Introduction
It can be argued that two primary aspects affect social changes in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). On the one hand, citizens of these countries have more access to various media platforms, including international news organizations and social media, which present various aspects of daily life not widely accepted by Islamic countries. On the other hand, economic difficulties the states have experienced create a necessity to partner with other nations for business cooperation.
To carry out the policy efficiently, the GCC domains use media outlets to portray GCC as a more modern establishment, with social norms that can be understood and accepted by Western countries. This paper aims to examine the influence of media on GCC’s citizens and international partners to determine ways in which it affects social norm changes.
Literature Review
For this research, several news articles regarding recent social changes in GCC and scholarly pieces on media influence were studied. To understand how international newspapers portray GCC, an article by Dyer (2016) was examined. In it, the author presents several examples of state punishments, including execution, which is accepted in Saudi Arabia. While the piece primarily focuses on the legal system, it reflects the perspective through which GCC domains are presented to the international community. A work by Arias (2018) was included in this paper because the author conducted an experiment to understand the specific ways in which media affects society. The article has presented a valuable insight into why people within GCC may want to change their moral standards.
The societal view of the need to conduct social norms change was researched. Additionally, Abokhodair, Hodges, and Vieweg (2017) presented statistical data regarding GCC’s population and social media engagement. The information is valuable because it provides an understanding of the scope and nature of changes. Newspaper articles by Alhussein (2017), Mahdawi (2018), and McKernan (2018) were used for this paper to illustrate the specific alterations which take place in the domains in question. The presented literature provided an understanding of various factors that contribute to media influence within GCC.
Social Changes in GCC
Unarguably counties of the GCC have a strong adherence to religious norms. Western media has often portrait Islamic countries as violent due to their standards. For instance, Dyer (2016) examined the legal system of the country, which was guided by the Islamic religion to explain harsh punishments that the authorities within the domain carry out. Mass executions and unclear legislative codes that would define the civil system have created a gap of misunderstanding between western countries and GCC. It is valid in the context of social norms as well because of religion guides GCC domains and provides advice on everyday life for the people in these countries. The societies in these domains are conservative, which makes social changes carried out by government officials difficult.
These distinct differences have an impact on the international relationships of counties. Dyer (2016) states that “these actions make it difficult for Western allies to defend the kingdom” when providing examples of court trials and other punishments imposed on people in Saudi Arabia (para. 10). Such a portrayal of GCC countries in the international media may be considered as a component that affects social norm changes in the domains.
Furthermore, McKernan (2018) states that the recent social norms changes carried out through legislative initiatives were necessary to help GCC deal with the oil price crisis. The government officials aim to create a better business environment, for which it is needed to ensure that international partners support GCC. The alterations help portray GCC countries in the media as domains that are ready to execute necessary changes.
Prior to examining particular changes that transformed the social environment in GCC countries, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms that media can apply when conveying information. Arias (2018) states that two primary channels of media influence exist “media provides new information that persuades individuals to accept it (individual channel), but also, media informs listeners about what others learn” (p. 1). While the author located little evidence to support the individual channel theory, the transition of ideas through social approach proved to affect the perception of social norms.
Another critical aspect of social norm changes is a view of a young generation on particular standards. From this perspective, social media has an immense impact on these norms, especially in GCC countries. According to Abokhodair et al. (2017), Saudi Arabia ranks seventh in the world’s rating of social media accounts per citizen. In addition, the authors argue that this is because half of GCC’s population comprises of young people.
Considering Arias’ (2018) view on the topic of media influence, and Dyer’s (2016) perspective on differences when compared to Western countries, it can be argued that the combination of easy access to the Internet and specific portrayal of Islamic domains in online newspapers provides inhabitant of GCC with a different view on their counties’ social norms. Thus, media influence social norms by both providing a platform for the popularisation of opinions and by giving an incentive to create a better image of a domain.
Entertainment
Entertainment can affect the viewpoints of people by presenting various aspects of a problem. Thus, it is not surprising that for years GCC’ countries strictly regulated this field. Alhussein (2017) states that Saudi Arabia is going through massive changes, both culturally and socially. Primarily the transformation is promoted by the government as they strive to create a more open domain. According to Alhussein (2017), “the current changes also shed light on the different voices that are emerging within the conservative establishment” (para. 5).
