InfoTrac Reader Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, one of the last on the planet, and is ruled by King Fahd of the Saud family. Many important government positions are held by family members. A 120-member Consultative Council, the Majlis Al-Shura, was established by the king in 1993; its members are appointed by the king. There is no legislature. Saudi Arabia has the world's largest known oil reserves, and oil dominates the economy. Saudi Arabia is also the dominant force in OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which sets output quotas of member states and thus largely determines the world price for oil. Saudi Arabia continues to maintain relatively close, though occasionally strained, relations with the United States. It was a host and major supporter of the international coalition during the 1990-1991 Gulf War, although it played little role in the 2003 Iraq War. Saudi Arabia continues to be a regional leader in the Middle East and is in general concerned with promoting stability and downplaying religious and other tensions. Saudi Arabia has recently been the target of Islamic terrorists. Shaking The Timbers Of The House Of Saud. (Saudi Arabia) Stanley Reed. Business Week May 17, 2004 i3883 p57 (568 words) Another Kind of Warrior; Saudi television personality Rania al-Baz was beaten unconscious. Then she did the unthinkable: she spoke out. (social change in Saudi Arabia) Christopher Dickey, Faiza Ambah. Newsweek May 3, 2004 p45 (774 words) The limits of reform; Saudi Arabia. (Why six Saudi liberals are in jail) The Economist (US) March 27, 2004 v370 i8368 p47US (576 words) Supporting Saudisation: harnessing human capital is Saudi Arabia's major challenge. (Economic briefing: Saudi Arabia) Ihsan Ali Bu-Hulaiga. MEED Middle East Economic Digest March 26, 2004 v48 i13 p8(1) (889 words) Taking the long view: key political and economic reforms are becoming stuck in the machinery of government in Saudi Arabia, amid fears that reformist intentions are outrunning the ability to deliver. (Saudi Arabia)(Cover Story) Digby Lidstone. MEED Middle East Economic Digest March 19, 2004 v48 i12 p4(2) (1845 words) Supplement: Saudi Arabia - Laying Macro Foundations - Saudi Arabia Had A Bumper Year In 2003 And The Economic Outlook Remains Good. Jon Marks Considers Where Opportunity Lies For Both The Government And Investors. The Banker March 1, 2004 pNA (1513 words) The Sino-Saudi connection. Gal Luft, Anne Korin. Commentary March 2004 v117 i3 p26(4) (2504 words) Debating reform: internal and external pressures on the government are growing as voices for and against reform grow louder. But the government has made it clear that moderation will need to prevail if the process is going to succeed. The question is whether time is on the governments side. (Special report: Saudi Arabia) Oliver Klaus. MEED Middle East Economic Digest Jan 30, 2004 v48 i5 p25(3) (1223 words) THE KINGDOM OF SILENCE. Lawrence Wright. The New Yorker Jan 5, 2004 v79 i41 p048 (20512 words) The Saudi Paradox. Michael Scott Doran. Foreign Affairs Jan-Feb 2004 v83 i1 p35 (5668 words) An Arab view: Saudi Arabia and the western media: is the battle winnable? (In My Opinion) The Middle East Jan 2004 i341 p32(2) (758 words) U.S.