Disciples of the State?: Religion and State-Building in the Former Ottoman World

Kristin  Fabbe

Book | 2019

Disciples of the State?: Religion and State-Building in the Former Ottoman World

Abstract

As the Ottoman Empire crumbled, the Middle East and Balkans became the site of contestation and cooperation between the traditional forces of religion and the emergent machine of the sovereign state. Yet such strategic interaction rarely yielded a decisive victory for either the secular state or for religion. By tracing how state-builders engaged religious institutions, elites, and attachments, this book problematizes the divergent religion-state power configurations that have developed. There are two central arguments. First, states carved out more sovereign space in places like Greece and Turkey, where religious elites were integral to early centralizing reform processes. Second, region-wide structural constraints on the types of linkages that states were able to build with religion have generated long-term repercussions. Fatefully, both state policies that seek to facilitate equality through the recognition of religious difference and state policies that seek to eradicate such difference have contributed to failures of liberal democratic consolidation.

Keywords: Ottoman Empire; secularism; state-building; Religion; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; History; Turkey; Greece; Middle East;

Format: Print

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Fabbe, Kristin. Disciples of the State?: Religion and State-Building in the Former Ottoman World. Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2018 (Revised May 2019)

Almarai Company: Milk and Modernization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Kristin Fabbe, Safwan Al-Amin, Esel Cekin and Natalie Kindred

With SAR 14 billion ($3.7 billion) in 2017 revenues, Almarai was Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy producer, distributor, and marketer, with a large portfolio of branded dairy products, juices, bakery goods, and infant formula and a sales presence across the Gulf region, Jordan, and Egypt. Almarai employed some 42,000 people across its operations, from its massive dairy farms to its processing plants to its vast sales and distribution operation that reached over 100,000 outlets. Notwithstanding its diverse portfolio, the core of Almarai’s business was (1) sales of branded fresh/chilled dairy products, (2) in Saudi Arabia, (3) distributed through the traditional retail channel made up of thousands of small neighborhood shops called bakalas. In October 2018, all three of these focal points were under pressure. Under the economic-restructuring programs of Saudi Arabia’s new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, new taxes and subsidy cuts were squeezing household budgets. Concurrently, changes to other government policies were causing expatriates—who made up about a third of Saudi Arabia’s population and were a key consumer of Almarai’s dairy products—to leave the country in droves. This case finds Almarai’s management team, led by soon-to-retire CEO Georges Schorderet, debating how the company can defend and grow its position in Saudi Arabia while also finding new sources of future growth (e.g., bringing its production model to new markets with fragmented dairy sectors or entering new product categories such as fish or ice cream). The decision of how to move forward will be based on an assessment of Almarai’s strengths, how they can be best used to drive future growth, and how relevant they will remain in a market that is changing so dramatically. The note “Saudi Arabia: A Brief Background" (HBS 719-043) is essential supplementary reading for this case.

Keywords: Dairy; Agriculture; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Almarai; Schorderet; food security; public policy; self sufficiency; Gulf; GCC; Business and Government; Agribusiness; Marketing; Distribution; Change Management; Leading Change; Strategy; Government and Politics; Policy; Diversification; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Food; Brands and Branding; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Saudi Arabia; Middle East;

Citation:

Fabbe, Kristin, Safwan Al-Amin, Esel Cekin, and Natalie Kindred. "Almarai Company: Milk and Modernization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." Harvard Business School Case 719-020, November 2018. (Revised May 2019.) View Details

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This note provides a brief overview of the history of Saudi Arabia as well as the economic and political context in 2018. The note is an essential supplement to the case “Almarai Company: Milk and Modernization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” HBS No. 719-020, but is also appropriate for other relevant cases.

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Disciples of the State?: Religion and State-Building in the Former Ottoman World

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