Kingdom Without Border: Saudi Political, Religious, and Media Frontiers (Columbia/Hurst) - Hardcover

Kingdom Without Borders is the first book to explore the driving forces behind Saudi Arabia's new era of expansionism. Having established a far-reaching political and religious influence, as well as an impressive media empire, Saudi Arabia has become a kingdom without borders, holding both local and international actors in a tight embrace. This phenomenon has yet to be seriously-instead of sensationally-studied. In this volume, contributors soberly reassess the changing nature of state and society, considering not only the multiple leaders who have risen within Saudi Arabia in recent years but also, thanks to a second oil boom, the consolidation of outside forces that now threaten to subvert the state. Bringing together leading scholars from Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Asia, Kingdom Without Borders combines both a top-down and grassroots approach to examining the country's growing regional and international influence. Contributors also trace the impact of Saudi Arabia on the religion, economics, and politics of Yemen, Lebanon, and the United States, linking the transformation of local contexts to the external actors of globalization.With a thorough investigation of the history and contemporary manifestations of Saudi expansionism, Kingdom Without Borders presents a unique opportunity to view Saudi Arabia's power project within the interrelated realms of local politics, religion, and media genres.

Madawi Al-Rasheed is professor of social anthropology at King's College London. She has published a large number of books and articles on Saudi Arabia, Arab migration, Middle Eastern Christian minorities, and Gulf transnational connections, including A History of Saudi Arabia and Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices of a New Generation.