Rebranding Saudi National Identity: Domestic and International Implications

Abstract

The current Saudi State was formed in 1932 by the Saudi Royal Family, Al Suad. However, that Royal Family has been around for much longer than that, going back to 1727 when the first Saudi state was established. Saudi Nationalism has always been interlinked with Islam. Based on that shared history, shared Islamic culture, and heritage an Islamic national identity was created that can be called Wahhabi-nationalism. This paper breaks down the road to the recent rebranding of the Saudi national identity. The Saudi state is rebranding the Saudi national identity to facilitate legacy, legitimacy, and unity on a domestic level, and in order in order to be able to compete politically and economically on a global scale. This research will focus on how the Saudi state is rebranding its identity, specifically, its celebrations of national holidays like the National Day, and the newly established Founding Day. This first part of the paper will analyze the difference between the national day and founding day, and their significance. The second part of the paper will examine its implications on public policy and foreign policy, and how these three elements ultimately influence each other.