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Nation-building and Afro-Arabs in Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Today, Black communities constitute significant minorities in many Arab Middle East states. The presence of large numbers of Black communities in the region was largely the result of the Trans-Saharan slave trade and settlement of pilgrims. While Black Arabs routinely face personal discrimination, there is a variation in their cultural representation, socio-economic conditions, and access to political power between the states in the region. Comparatively speaking, Saudi Arabia has been more successful in integrating its Black citizens, who make up 15 percent of the population with an estimate of 3.5 million people. This paper has two objectives. First, it aims to identify the extent to which Afro-Saudis have been integrated and included within the Saudi nation legally, culturally, economically and politically. Second, it aims to explore the extent to which nation-building in Saudi Arabia, where loyalties had traditionally been tied to tribal affiliations, was successful in developing a strong and overarching sense of national identity, allowing Black communities an enroute to inclusion. In addition to secondary sources, the paper relies on interviews for its analysis and argument.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
Arabian Peninsula
Sub Area
None