Dr. Makio Yamada specializes in the political economy of Saudi Arabia and Saudi-East Asian relations. He is currently a Lecturer at the Princeton University and a Senior Research Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. He received his DPhil in International Relations and MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Oxford.
His publications on the political economy of Saudi Arabia include: “Can Saudi Arabia Move beyond ‘Production with Rentier Characteristics’?: Human Capital Development in the Transitional Oil Economy”, Middle East Journal, 72(4), 2018; “Vision 2030 and the Birth of Saudi Solar Energy”, Middle East Institute Policy Focus, July 2016; “Battle against the Thawb Syndrome: Labor Nationalization, Industrial Diversification, and Education Reform in Saudi Arabia”, Gulf Affairs, Autumn 2015; and “Saudi Manufacturing: Can Monozukuri Take Root in the Kingdom?”, in Annika Kropf and Mohamed A. Ramady (ed.) Employment and Career Motivation in the Arab Gulf States: The Rentier Mentality Revisited (Berlin: Gerlach Press, 2015).
His publications on Saudi-East Asian relations include: “GCC-East Asia Relations in the Fields of Nuclear and Renewable Energy: Opportunities and Barriers”, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies Paper, MEP14, September 2016; “Saudi Arabia’s Look-East Diplomacy: Ten Years On”, Middle East Policy, 22(4), 2015; “Islam, Energy, and Development: Taiwan and China in Saudi Arabia, 1949-2013”, American Journal of Chinese Studies, 22(1), 2015; and “Gulf-Asia Relations as ‘Post-Rentier’ Diversification?: The Case of the Petrochemical Industry in Saudi Arabia”, Journal of Arabian Studies, 1(1), 2011.
Taiwan’s Relations with Saudi Arabia: An Interview with Ibrahim Chao
Over the past half century, Saudi Arabia has been the most important country for Taiwan’s Middle East diplomacy. The following interview with HE Dr. Ibrahim Chao (Hsi-lin Chao), Taiwan’s representative to the Kingdom from 2009 to 2012, sheds light on the contours of and recent developments in the bilateral relationship. Prior to joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, or Taiwan, Ibrahim Chao earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Shariah (Islamic Law) from the Umm al-Qura University in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Since retiring from the diplomatic service, he has served as an advisor to the Chinese Muslim Association in Taipei.
