So much of the news today is pleasant. A lot of it is heartbreaking, of course, because of what is happening in Palestine, Lebanon, and several other Arab countries that emerged deeply wounded from the so-called Arab Spring. Starting in 2011, this marked the spread of civil strife and warfare and the breakdown of states and their institutions in favour of militias that waged war for their own benefit, capturing the power to make critical decisions about war and peace from their legitimate authorities. In the end the price was enormous, almost incalculable in terms of casualties and destruction. It all conjured up memories of the Palestinian Nakba and the Lebanese Civil War as well as rounds of wars with Israel. Against this grim backdrop, the Saudi Arabian National Day offers a welcome occasion to take a different journey into history, one that is not riddled with the disasters that have brought the region to its current state.

Saudi National Day sums up the story of the building of an identity together with the construction of a full-fledged nation state. It is an occasion to look back across its long history documented by the archaeological and academic discoveries about its different eras, through the founding of the kingdom in 1712 and the developments that have brought the Saudi people to the unique period their country is experiencing today. It is also an occasion to look forward to that people’s aspiration to forge ahead on the path to the future in which their country has joined the ranks of developed nations, contributing to the global economy not just through its oil reserves but also through its growing capacities in diverse economic fields, particularly advanced technologies.

Until recently, not a single Arab country could present itself as a modern miracle of any sort. This region had no Japan or South Korea, no global tigers or leopards. The only Arab country that had come close to this was the UAE, which turned Dubai into a Singapore-like model that attracted the admiration of other Arab countries and inspired them to emulate it. As for most Arab countries after their independence, they became rentier states dependent on a single product, like oil, or, as in the case of Egypt, a small bundle of products such as oil, tourism, remittances from its workers abroad, and the Suez Canal. The availability of large sources of rents enabled these states to conclude a social contract in which they pledged to care for their citizens in exchange for the latter’s acceptance of a centralised system of government controlled by an individual, family or political party. The formula enabled a minimum degree of political and economic equilibrium. It spared the country the famines seen in Africa, but it would not stimulate the developmental surges and booms seen in Asia.

The 2010s brought about a major departure from this phase. Specifically, a process started in 2015 when different “visions” for ambitious reform were launched in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Jordan. Some of these visions were fleshed out in plans covering a 15-year timeframe, with the main target year set at 2030. More significantly, they were informed by a national and political will that drew on authentic roots reaching down to a distant past as well as on lessons learned from a recent past characterised by an all-pervading anarchy these states knew could not persist. The Arab Spring led to many failed states: Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Iraq, Sudan and Somalia before them. Civil wars in these countries claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, millions wounded, and 14 million refugees and displaced persons. The Arab Spring also gave rise to a violent revolution led by the forces of religious fascism, spreading terror across this region and the world and jeopardising Islam itself. Yet, somehow, the world held Arab Islamic countries responsible for the situation.

Saudi National Day came at a critical time for the entire Arab world to prove that reform, progress and breaking free of dependence on a single product are all attainable. As the result of a massive and concerted drive, 87 per cent of Saudi Vision 2030 has been achieved in less than ten years, six years ahead of schedule. Saudi Arabia has been visibly transformed as never before. The change is economic. Saudi Arabia is on the threshold of becoming a global high-tech manufacturing hub. Tourism is becoming a significant component of the economy. Whereas tourism had once been confined to religious sites, it has expanded and diversified, to which the many new cultural venues and recreational activities testify. The change is also social and demographic. Women are being integrated into the workforce and urban development is spreading to parts of the country previously untouched by development.

Saudi Arabia has experienced nothing less than a full-scale revolution. It is the type of revolution that engages the young, not to wreak havoc but to build, create, produce and innovate, to work to earn a living rather than to live off guaranteed allowances. Saudi Arabia is now reaping the benefits of educational policies designed to create a state, society, and economy befitting the 21st century.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 3 October, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly