SUMMARY
Saudi Arabia was created in 1932, following the consolidation of the Nejd and Hejaz regions into a single kingdom. The Government of Saudi Arabia fought a brief intrastate armed conflict over government against the JSM in 1979; this conflict was no longer active after 1979, following the defeat of the JSM (see Saudi Arabia: Government).
The country is an absolute, hereditary monarchy where the king rules by decree, and serves as the prime minister. The official title of the Saudi king is “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques”, which refers to Islam’s two most sacred shrines, Mecca and Medina. There are no elected public officials in Saudi Arabia, and the government does not allow any form of political opposition. The state is organized according to the Wahhabi branch of Sunni Islam, and Sharia law is enforced at all levels of society; some power has been devolved from the ruling elites to various clerics. The ruling elite is highly dependent on surveillance, sectarian appeals, and the distribution of revenues obtained from the domestic oil industry. The Saudi Basic Law of 1992 establishes that the Koran and the Sunna constitutes the country’s constitution. The king also appoints a 150-seat Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura), which is a strictly advisory body.
Since the creation of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the country has been firmly controlled by the royal House of Saud. The first king of Saudi Arabia was Abd al-Aziz al-Saud (sometimes referred to as Ibn Saud), who ruled the country between 1932 and 1953. After his death, the order of succession has been fraternal, with the title passing between Abd al-Aziz al-Saud’s sons. As of 2017, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (in office since 2015) ruled Saudi Arabia; his son, Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, was appointed Crown Prince, the second highest political position, in 2017.
In 1979, the Government of Saudi Arabia received support from France, and likely also the United States of America, when fighting a brief conflict against the Islamist rebel group JSM. France provided special forces officers that advised the Saudi forces.
Saudi Arabia has maintained close ties to the United States of America for most of its existence. It is also worth noting the Saudi Arabia has had a highly strained relationship to Iran, which goes well beyond the different religious doctrines of the respective regimes; for example, Saudi Arabia provided support, albeit of the non-military kind, to Iraq when it attacked Iran in 1980.
