Emma Ashford gives us a primer on Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich Middle Eastern nation that is also one of the last remaining absolute monarchies in the world.

We talk about the history of the Saudi royal family, Saudi Arabia’s importance in Islam, the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia after the first World War, the country’s legal system and culture, American-Saudi relations over the years, and what’s next for the kingdom as its rulership passes to a new generation.

Show Notes and Further Reading

Here’s the photo Ashford references, of Franklin Delano Roosevelt meeting Ibn Saud in 1945.

Here’s Thomas Friedman’s quite obsequious and gushing article about meeting Mohammad bin Salman.

Other Free Thoughts episodes on the Middle East, radical Islamic terrorism, and oil-producing nations:

“How Much Should We Worry About ISIS?” with Emma Ashford“Is the Iran Deal a Good Deal?” with Emma Ashford and John Glaser“What Are the Risks of Terrorism?” John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart

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