Introduction

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been witnessing a significant scientific and educational renaissance that has started decades ago in various areas including those of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Social Sciences and Humanities play an important role in the intellectual, cultural, social and psychological development of humanity, and contribute to the understanding of society in all of its characteristics and issues. Furthermore, they help monitor new phenomena, analyze problems and difficulties, and help in the attempt to find solutions for such problems.

Our Saudi Society, seeks to reach its aspirations in further development and progress in all aspects of life especially in the social and humanistic aspects. Such pursuit is strengthened by the Society's homogeneity, richness of its Arabic and Islamic heritage, its cultural and civilizational roots and its distinct family and societal characteristics.

Our society, however, like all other societies in our contemporary times, faces social challenges and humanistic problems such as terrorism, illicit drugs and other types of criminal behavior that hinder its development process and obstruct its renaissance. The negative consequences of these problems have touched many sectors in the Saudi society and affected the society as a whole and negatively impacted its members.

This has warranted the development of a research center that is concerned with social and humanistic aspects under the name of:

The Center for Social and Humanities Research

The Presence of the Center in King Abdul Aziz University, a distinguished, esteemed and rich university with knowledge and expertise in all areas of social sciences and humanities is an important factor and a strong motivator for the Center to achieve its objectives of securing progress and combating problems through the seriousness of its studies, accuracy of its conclusions, practicality of its solutions to problems, and ultimately to securing progress.