Saudi Arabia: From Oil Hegemony to Regional Leadership

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, traditionally looked at as merely a major oil-exporting country in the Persian Gulf, has in more recent years endeavored to change that image and pursue a somewhat different approach and policy. In more concrete terms, Saudi Arabia has tried during the reign of King Abdullah to move away from the previous predominant oil-exporting image and assume a more active role as a major regional player. This article undertakes to study different aspects of the new Saudi approaches, orientations, goals, and policies in recent years geared towards changing the country’s status and role with regard to a wide range of issue sand situations, in its immediate neighborhood as well as in the bigger Middle East region. To this end, it looks at the Saudi foreign policy outlooks and priorities towards the Persian Gulf area, Arab countries, and the Muslim world. Domestic policies and developments in the Saudi Kingdom, including during the period prior to the reign of King Abdullah, are looked at and analyzed to the extent that they contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the subject at hand.