Saudi Arabia : The Ceaseless Quest for Security / Nadav Safran.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Safran, Nadav, author.

Series:

Cornell paperbacks

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National security--Saudi Arabia.

National security.

Saudi Arabia--Military policy.

Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia--Armed Forces.

Saudi Arabia--Defenses.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 524 p., [1] p. of plates :) ill., geneal. table, map ;

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Combining vast scholarship and a deep understanding of Arab culture, Nadav Safran has written a sophisticated book about the politics of Saudi Arabia. In a narrative that emphasizes the Saudis' sense of the precariousness of their state and of their position in the Middle East, Safran demystifies the behavior of the Kingdom's rulers.Security has long been the predominant concern of Saudi Arabia. In 1981, the Kingdom's defense and security budget was an immense 5 billion, the fourth largest in the world, after the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, and the highest in the world on a per capita basis. Safran traces the roots of Saudi preoccupation with security through half a century, discerning political struggles and policy differences in the Saud family and how they have affected the position of the country. His treatment provides an enlightening perspective on the interplay of the politics of the elite; shifting inter-Arab alignments and rivalries; war, revolution, and other cataclysmic events in the Persian Gulf; the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict; and the involvement of the United States in the Middle East.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Preface to the Paperback Edition

Contents

Tables

Figures

Conversion of Hijra years and fiscal years to Gregorian dates, 1380-1400 HY.

Map of Saudi Arabia

Introduction

PART ONE. The Origins of Saudi Arabia

1 The Rise and Fall of the First Two Realms

2 The Third Realm: Creating an Empire, 1902-1932

3 Preserving the Empire, 1932-1953

PART TWO. The Reign of Saud. 1953-1964

4 Tribulations under the First Successor

PART THREE. The Reign of Faisal. 1964-1975

5 Strivings and Probings, 1964-1973

6 The October War and Its Aftermath, 1973-1975

7 The Defense and Security Perspective, 1963-1975

PART FOUR. The Reign of Khaled. 1975-1982

8 A Time of Change: Overview

9 The Arab-Israeli Arena, 1975-1979: The Cairo and Damascus Connections

10 The Gulf Arena, 1975-1979: Balancing Baghdad and Tehran

11 The Yemens, Oman, and the Horn of Africa, 1975-1979: Accommodation and War

12 The American Connection, 1975-1979: Shifting Interdependence

13 The Arab-Israeli Arena, 1979-1982: Opposite Pulls

14 The Gulf Arena, 1979-1982: Crosscurrents and Uncertainty

15 The Yemens, 1979-1982: Living with the Problem

16 The American Connection, 1979-1982: Ambivalence, Improvisation, Drift

17 The Defense and Security Perspective, 1975-1982

Conclusions: Retrospect and Prospect

Appendix. Sample of a Summary of a Saudi Budget

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Bibliography: p. [491]-507.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 20. Sep 2019)

ISBN:

1-5017-1855-X

OCLC:

1080550801