Over the past three decades, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become a political and economic power that commands attention, respect, and envy on the global stage. The political and economic power of Saudi Arabia belies the country's small population and absence of strong democratic traditions. Neither can the prominence of Saudi Arabia be explained solely within the context of strategic location, although this location is a valuable asset that enabled the country to develop a strong alliance with the world's dominant military power the United States. The true source of Saudi Arabia's global political and economic status, however, lies in the crude petroleum resource that the country controls and has managed wisely for the past 30 years (Energy Information Administration, 1994, pp. 112 113).
This study examines the influence of Saudi Arabia's crude oil resource and the exploitation of that resource on the development of the country's economy and Saudi society. The modern state of Saudi Arabia came into being on 20 May 1927, when a treaty was signed between the United Kingdom and Ibn Sa'ud, whereby the former recognized the complete independence and dominions of the latter (Hunter, 1994, p. 1145). Since the founding of the modern state of Saudi Arabia in 1927, members of the Sa'ud family and other individuals comprising the societal elite in the country have continued to exercise dominant roles in the development and administration of the country.
For a state in last decade in the twentieth century, Saudi Arabia is somewhat unique in the context of the continuing
dominant role of a single family. It is somewhat unique in another way, also Saudi Arabia has no separation between civil government and religious government. The King is the supreme authority in the country both politically and spiritually, and political actions must be consistent with the country's accepted religious values. Thus, any analysis of Saudi de...