本篇論文題目為「中華民國與沙烏地阿拉伯王國關係之研究」，旨在尋求中沙邦交由 肇始，奠基發展鞏固乃至衰退、逆轉整個變化軌跡之合未來關係走向之參考。本篇論 文架構包含七個章節，茲分別簡述如下： 首章緒論說明研究動機與目的，研究方法及研究範圍與限制。 第二章論述沙國建國經過以彰明沙國之伊斯蘭與阿拉伯文化背景。並為使讀者於進入 本文主題章節前，先對沙烏地阿拉伯王國外交政策各層面有相當了解，乃先就其影響 因素、人物、機構及政策與目標等做一概要說明。 第三章則簡略回顧溯伊斯蘭教傳入中國之歷史沿革以及中沙兩國初期交往情形， 尤 其著重於影響兩國初期關係關鍵人物私人情誼之互動，然後再就兩國關係之制度化做 一分析說明。 第四章涵蓋具相關性之兩個不同互動領域一宗教事務與官式互訪深入研究過去四十年 來我國回教朝覲團與因兩國領袖互訪而達到高潮之官式互訪， 在維續及提昇兩國關 係與相互了解上所扮演之重要角色。 第五章一一檢視中沙互動關係中更具體而實質之內涵； 包括雙方文教交流與經技合 作兩層面。 第六章的內容主要在於說明中共運用宗教、經貿、國際事務影響力、體育及軍官等手 段滲透拉攏沙國並經由階段性之策略；由商務代表處之互設終而達到與沙國建交之目 的。 最後第七章結論部份則就本文各章節所探討之主題做一總結與評析， 尤其呼應第二 章所述影響沙國對外關係之各個層面之剖析，針對沙國何以會與中共建交闡釋個人淺 見， 最後筆者並就如何因應中沙關係新局加強兩國關係提出原則性的看法， 以做 為筆者個人實際從事對沙外交工作之基本念。

<p>Saudi Arabia is increasingly becoming one of the most attractive areas in the world for foreign investors. At the same time the country has a major influence on the economy in the Middle-East. However there exist reasons for why companies previously have been reluctant to enter this market, these reasons have mainly been related to political turbulence, foreign traditions and culture. In recent years some research has been dedicated to this area however there is still more to investigate.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis has thereby been to identify what problems Swedish companies have encountered when operating in Saudi Arabia in terms of psychic distance, asymmetric information and working towards mutual goals. Hence, what problems they have dealt with during the continuous work and to what extent they have managed to maintain their corporate culture.</p><p>The authors chose to conduct a deductive multiple case study including four Swedish companies with operations in Saudi Arabia, these were Abetong, IKEA, Oriflame and Tetra Pak. The research took a qualitative approach as four in-depth interviews were conducted with managers in suitable positions at respective company.</p><p>The findings of the thesis indicate that the companies to a great extent have been able to maintain their corporate culture, and the adaptations that were made were mainly related to women’s role in Saudi society. In terms of psychic distance, this is something that has been encountered to a certain extent by all of the companies. Challenges have mainly been faced within the areas of religion, political systems, culture and educational level whereas the economic development was generally perceived as an opportunity. As for problems with asymmetric information and working towards mutual goals, these have not been reflected to a greater extent within any of the companies. However the problems that have been encountered have been related to language barriers.</p>

