Editing Saudi Arabia (section)

== Government and politics ==
{{Main|Politics of Saudi Arabia}}
{{multiple image
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| image1            = Salman bin Abdull aziz December 9, 2013.jpg
| caption1          = [[Salman of Saudi Arabia|Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud]] <br />[[King of Saudi Arabia|King]] ({{reign|2015|present}})
| image2            = Secretary Pompeo Meets with Saudi Crowne Prince Salman Al Saud (48119406442) (cropped).jpg
| caption2          = [[Mohammed bin Salman]]<br />[[Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia|Crown Prince]] and [[Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia|Prime Minister]]
}}

Saudi Arabia is an [[absolute monarchy]];<ref name=Cavendish78>{{cite book |title=World and Its Peoples: the Arabian Peninsula |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7614-7571-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/worlditspeoplesm0000unse/page/78 78] |url=https://archive.org/details/worlditspeoplesm0000unse/page/78 }}</ref> however, according to the [[Basic Law of Saudi Arabia]] adopted by royal decree in 1992, the king must comply with [[Sharia]] (Islamic law) and the [[Quran]], while the Quran and the [[Sunnah]] (the traditions of Muhammad) are declared to be the country's constitution.<ref name= Gerhard>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of world constitutions, Volume 1 |first=Gerhard |last=Robbers |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8160-6078-8 |page=791|publisher=Facts On File }}</ref> No political parties or national elections are permitted.<ref name=Cavendish78/> While some critics consider it to be a [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] state,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bandow |first1=Doug |title=Time to Cut Off Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.cato.org/commentary/time-cut-saudi-arabia |website=[[Cato Institute]] |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=19 May 2020 |archive-date=29 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329043129/https://www.cato.org/commentary/time-cut-saudi-arabia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Alkhaled |first1=Sophia |title=Women's entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia: Feminist solidarity and political activism in disguise? |journal=Gender, Work & Organization |date=27 January 2021 |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=950–972 |doi=10.1111/gwao.12626 |doi-access=free}}</ref> others regard it as lacking aspects of totalitarianism but nevertheless classify it as an authoritarian regime.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Schlager, Weisblatt |first1=Neil, Jayne |title=World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties |last2=A. Faksh, Hendrickson |first2=Mahmud, Mary |publisher=Facts on File |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8160-5953-9 |edition=4th |location=New York City |page=1171 |chapter=Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |quote=Saudi Arabia is not totalitarian. Travel outside the country is common, political crimes and violence are rare, people are not in constant fear of the police, and the state does not try to take over all existing organizations, such as philanthropic, religious, commercial, and industrial groups. Saudi rulers still see themselves in a parental role, much like a sheikh of a tribe who is in close touch with the concerns of his tribesmen and keeps those concerns in balance. For so long a time, a relatively benign monarchy has ruled over this populace that it has become used to being looked after in this manner. Therefore, until recently, calls for a more open, representative political system did not win wide support.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Oliver Collin, L. Martin |first=Richard, Pamela |title=An Introduction to World Politics |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4422-1803-1 |location=United Kingdom |pages=269}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=A. Dobratz |first1=Betty |title=Power, Politics, and Society: An Introduction to Political Sociology |last2=K. Waldner |first2=Lisa |last3=Buzzel |first3=Timothy |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-205-48629-8 |location=NY 10017, New York, USA |page=50 |chapter=2: Role of the state}}</ref> ''[[The Economist]]'' ranked the Saudi government 150th out of 167 in its 2022 [[Democracy Index]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Democracy Index 2022: Frontline democracy and the battle for Ukraine |url=https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/DI-final-version-report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203184337/https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/DI-final-version-report.pdf |archive-date=3 February 2023 |website=[[Economist Intelligence Unit]] |page=11 |language=en-GB}}</ref> and [[Freedom House]] gave it its lowest "Not Free" rating, giving it a score of 8 out of 100 for 2023.<ref name="FH2019">{{cite web |date=2023 |title=Freedom House. Saudi Arabia |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/saudi-arabia/freedom-world/2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530191015/https://freedomhouse.org/country/saudi-arabia/freedom-world/2023 |archive-date=30 May 2023 |access-date=30 May 2023 |website=Freedom House }}</ref> According to the 2023 [[V-Dem Democracy Indices]], Saudi Arabia is the least [[Democracy in the Middle East and North Africa|democratic country in the Middle East]].<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |archive-date=8 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208183458/https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the absence of national elections and political parties,<ref name=Cavendish78/> politics in Saudi Arabia takes place in two distinct arenas: within the royal family, the Al Saud, and between the royal family and the rest of Saudi society.<ref name= Noreng97>{{cite book |title=Crude power: politics and the oil market |first=Oystein |last=Noreng |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-84511-023-9 |page=97}}</ref> Outside of the Al Saud, participation in the political process is limited to a relatively small segment of the population and takes the form of the royal family consulting with the ulema, tribal sheikhs, and members of important commercial families on major decisions.<ref name=Britannica/> This process is not reported by the Saudi media.<ref>[[#Long|Long]], p. 85</ref>
[[File:Sadat_and_Khalid.jpg|alt=Sadat and Khalid|thumb|[[Khalid of Saudi Arabia|King Khalid]] (right) meeting Egypt's president [[Anwar Sadat]] with crown prince [[Fahd of Saudi Arabia|Fahd]] in the background at [[Cairo International Airport|Cairo Airport]] in 1975]]
By custom, all males of full age have a right to petition the king directly through the traditional tribal meeting known as the ''[[majlis]]''.<ref name="Cavendish92">{{cite book |title=World and Its Peoples: the Arabian Peninsula |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7614-7571-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/worlditspeoplesm0000unse/page/92 92–93] |url=https://archive.org/details/worlditspeoplesm0000unse/page/92 }}</ref> In many ways the approach to government differs little from the traditional system of tribal rule. Tribal identity remains strong, and outside of the royal family, political influence is frequently determined by tribal affiliation, with tribal sheikhs maintaining a considerable degree of influence over local and national events.<ref name="Britannica" /> In recent years there have been limited steps to widen political participation such as the establishment of the Consultative Council in the early 1990s and the National Dialogue Forum in 2003.<ref name="Al-Rasheed242">[[#Al-Rasheed|Al-Rasheed]], pp. 180, 242–243, 248, 257–258</ref> In 2005, the first municipal elections were held. In 2007, the [[Allegiance Council]] was created to regulate the succession.<ref name="Al-Rasheed242" /> In 2009, the king made significant personnel changes to the government by appointing reformers to key positions and the first woman to a ministerial post;<ref>{{cite news |date=15 February 2009 |title=Saudi king speeds reforms |newspaper=Financial Times |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/31b61bc4-fb3a-11dd-bcad-000077b07658.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/31b61bc4-fb3a-11dd-bcad-000077b07658.html |archive-date=10 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=27 March 2009 |title=Prince Naif appointed deputy Saudi PM |newspaper=Financial Times |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2c0d7fcc-1b1b-11de-8aa3-0000779fd2ac.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2c0d7fcc-1b1b-11de-8aa3-0000779fd2ac.html |archive-date=10 December 2022}}</ref> however, these changes have been criticized as being too slow or merely cosmetic.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 September 2010 |title=Reform in Saudi Arabia: At a snail's pace |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/node/17149062?story_id=17149062&fsrc=rss |access-date=20 February 2020 |archive-date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014041446/http://www.economist.com/node/17149062?story_id=17149062&fsrc=rss |url-status=live }}</ref>