-Saudi relations: bump in the road or end of the road? Middle East Policy Winter 2003 v10 i4 p116(10) (4950 words) Keys to the kingdom. (Special report: Saudi Arabia) Oliver Klaus. MEED Middle East Economic Digest Dec 19, 2003 v47 i51 p29(3) (2147 words) King grants more power to the Shoura. (Saudi Arabia) MEED Middle East Economic Digest Dec 5, 2003 v47 i49 p23(1) (453 words) It's Getting Hot In the House of Saud. (political unrest in Saudi Arabia) Stanley Reed. Business Week Nov 24, 2003 i3859 p60 (511 words) How safe is the House of Saud? Saudi Arabia. (Bombs and reform in Saudi Arabia) The Economist (US) Nov 15, 2003 v369 i8350 p44US (864 words) Quite a step; Saudi Arabia. (A first step towards democracy in Saudi Arabia) The Economist (US) Oct 18, 2003 v369 i8346 p46US (515 words) Grassroots reform: Saudi Arabia's decision to hold municipal elections took the outside world by surprise, but senior members of the establishment say the seeds of political reform were sown a long time ago. Digby Lidstone. MEED Middle East Economic Digest Oct 17, 2003 v47 i42 p4(2) (1316 words) Inside the Kingdom: SAUDI ARABIA Two years after 9/11, the Saudis are finally cracking down on terrorists at home. But many Americans remain skeptical that the Saudi brand of Islam is compatible with the war against terrorism A SPECIAL REPORT. (11: The Saudis: Friend Or Foe?)(Cover Story) Lisa Beyer. Time Sept 15, 2003 v162 i11 p38 (6082 words) Keys to the Kingdom: Founded by religious warriors and made wealthy by oil, Saudi Arabia struggles to face its homegrown ties to terrorism. (After 9/11: The Saudis: Friend Or Foe?) Kristina Dell. Time Sept 15, 2003 v162 i11 p44 (571 words) Stopping the Saudis: Is this administration willing? Apparently not. Alex Alexiev. National Review Sept 1, 2003 v55 i16 pNA (1418 words) Shifting sands; Saudi Arabia; Shifting sands in the desert kingdom. Global Agenda August 13, 2003 pNA (1007 words) The Kingdom & the Power. Christopher Dickey, Mark Hosenball. Newsweek International August 11, 2003 p14 (1119 words) Royal Pain - Will the Saudis go nuclear? (Saudi Arabia; relations with the United States) michael levi. The New Republic June 2, 2003 p14 (1308 words) Banking on experience: the new Saudi Arabian cabinet, announced on 30 April, is surprising for how little it changed. Edmund O'Sullivan analyses the shape of the kingdom's top team. (Cover Story: Saudi Arabia). Edmund O'Sullivan. MEED Middle East Economic Digest May 9, 2003 v47 i19 p4(2) (1786 words) The view from the top. (Cover Story: Saudi Arabia). (Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud talks about economic reform in Saudi Arabia)(Interview)(Cover Story) MEED Middle East Economic Digest May 2, 2003 v47 i18 p4(3) (3356 words) Fall of the House of Saud: Americans have long considered Saudi Arabia the one constant in the Arab Middle East ... but that country is run by an increasingly dysfunctional royal family ... Robert Baer. The Atlantic Monthly May 2003 v291 i4 pcover,53-62 (8425 words) Charity and Terror: A fresh crackdown on Saudi money as Riyadh admits royal funds were misspent. Michael Isikoff, Mark Hosenball. Newsweek Dec 9, 2002 p38 (1112 words) Manning the barricades: Islam according to Saudi Arabia's school texts. Eleanor Abdella Doumato. The Middle East Journal Spring 2003 v57 i2 p230(18) (9534 words) Oil and militant Islam: strains on U.S.-Saudi relations. Gawdat Bahgat. World Affairs Wntr 2003 v165 i3 p115(8) (5905 words) Dueling for Da`wa: state vs. society on the Saudi Internet. Joshua Teitelbaum. The Middle East Journal Spring 2002 v56 i2 p222(17) (8840 words) Be careful what you wish for: the future of U.S.-Saudi relations. F. Gregory Gause III. World Policy Journal Spring 2002 v19 i1 p37(14) (8824 words) Saudi-Russian relations in the Putin Era. Mark N. Katz. The Middle East Journal Autumn 2001 v55 i4 p603(22) (10535 words) MANAGING DEPENDENCE: AMERICAN-SAUDI OIL RELATIONS. Gawdat Bahgat. Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ) Wntr 2001 v23 i1 p1 (6219 words) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, TRUST, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN THE ARAB WORLD. Mamoun Fandy. The Middle East Journal Summer 2000 v54 i3 p378 (8960 words)