EUR  â¬106.80EUR  â¬89.00 excl. VAT
Saudi Arabiaâs Urban Revolution
Oil Urbanization and Protest in al-Ahsaʾ/ the Eastern Province
Series:
Author:
This book discusses popular contention in Saudi Arabiaâs Eastern Province (until 1952 the governorate of al-Ahsaʾ) under the aegis of petro-capitalism. The notion of urban revolution takes on a double meaning, namely the rapid urbanisation which broke with the regionâs urban past and destroyed the oasis environment and merchant economy, and the types of resistance and rebellious fervour that were triggered by the concentration of labour and industrial production in the new urban centres. The book uses archival sources from the United States, Great Britain, and Saudi Arabia as well as accounts of Saudi oil workers, activists, and other contemporaries.
Claudia Ghrawi is an independent researcher who has worked at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin (2011-2021). She studied history in Potsdam and Berlin and is co-editor of Claiming and Making Muslim Worlds. Religion and Society in the Context of the Global (De Gruyter 2021).
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
List of Figures and Tables
1 Introduction
â1âThe Power of Oil
â2âOil Histories
â3âA Word on Sources
â4âOutline of the Book
2 Society and Politics before Oil
â1âThe Two Oases
â2âThe New Saudi State
â3âSome Thoughts on Sectarianism
3 The Emergent Oil Conurbation
â1âLabor Camps, Boom Towns and Hinterlands
â2âConflicts Over Land and Expropriation
â3âChanging Social Geographies
â4âControl and Surveillance
4 Popular Politics on the Oil Frontier
â1âThe Saudi Labor Struggle
â2âContested Frontiers â a Politicization of Space
5 Urban Revolution
â1âAmbivalent Urbanities
â2âUrban Struggle and Repression
6 Fractured Cities
â1âThe Old Polities
â2âA New Urban Reality under the Aegis of Petro-Capitalism
â3âHow the Urban Revolution Unfolds
â4âAlliances between Labor and Urban Classes
â5âSocial Malaise
â6âSectarianization as Counter-Revolution
â7âRural Rebellion
ââEpilogue
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
Note on Transliteration
List of Figures and Tables
1 Introduction
â1âThe Power of Oil
â2âOil Histories
â3âA Word on Sources
â4âOutline of the Book
2 Society and Politics before Oil
â1âThe Two Oases
â2âThe New Saudi State
â3âSome Thoughts on Sectarianism
3 The Emergent Oil Conurbation
â1âLabor Camps, Boom Towns and Hinterlands
â2âConflicts Over Land and Expropriation
â3âChanging Social Geographies
â4âControl and Surveillance
4 Popular Politics on the Oil Frontier
â1âThe Saudi Labor Struggle
â2âContested Frontiers â a Politicization of Space
5 Urban Revolution
â1âAmbivalent Urbanities
â2âUrban Struggle and Repression
6 Fractured Cities
â1âThe Old Polities
â2âA New Urban Reality under the Aegis of Petro-Capitalism
â3âHow the Urban Revolution Unfolds
â4âAlliances between Labor and Urban Classes
â5âSocial Malaise
â6âSectarianization as Counter-Revolution
â7âRural Rebellion
ââEpilogue
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
The book is of interest for academic institutes, libraries, specialists, and (post-graduate) students with a focus on the modern history of the Middle East, the oil industry, and urban studies.