The main concern of this thesis is the development of political and economic relations between the PRC and the KSA. The relations that officially developed after the establishment of diplomatic relations are the focus of analysis of the thesis. By examining the historical and statistical data, the thesis assesses the factors that have cultivated and maintained the Sino-Saudi political and economic relations, as well as the implications of these bilateral links. In analysing the relations, a theoretical conception of complex interdependence has been used. The thesis first provides background on China’s policy towards the superpowers and the Middle Eastern countries between 1949 and 1989, and looks at how China and Saudi Arabia related to each other over this period. The thesis then argues that over the first decade (1990-2000) of Sino-Saudi diplomatic relations, the two countries began to lay the basis for complex interdependence between them. It highlights a number of characteristics of complex interdependence which came to exist. The thesis then goes on to examine whether, in the second decade (2001-2010) of bilateral relations, an intensification of complex interdependence ensued. The complex interdependence approach links closely with constructivist theory in terms of how this thesis is conceived. The thesis argues that China and Saudi Arabia between 1949 and 1977 shared an understanding that their ideological positions made official links between them impossible. Over the course of the following twelve years, this understanding gradually changed. The change laid the basis for the development of diplomatic relations in 1990. In the years between 1990 and 2010, the policy responses of China and Saudi Arabia to major regional events exhibited a commonality of perception. This underpinned the development of the relationship. To identify clearly the growth of Sino-Saudi relations, the thesis is divided into three time periods: 1949-89; 1990-2000; and 2001-10. The time period 1949-89 has three distinct phases: 1949-65; 1966-77; and 1978-89. The 1949-65 and 1966-97 periods are characterised by the absence of state-to-state relations between the PRC and the KSA. However, unofficial contact between Muslims on mainland China and Saudi officials and leaders was established and largely maintained. State-to-state contact only existed between the KSA and ROC governments, which shared broadly anti-Communist sentiments. During the 1978-89 phase, hope for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the PRC and the KSA was high. Some intergovernmental contact was initiated, direct communications between the leaders of the two countries were enhanced, and a joint endeavour towards the development of diplomatic ties was pursued. The 1988 missile deal smoothly accelerated the process of developing these ties. In the 1990-2000 phase, four decades after the establishment of the PRC, Sino-Saudi diplomatic relations were established. The establishment of these diplomatic relations was daunting for the ROC, which wanted to preserve the diplomatic recognition that the KSA had granted it for the preceding 45 years. The strenuous efforts of the ROC to prevent a dramatic shift of diplomatic recognition to mainland China were in vain. The 1990-2000 phase was marked by significant growth in the newly established Riyadh-Beijing diplomatic relationship. Economic interests were at the heart of the agendas of the leaders and officials of the two countries. They began to enhance co-operation and to sign agreements related to various aspects of their bilateral relations. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Oil Co-operation was concluded in 1999. The value of Sino-Saudi total trade rose by 643 percent between 1990 and 2000 and the volume of Saudi oil exports to China increased by 6,721 percent between 1991 and 2000. After nearly ten years official diplomatic relations were established, President Jiang Zemin viewed the development of bilateral relations as impressive, while Crown Prince Abdullah seemed to suggest that there was now “an intimate relationship” between the two countries, saying that he considered the PRC to be the KSA’s closest friend. The period 2001-10 is also sub-divided into two phases: 2001-05 and 2006-10. This period exhibits the three characteristics of complex interdependence that Keohane and Nye (2000) put forward in their scholarly work: multiple channels, the minimal role of military force, and the absence of a hierarchy of issues. Security issues were largely excluded from Sino-Saudi bilateral relations, while economic interests dominated the agendas of the two countries. In the first phase (2001-05), high-level officials continued to play a leading role in bilateral economic relations. They consistently called for the participation of the private sector in expanding Riyadh-Beijing economic ties. The value of Sino-Saudi total trade continued to climb, reaching USD16.1bn in 2005, and the PRC’s oil imports from the KSA reached 22.2 million tonnes in the same year. Some joint investment projects that involved the participation of Chinese and Saudi companies in the hydrocarbons sector were successful. With regard to the construction industry, Chinese companies won four construction projects from the Saudi Arabian cement industry. The second phase (2006-10) was marked by substantial advancement in Sino-Saudi relations. Following the exchange visits of the state leaders in 2006, bilateral contacts expanded rapidly. The visits led to the formulation of more strategies, with the intention of cementing the relationship, increasing contact and concluding more agreements. The Chinese leaders called for “strategic co-operation”, “a friendly and co-operative strategic partnership”, and “strategic friendly relations”, specifically referring to economic co-operation. This second phase saw Sino-Saudi total trade increase to USD 33bn in 2009, and the volume of PRC oil imports from the KSA reached a peak of 41.8million barrels in the same year. With regard to the hydrocarbons joint ventures, in which investments were jointly made by Saudi ARAMCO and Sinopec, the projects in Quanzhou and Rub’ Al-Khali were good examples of the strong co-operation between PRC and KSA companies. The Quanzhou plant launched operation in 2009, and the gas-exploration project in Rub’Al-Khali engaged in drilling for another three years (its operation began in 2004). The achievement of SINOPEC SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co., Ltd, as part of the Tianjin petrochemical project, is another example of such co-operation. In non-hydrocarbons joint ventures, mutual investment increased exponentially, particularly in the mining sector.

