Saudi Arabia's Oil Impact on World Economy Research Paper

Saudi Arabia's Oil Impact on World Economy - Research Paper Example The establishment of Saudi Arabia Historically, the development of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia has been closely associated with the political events that led to the establishment of the state. Most oil exporting countries in developing world historically entrusted their mining operations to national companies, mainly because of lack of adequate capacity to embark on the process and Saudi Arabia is not an exception. The building of Saudi Arabia state differs from other neighboring states in the region such as Iraq and Turkey. According to Huyette (1985), Saudi Arabia is a relatively new state founded in 1932 following the merger of Hejaz and Nejd kingdoms. Islam, one of the major religions in the world originated from Saudi Arabia in the early 7th century (David and Johns, 1982). One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the country is its homogenous Arab population, which has enabled development of an indigenous political system that has ruled the country for many years without significant foreign influence. According to Huyette (1985), Arabs originated from Saudi Arabia and historically, the Ottoman Empire was the only foreign influence in the country. Although most of the current Saudi Arabian territory was under the Ottoman Empire, its influence in the country remained minimal especially in the interior. ... The poor control of the Saudi Arabia territory by Ottoman Empire resulted into the emergence of Wahhabism, a Saudi dynasty in the mid 18th century. The Saudi dynasty headed by the indigenous Al Saud family established the current Saudi Arabian territory and the dynastic rule that continues up to date (David and Johns 1982). Abdul Aziz a ruler of the Al Saud family established the current Saudi Arabian country after seizing the control of Nejd kingdom and Al Hasa region from the Ottoman Empire and King Al Rashid. The vast oil deposits were later discovered the in Al Hasa region, which included the Persian Gulf (Vitalis, 2007). Therefore, the formation of Saudi Arabian country resulted from a gradual process of reunification, where the local Al Saud rulers fought and defeated the indigenous rulers, and seized the conquered territories that were later united to form the current Saudi Arabia. Turkey did not enjoy indigenous political process such as Saudi Arabia. Historically, different empires, including the Hittite, Persian, Roman, and the Byzantine empires governed Turkey (Lloyd, 1999). Later in 13 century, the country fell under the Ottoman Empire. When the Ottoman Empire declined in the 17th century, involvement of European countries such as Russia, France and Britain greatly influenced the formation of the Turkish state. Turkey was formally formed in 1923 and radical reforms undertaken to modernize the new country (Lloyd, 1999). Administrative structures established by the Ottoman Empire such as ottoman sultanate and caliphate were banned and replaced with modern political and economic reforms. In addition, the country secularized its society from