It can be argued that the media, both social and traditional, presented an opportunity for these voices to speak out on critical social aspects. This, in its turn, led to the governments rethinking their policies to adhere to modern standards, which led to legislative and societal changes.
Recently, the government of Saudi Arabia has introduced a new policy regarding the entertainment industry within the country. Before this, religious organizations were in charge of this component. Therefore, their perception mainly affected approaches taken to music, films, and other art forms. McKernan (2018) argues that social norms change is carried out to transform the world’s perception of GCC towards moderate Islam. It is because, after the changes, religious leaders voice their opinion regarding the issue, stating that such an approach is unacceptable. Media outlets have portrayed such alteration as a positive step towards a new direction of Saudi Arabia’s development, which arguably fulfills the primary objective of such social changes.
Women’s Rights
One of the most notable changes in the social norms that occurred in Saudi Arabia is the diminishment of the guardianship system and the enhancement of women’s rights. For a long period, women in Islamic countries could not do things such as go to school without the permission of their male guardian. Additionally, female citizens were not allowed to drive on their own. These social norms obstructed women from doing many things, acceptable in Western society. News outlets highlighted the activists’ fight towards a change in the field for years, and recently the government intrigued legislative initiative, which would implement the changes.
As was previously mentioned, the young population of GCC and their access to social media had a significant role in the transformation of social norms and their perception. Such platforms, more specifically Twitter, played a role in this change. Alhusein (2017) states that the demand for Saudi women was a widespread topic for discussion on the website for months. Through this channel of communication, the citizens were able to voice their opinion and provide examples of the actual state of women’s rights in GCC. It can be argued that the plan of Saudi Arabia to create a more open country and the impact of the media outlet’s presentation of the issue affected the decision to change the laws.
Many news outlets have talked about the story since the implementation of the initiative. Mahdawi (2018) argues that women’s rights change is dictated by a need to convince Western countries that distinct reforms take place in Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom uses this expansion of women’s rights to portray Saudi Arabia as a modern country. It can be argued that the social norms reform was dictated by the need to enhance a good image of the country in the eyes of Western domains. However, Mahdawi (2018) points out that the act should be considered as a PR move, as many women’s rights activists were jailed several weeks before the implementation of new laws. News outlets did not report this story, as they focused on the rules that the government of Saudi Arabia created.
Regardless of the underlying reasons for the alterations, the media has affected norms, which guided Saudi Arabia’s society for decades, providing more freedom to the inhabitants. According to McKernan (2018) that women will be allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia for the first time since 1990. This change may lead to other prominent alterations in the way GCC’s society functions. Additionally, McKernan (2018) states that the move will “transform women’s lives in a country where they must still seek the permission of a male guardian to fulfill needs and desires” (para. 6). Thus, it can be argued that media can affect society in several ways. It can present an outlook on the differences in social norms. In addition, the need to change a country’s image may dictate a societal change.
Conclusion
Overall, two essential changes in the social norms were examined in this paper. An adaptation of an alternative approach to women’s rights, carried out by the Saudi Arabia government, proves to be among the most significant developments in the country within the last decades. Additionally, a new outlook on the entertainment industry highlights the essential transformation in the GCC in regard to religious norms. A critical aspect of these transformations is social media, which has created easy access to the lives of millions of people across the world for the youth. In addition, the governments of these countries aim to create a better media image for their domains, which affect the initiatives as well.
References
Abokhodair, N., Hodges, A., & Vieweg, S. (2017). Adapting social media to Arabian Gulf norms. Anthropology News, 58, 171-177. Web.
Alhussein, E. (2017). In Saudi Arabia, social norms begin to change. The National. Web.
Arias, E. (2018). How does media influence social norms? Experimental evidence on the role of common knowledge. Political Science Research and Methods, 1-18. Web.
Dyer, E. (2016). The roots of Saudi Arabia’s harsh system of justice. CBC. Web.
Mahdawi, A. (2018). Saudi Arabia is not driving change – It is trying to hoodwink the west. The Guardian. Web.
McKernan, B. (2018). Saudi Arabians are ready to embrace social change – But fear it may come at a cost. Independent. Web.