................................................................ 13 Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... 14 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 17 Studies on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Problems with Cultural Relations and Resources ................................................................................................................. 22 Saudis Studying in Britain and Cultural Institutes ............................................... 28 Methodology - An Overall Picture .......................................................................... 30 Data and Materials Collection ............................................................................. 32 Thesis Structure ................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 1 ...................................................................................................................... 41 The Concept of Culture and Public Diplomacy ........................................................... 41 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 41 1. Definition of Culture ............................................................................................ 42 1.1 A Definition of Cultural Relations ................................................................ 44 1.2 Cultural Relations and Public Diplomacy ..................................................... 46 1.2.1 The 1967 Cultural Co-Operation Agreement ........................................ 57 1.2.2 The Euro-Arab Dialogue........................................................................ 61 1.3 A Brief Summary of the Beginnings of British-Saudi Cultural and Scientific Exchanges ................................................................................................................ 72 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 77 Chapter 2 ...................................................................................................................... 82 Anglo-Saudi Relations after the Pre-1945 Era: Exploration, Exchanges and Visits, Trade and Economy, and Education and Culture ........................................................ 82 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 82 2. A brief Overview of the Relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom ...................................................................................................................... 83 2.1 Official Visits ................................................................................................ 83 2.2 Trade and Economic Relations ..................................................................... 85 2.3 Cultural and Educational Relations ............................................................... 88 5 2.4 Factors and Starting Points for Cultural Relations ........................................ 97 2.4.1 Religion .................................................................................................. 97 2.4.2 Historical and Political Ties ................................................................. 102 2.5 Prospective Factors for building Anglo-Saudi Cultural Ties ...................... 105 2.5.1 Factor 1: Hajj and Umrah Seasons....................................................... 105 2.5.2 Factor 2: Productive Political Relations between the Two Countries . 107 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 112 Chapter 3 .................................................................................................................... 115 The Evolving Cultural Relationship between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the 1950s and 1960s .................................................................... 115 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 115 3. Anglo-Saudi Disputes ........................................................................................ 118 3.1 The Buraimi Oasis ....................................................................................... 118 3.2 The Suez Crisis............................................................................................ 126 3.3 The 1967 War and its Impact on Political Relations ................................... 130 3.4 Cultural Conditions and Change in Saudi Arabia and its Impact on Anglo- Saudi Cultural Relations in the 1950s-1960s ......................................................... 132 Media ................................................................................................................. 134 Educational Exchanges and Travel