Risk Management Report: Saudi Arabia

POLITICS: Established in 1932, Saudi Arabia is the giant of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in terms of population, territory, oil wealth, and its claim to religious authority. It is an absolute monarchy, whose rulers to date have all been sons of King Abdelaziz (Ibn Saud). Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz has been king since 2005. Ill-health and old age have limited his ability to work and travel, but he has remained the top decision-maker. Abdullah has overseen some reform of education and the judiciary, and in 2013 appointed women to the Shura Council, though gender disparities remain severe. The kingdom’s wider human rights record also remains poor, with political dissidents sometimes punished under catch-all terrorism laws.