The emergence of Saudi Arabian administrative areas: a study in political geography

Abstract

The present study is the first effort at tracing the evolution and examining the factors involved in the emergence and delimitation of the territorial administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In the General Introduction, the geographical approach is distinguished, and data sources, their limitations and the difficulties encountered by the research student are stated. Part one is a review of the historical divisions of the area occupied at present by the Saudi state. Emphasis is laid on the traditional geographical and administrative divisions (Chapter One); the territorial administrative divisions during Egyptian and Ottoman rule (Chapter Two); and on the socio-political entities of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Chapter Three). Part Two is an examination of the authority and distribution of Saudi Arabian administrative areas. The development of central government and provincial organisations is discussed (Chapter Four). The authority, evolution and geographical distribution of the Saudi provinces, and the territorial administrative units of selected central government ministries are examined in Chapters Five, Six and Seven. The third and final part is a detailed and critical examination of one province (al-Bahah). The evolution of the province in time and space is discussed (Chapter Eight) and followed by a geographical analysis of the nature and base of district delimitation and administration (Chapter Nine). Finally, the thesis ends with some concluding remarks, containing the most significant and broad findings of the study.