This study has been undertaken using an interpretive methodology in order to examine the socially constructed views of Saudi EFL teachers and their decision-making with regards to the appropriate cultural models for EFL textbooks in Saudi public schools. The study also examines the factors affecting the teachers’ views and how they apply their beliefs in their classrooms. In addition, the study will also examine if the Saudi EFL teachers have any concerns about what they have been through and examined and accordingly investigates how they address their pedagogical decision-making in the classroom. Moreover, this study is interested in looking at EFL teachers as local teachers teaching a global language. In view of the exploratory nature of this study and its context-specificity, the naturalistic orientation of interpretive and social constructivism as an epistemological stance were selected. The research design employed a concurrent mixed methods design using an adapted version of Cresswell (1996). In this study, the participants were Saudi Arabian EFL teachers from one city in Saudi Arabia teaching in all of the three public education levels (primary, intermediate and secondary). The data collected were both qualitative (interviews and open-ended questionnaires) and quantitative (close-ended questionnaires). For the interviews, 14 male and female teachers equally interviewed, whereas for the questionnaires 280 male and female participated. The data collection of both data qualitative and quantitative occurred at the same time during my field journey in 2009 in Saudi Arabia. I used the SPSS descriptive statistics for the analysing the quantitative data and used exploratory content analysis for the qualitative data. The study findings revealed that the Saudi EFL teachers were not satisfied with the cultural content currently promoted in the Textbooks as they inappropriately contradict the local cultural values. Thus, they believe that for a better cultural content, the textbooks should therefore include a mixture of different cultures that do not mismatch with the local. And as they are controlled by some educational and social factors, they are limited to practice what they think is appropriate to apply in the classroom, therefore, their decision-making in this regards to some extent are to be controlled. In addition, the findings of the current study revealed that the Saudi EFL teachers show their openness to other cultures based on their glocal position as local Saudis teaching a global language. The conclusion of the study has some suggestion and implications to improve the cultural content of the EFL textbooks as well as implications for the EFL teachers in general and their practices and decision-making with regards to the textbook. Furthermore, the study proposed a model for the appropriate EFL textbooks for each educational level and can be applied locally in the Saudi context and globally for other similar context around the world.

This study examines the political life of Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmad al-Fatih Al Khalifa, the fifth ruler of the Al Khalifa dynasty and the third of that family to rule Bahrain. It is a political biography, examining the tactics used by Shaikh Abdullah and his family to fend off threats from various foes. Those tactics ranged from direct military combat, to entry into temporary protector-protégé relationships, to playing off one foe against another. His ability to employ such tactics effectively enabled him and his family to neutralize or defeat their foes. This study examines local statecraft tactics through the case study of one of the Gulf’s greatest nineteenth century statesmen. It also looks at the reasons that resulted in Shaikh Abdullah’s political downfall. Those reasons were domestic and external factors that the Shaikh seems to have either ignored or been unable to fully address. That inability and/or shortcoming in addressing those factors would have cost any Gulf ruler his rulership, not just Shaikh Abdullah, as similar aspects prevailed in the other Gulf shaikhdoms. The study examines the life of a political leader whose achievements have been played down, even neglected, by most modern historians in Bahrain and the Gulf. The reason for this neglect lies perhaps in the natural desire of the current ruling branch of the Al Khalifa family to discourage any potential future claim to the throne by the descendants of Shaikh Abdullah, who have lived in exile from Bahrain ever since Shaikh Abdullah’s overthrow in 1843.

