The Saudi Nation: Maintaining a Cohesive Identity with National Programs

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As a result of 11 September 2001, Saudi Arabia stands in a difficult position because fifteen of the nineteen hijackers help Saudi passports. To correct this Saudi Arabia continues to update its national programs to present a united and modern society to the world. The country struggles to distance itself from the violence of terrorism because of their seemingly close connection to the ideals of terrorist groups and the amount of money that historically originated from Saudi Arabia. Repeatedly activists from inside the country and all over the world challenged the status quo in Saudi Arabia calling the education system one that creates terrorists and teaches men to look down upon women.

 

To overcome this stigma, programs like the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND) and Vision 2030 aim to show Saudis what they should strive for and demonstrate to the world that Saudi Arabian terrorists do not represent their country’s beliefs and lifestyles. This paper demonstrates how these two programs operating separately, yet both under government dictate, work together to build a Saudi Arabia in which citizens can participate. Benedict Anderson teaches us that nations need to create and maintain a cohesive identity to unify the country under one banner that will allow the community to develop a strong foundation in the case of threats.

 

KACND launched in 2003 produced success when generating dialogue space with society and across different strata of the population. While on the other hand, the recent Vision 2030 provides an all-encompassing vision of what the future of Saudi Arabia will look like socially, politically, and economically. Each operate in very different ways yet help the Saudi Arabian state generate and maintain nationalism by creating a society based on Islamic values, progress and, participation in the nation.

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