The Triangle of State Survival in Saudi Arabia: the United States, Religion and Oil

With the important regional developments in the late 1970s, the US two-pillar policy turned into the one-pillar policy thus highlighting the role of Saudi Arabia in US regional policies. This arose from the geopolitical realities of the Middle East in the Cold War period that has kept its importance. Simultaneously two other factors have contributed to the survival of Saudi political system including oil revenues and religion (alliance with the Wahhabi Ulema). The Saudi political system was able to respond to the rise of Arab nationalism, Islamism, democratization and even the challenges derived from the armed religious fundamentalism by relying on this triangle.