The current study focuses on customer relationship management initiatives in different organizations and in different countries. A proposed CRM model was adopted and used to evaluate the CRM initiatives of the chosen organizations in both Saudi Arabia and the UK. The scope of this research was affected by the differing levels of cooperation received from the organizations which participated in the case studies, thereby resulting in differing sizes of the said case studies. The adopted CRM conceptual model was used to evaluate the level of CRM maturity in the organizations studied. This model is believed to be a significant contribution to the theory and field of CRM. This model could be used by organizations to evaluate their CRM initiatives and assess their CRM readiness and status. The proposed CRM model specifies the basic parameters of the CRM sequential stages and their essential supporting conditions. Another important contribution of the study is that it identifies and highlights the potential effects of the cultural disparities existing between Saudi Arabia and the UK on CRM initiatives yet to be undertaken in both countries. In depth open-ended questions were used to collect the data. The analysis of the data gathered went through two main stages. The first stage was to transcribe the data collected from all the organizations chosen and produce detailed write-ups for each case. In every case the write-ups were similarly structured to help the researcher in the second stage, the cross-case analysis. The cross-case analysis was based on the researcher’s proposed conceptual CRM model. The central research question for this study is: Why and how do CRM initiatives succeed or fail? In order to answer this question, the following research questions were formulated and answers were deduced from the findings and results of the qualitative analysis conducted: RQ1: What are the critical success factors of CRM initiatives? The answers received resulted in the emergence of some critical success factors, such as: 1. Senior Management Support 2. Business Plan and Vision 3. Making the Change in Small Steps 4. Inter Departmental Collaboration 5. Clear Ownership of Data 6. Training for End-users 7. End Users' Acceptance of Change 8. Degree of Analysis and Customer Segmentation 9. Degree of Alignment 10. Language Considerations 11. Internet Presence RQ2: What are the common difficulties when adopting a CRM initiative? The answers came up with the following common difficulties: 1. Resistance to Change 2. Human Errors in Feeding the System 3. Governmental Legislation 4. Cultural Barriers RQ3: What does CRM mean for different organizations? The answers exposed a common interesting finding that different organizations considered CRM to be different things. Some considered CRM to be branded CRM software, others as call-centers, yet others as loyalty programs and/or simple tools to manage and satisfy customers. This confirmed that CRM meant different things to different organizations. RQ4: Is CRM the right solution for every organization? The answers proved that if branded software from recognized vendors only was to be recognized as CRM, then this standard and rigid kind of CRM could not always be implemented by all organizations. On the other hand, if the managerial concepts behind CRM were to be taken into consideration, then CRM could indeed be implemented by every organization.

The Sultani Hajj Route between AlMadinah and Makkah is one of the most significant heritage properties in Saudi Arabia. However, it has not been identified or designated as a significant cultural route worthy of conservation. Hence, many significant historic elements and sites along the route are being lost or damaged. This thesis was written to use World Heritage Cultural Route criteria to identify the Sultani Hajj Route as a heritage resource worthy of conservation. The thesis reviews UNESCO guidelines and criteria for designating cultural routes on the World Heritage List (WHL), and then applies these guidelines to identify the Sultani Hajj Route for possible designation on the WHL. Based on interviews and field surveys, 77 significant historic properties associated with the Sultani Hajj Route are identified, and 12 of these heritage resources are described in detail. The goal of this thesis is to spark interest in conserving this universally valuable Saudi cultural route while acknowledging that many concerns still need to be addressed, including raising public awareness and increasing public participation in the conservation process.

