A focus on Middle East creates the urgent need to also specifically look at Saudi Arabia that is held to be the epicenter of the Arabian Peninsula and further, the hotbed of the Arab culture. It is the largest country in Western Asia and the second largest sovereign state in the Arab world. According to World Economic Performance report released in October 2018, Saudi Arabia has the largest economy in the Middle East while in the world it is ranked eighteen. The nation is a self-dependent monarch that flourishes through the large oil deposits. Being that it is one of the instrumental countries that make up, “the Modern Middle East”, focus will be placed on its climate, economy, government model and culture so as to gain more insight on how it is comparable to the world situation.
Saudi Arabia is a contributor to the world economy through the supply of oil deposits that amount to about 12% of the world supply. Ninety percentage of the Saudi exports is oil which is approximately seventeen percentage of the world oil in the market (Hertog, 2011). However, the nation has been experiencing unemployment among its youth because this young generation does not have relevant skills and education as per the job market. This has forced the Saudi government to stimulate growth of the private sector so as to increase local employment.
In terms of government, Saudi Arabia is a monarch whereby the king is the head of the state and there are no political parties (Niblock, 2015). Sharia law is the major legal system that is practiced. The nation has had tremendous influence on the Arab culture as they are considered to be the custodians. Saudi Arabia is made up of thirteen provinces and only males who are twenty-one years and above are allowed to vote. The country, just like most in the region, was formed after World War I based on the geography as opposed to the tribal boundaries (Moran, Abrahamson & Moran, 2014). The nation still faces backlash from the world democracies who see their approach to governance as oppressive and constraints a huge amount of the people’s freedoms.
The recent climate change phenomenon has affected the nation tremendously where as reported by Broom (2019), the temperature records have been broken continuously in the middle east regions. The nation experiences average temperature of about nineteen degrees Celsius in the coldest months while the hottest months it experiences an average temperature of forty-three degrees Celsius. Dust and sand storms are very frequent in Saudi and they have caused a serious environmental hazard in the country (Dickson, 2015). Just like the fear that has been across the world, the temperature levels are rising tremendously creating threats to human and the environment.
Saudi Arabia is an important piece in the middle east that is seen to be self-independent in its dealings. The nation faces similar global issues like climate change that has caused a rise in temperature. Also, it is a global producer of oil and is taken as a strategies producer and key partner in the field. However, the monarch system of government has led to huge criticism in relation to how it conducts its actions.
References
Broom, D. (2019, Apr 5). How the Middle East is suffering on the front lines of climate change. Available at https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/middle-east-front-lines-climate-change-mena/
Dickson, H. R. P. (2015). The Arab of the Desert (RLE Saudi Arabia): A Glimpse into Badawin Life in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Routledge.
Hertog, S. (2011). Princes, brokers, and bureaucrats: Oil and the state in Saudi Arabia. Cornell University Press.
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.
Niblock, T. (2015). Social structure and the development of the Saudi Arabian political system. In State, Society and Economy in Saudi Arabia (RLE Saudi Arabia) (pp. 77-107). Routledge.
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