Saudi Arabia

From Gothpoodle

• Population: 160 million
• Aspects: Very Stable, Powerful, Controlled, Third Wave

The Bedouin house of Saud has ruled the Arabian homeland since the 1930s. The Saudi clan has long been famous for its religious devotion and its cunning, pragmatic statesmanship. These traits found their utmost expression in the 2040s, when the house put its weight behind Ali al-Rashid. When the Islamic Caliphate was established in 2049, the Saudis were able to take a position as the secular leaders of much of the Arab community.

Saudi Arabia remains the epitome of the Bedouin state, a feudal monarchy transplanted into the modern world. The local Wahhabi sect is very puritanical in some respects, and foreign visitors will be expected to conform. Alcohol and most drugs are illegal, and all forms of the media are subject to strict censorship. Non-Muslims may not practice their religion in the country, and Jews are not permitted entry at all. Violations of law can be punished by immediate expulsion (for foreigners) or by whipping, branding, mutilation, or death.

On the other hand, the Saudi state follows many of the traditions of Bedouin politics. The king and his royal clan can rule only so long as the people follow, and the people demand that their rulers be generous and open to petitions. Saudi statesmen are adept at building consensus, and at melding the trends of the modern world with ancient Bedouin customs. The upshot is that Saudi Arabia can be a very congenial place to live, at least if one is a devout Muslim who can stay on the good side of Islamic law.

Saudi Arabia has long since given up dependence on its petroleum wealth, much of which has been depleted in any case. Today the nation has a robust “high industrial” economy, producing a variety of advanced materials and products. Saudi computer technology is quite advanced, although the local segment of the web is strictly controlled due to the need to exclude “immoral” material.

For religious reasons, radical human gengineering and bioroid manufacture have been ignored in Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the Saudis have been willing to apply biotechnology and ecological engineering to the task of reclaiming parts of the Arabian desert. Along the Red Sea coast, and in oases in the interior, the Saudis have created wide stretches of fertile fields and verdant gardens.

Saudi foreign policy is centered on the need to maintain the Caliphate and protect Arab interests in a rapidly changing world. The Saudis have maintained close ties with the United States and (more recently) the Pacific Rim Alliance – both non-Muslim powers which pose no direct threat to Saudi sovereignty.