Desert Dispute: The Diplomacy of Boundary-Making in South-Eastern Arabia

Abstract

undertaken in pursuit of other objectives? Does protection against rival religious doctrines and practices work the same way as protection against physical harm and the destruction of homes and livelihoods? The latter probably necessitates the creation of a secure territory, but does the former do so as well? More important, is it useful to meld Tilly’s theory of generating threats and offering protection together with recent theories of securitization drawn from the discipline of international relations? One could set out to formulate an innovative analysis of the securitization process that incorporates the logic of the protection racket, but such an argument would stand sharply at odds with existing scholarship on the topic. It is to Ben Rich’s great credit that Securitising Identity inspires such scintillating reservations, whose resolution may enable future explorers to revise Tilly’s theory so that it can explain not only the eras of Saudi history for which we have the least information but also those that we think we know the best.