Cultural governance in post-carbon economies: forging the new Saudi citizen through theatre education

This article offers a critical policy analysis of theatre education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within the Gulf Cooperation Council transitions from carbon-based to post-carbon, knowledge- and leisure-based economies. From a cultural political economy perspective and focusing on publicly available policy documents published since 1995, it examines how Vision strategies – particularly Vision 2030 and subsequent policies – reposition arts education as an instrument of cultural governance. The paper argues that school theatre has been mobilised as a biopolitical technology to cultivate a ‘glocal’ student-citizen: creative, employable and outward-looking, yet disciplined through national and moderated religious norms that sustain monarchical authority. The analysis traces historical shifts from early school theatre through Wahhabi-era restrictions to the recent large-scale revival through state-funded teacher development projects, competitions and partnerships. By foregrounding governance through culture, the article challenges ‘Romantic’ assumptions of arts education as primarily expressivist and extends related comparative education policy debates beyond Western industrialised contexts.