Saudi Arabia provides a compelling example of how sectarianism sustains the dynamics of authoritarianism, especially when bolstered by a rentier political economy. In this paper, I investigate three claims about the link between Saudi authoritarianism and sectarianism, as follows: (1) Governing with a sectarian ideology impedes political reform, since it disrupts cross-sectarian reform coalitions by attacking the sectarian outgroup. (2) The presence of multiple sects, as well as hydrocarbon wealth, allows regimes like that of al-Saʿud to use divide-and-rule tactics to maintain control; it also enables the funding of media and education outlets with the purpose of perpetuating authoritarianism, especially when the authoritarian dynamics are underpinned by a rentier political economy. (3) Despite the authoritarian and rentier dynamics in play, the Saudi government has at times sought at least a degree of inclusion of the Shia minority, depending on the political economy and the relative influence of Shia and Sunni Islamists. Using the existing literature on the Saudi state and historical examples, I aim to clarify the link between sectarianism and authoritarianism in a state in which the Sunni/Shia division, bolstered by a rentier political economy, has emerged as a powerful means of maintaining the political status quo.

中文翻译：

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沙特的宗派主义、威权主义和食利者主义的共生

沙特阿拉伯提供了一个令人信服的例子，说明宗派主义如何维持威权主义的动态，尤其是在食利者政治经济的支持下。在本文中，我调查了关于沙特威权主义和宗派主义之间联系的三个主张，如下所示：（1）宗派意识形态的治理阻碍了政治改革，因为它通过攻击宗派外群体来扰乱跨宗派改革联盟。(2) 多个教派的存在以及碳氢化合物财富，允许像 al-Saʿud 这样的政权使用分而治之的策略来维持控制；它还能够为媒体和教育机构提供资金，以延续威权主义，特别是当威权动态受到食利者政治经济的支持时。(3) 尽管存在威权主义和食利者动态，沙特政府有时会寻求至少在一定程度上包容什叶派少数民族，这取决于政治经济以及什叶派和逊尼派伊斯兰教徒的相对影响。使用关于沙特国家的现有文献和历史例子，我的目的是澄清在一个国家中，逊尼派/什叶派分裂，在食利主义政治经济的支持下，已经成为维持政治的有力手段，宗派主义和威权主义之间的联系。现状。