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SAUDI ARABIA Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads, by David H. Rundell. New York: I. B. Tauris, 2021. 299 pages. $27.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is at a crossroads, again. And the Western reader longs for insight, background information, and, of course, some "hot" material. This cycle repeats itself every decade, and yet every time, we are surprised and seem to have forgotten the conclusions and lessons from the last episode. Otherwise, there is no other way to explain why we need this book.
Vision or Mirage is not based on actual scholarly research, empirical findings from fieldwork, interviews, and other data collection methods. Instead, this is the author's summary of his experience working and living in Saudi Arabia and the larger Middle East, not as a scholar but as a diplomat. Of course, diplomats can be scholars too. I like to mention and praise the work of Dutch diplomat Marcel Kurpershoek, who passionately and expertly explained the tribal culture and Bedouin poetry from the central region in Saudi Arabia.1
David Rundell is a United States diplomat with 30 years of experience in Middle Eastern countries, including several tours in Saudi Arabia, where he probably met every important decision-maker of his time. As a diplomat, he also represents his country, its foreign policies, business interests, and...