Saudi Arabia
Mar 7th 2007
From Economist.com
Since its creation as a modern state in 1932, oil-rich Saudi Arabia has been ruled by the al-Saud family. Its leader is King Abdullah, who assumed the crown in 2005 and has run the country since 1995, when his half-brother, King Fahd, suffered a debilitating stroke. There have been some moves toward democratisation in the kingdom, but political reform stalls when the economy booms.
The royal family's reliance on the support of loyal Wahhabist clerics has slowed reform in other areas. The country's special kind of Islam has also contributed to its reputation as a breeding ground for extremists. Attacks in the country have shown that the Al Sauds themselves are a prime target of the jihadist threat. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia has recently taken on the long-abandoned mantle of Arab leadership.
Advertisement
