re that a coordinated and well planned development effort would be required, if success was to be attained, and to insure that the fruits of country's resources would not be squandered in unproductive, if well intentioned efforts (el Mallakh, 1982, pp. 138-152). The new environment demanded that the Saudi government act in a decisive manner with respect to policy development at the national level. The action taken resulted in the creation and implementation of the five-year development plan system (el Mallakh, 1982, p. 264).
With the advent of the five-year plans, however, the Saudi government found it necessary to bring into the country many thousands more foreign workers. Most of these newer foreign workers were far less skilled and educated than those foreign workers previously found in the country (el Mallakh, 1982, pp. 418-433).
In many instances, these new foreign workers initially performed the less skilled tasks required in the development projects, while, in other instances, they performed menial tasks in Saudi cities that the now wealthier Saudis no longer desired to perform. As industrial development in Saudi Arabia progressed, however, greater numbers of foreign workers were brought in to the country to perform skilled, professional, and managerial tasks for which too few Saudis were qualified, and for which too few Saudis were motivated to become qualified (Economist, 27 August 1988, p. 34).
As a result of their functions in Saudi society, it has not been possible for the Saudi government to isolate this new group of foreign workers from casual contact with the Saudi population. This new group of foreign workers enjoy no more political rights within the country than did the generally more skilled and educated workers who preceded them. Because their casual contact with the Saudi population cannot be precluded, however, a significant proportion of the Saudi population has been exposed to whatever political...