This thesis investigates the emergence of Medina in the Ḥijāz as a widely-venerated holy city over the first three Islamic centuries (seventh to ninth centuries CE) within the appropriate historical context, with special attention paid to the town’s ḥaram. It focuses in particular upon the roles played by the Prophet Muḥammad, Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs, and early Islamic legal scholars in this development. It shows that Medina’s emergence as a widely-venerated holy city alongside Mecca was a gradual and contested process, and one that was intimately linked with several important developments concerning legitimate political, religious, and legal authority in the Islamic world. The most important sources for this study have been Medina’s local histories, and Chapter One investigates the development of a tradition of local history-writing there. The Prophet Muḥammad first created a form of sacred space, a ḥaram, at Medina, and Chapter Two seeks to provide the context for this by investigating some forms of sacred and protected space found in the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula. Chapter Three then examines a rare early document preserved in the later Islamic sources, which deals in part with Muḥammad’s creation of Medina’s ḥaram, the so-called “Constitution of Medina”, and investigates why and how Muḥammad created that particular form of sacred space at Medina. The remaining two chapters deal with the history of Muḥammad’s ḥaram at Medina after his death as its original raison d’être disappeared. Chapter Four analyses some aspects of Muslim legal scholars’ discussions concerning Medina’s ḥaram, and demonstrates that certain groups disputed its existence. Chapter Five then seeks to understand why caliphs and other scholars invested so heavily in actively promoting its widespread veneration and Medina’s status as a holy city. It concludes that caliphs from the late first/early eighth century patronised Medina to associate themselves with legitimate political authority inherited from Muḥammad, and that from the late second/eighth century certain legal scholars argued for the continued existence of Medina’s ḥaram because of its association with the Prophet and his Companions who had come to be for them the ultimate source of legal authority.

Background: the aims of this study were to assess the outpatients needs among 155 patients at Al-Amal Complex for Mental Health in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and identifying the demographic variables that are associated with these needs. Method: the Camberwell Assessment of Need Short Appraisal Schedule (CANSAS) was used to assess the needs and the demographic questionnaire was used to identify the patient’s demographic variables includes gender, age, income and level of education. Results: patient who meets any one of these criteria; being elderly, poor, and the uneducated are more likely to have higher total number of needs. Men and women are more likely to report similar met needs, but women are more likely expressed more unmet needs.

The unusual way in which Britain's empire in Arabia was connected politically and constitutionally to the metropole, and the perceived – in some instances exaggerated – view of its strategic and economic importance, created both an opportunity and a justification for the British disengagement from the region to happen differently than in most of the rest of the empire. Strong personalities – in the metropole, amongst the men on the spot, and among local elites – played a crucial role in decision-making, and this thesis argues that informal networks from among these three constituencies worked in parallel to the established formal channels, impacting policy and driving the decision-making process. These networks initially contributed to a break in the political consensus within the metropole, but eventually also helped to restore it. The manipulation of local elites was the tool of choice, used by Britain (under both Conservative and Labour Governments) and its "men on the spot", in their endeavour to secure a lasting privileged position in Arabia. How key actors adapted to change, both in their own societies and in the international system, often determined the success or otherwise of their endeavours. This tangled tale of Britain’s last imperial stand in Arabia is far from being a unique case of how modern empires have handled unusual episodes of imperial retreat. The story has echoes in two other imperial exits of the late 20^th century – the French disengagement from Algeria from 1954 to 1962, and Russian efforts to maintain a privileged position in Georgia, immediately before and after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, and since. Even if it is too early to draw firm conclusions, similar patterns – as the ones discussed in this thesis with regards to the end of the British Empire in Arabia – can also be observed in the other two cases, allowing us to draw some observations and lessons.