The rule of the Al Saud faces political opposition from four sources: Sunni Islamist activism; liberal critics; the [[Shia Islam in Saudi Arabia|Shi'ite minority]]—particularly in the Eastern Province; and long-standing tribal and [[Regionalism (politics)|regionalist]] particularistic opponents (for example in the Hejaz).<ref>{{cite journal |first=Ondrej |last=Barenek |year=2009 |title=Divided We Survive: A Landscape of Fragmentation in Saudi Arabia |journal=Middle East Brief |issue=33 |url=http://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/meb/MEB33.pdf |access-date=3 December 2010 |archive-date=19 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219111054/http://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/meb/MEB33.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Of these, the minority activists have been the most prominent threat to the government and have in recent years been involved in [[List of terrorist incidents in Saudi Arabia|violent incidents in the country]].<ref name="Cordesman 2009" /> However, open protest against the government, even if peaceful, is not tolerated.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-10-26 |title=Open sectarianism in Saudi Arabia frightens Shi'ites |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/cnews-us-saudi-shiites-idCAKCN0SK2C520151026 |access-date=2022-05-07 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003010120/https://www.reuters.com/article/cnews-us-saudi-shiites-idCAKCN0SK2C520151026 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Monarchy and royal family ===
{{Main|House of Saud}}
[[File:Ivana Trump shakes hands with Fahd of Saudi Arabia.jpg|thumb|King [[Fahd of Saudi Arabia|Fahd]] with US President [[Ronald Reagan]] and future US President [[Donald Trump]] in 1985. The US and Saudi Arabia [[Operation Cyclone|supplied money and arms]] to the anti-Soviet ''[[mujahideen]]'' fighters in Afghanistan.]]
The king combines legislative, executive, and judicial functions<ref name=Britannica>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/525348/Saudi-Arabia |title=Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Saudi Arabia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=28 May 2023 |access-date=25 January 2011 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225161108/https://www.britannica.com/place/Saudi-Arabia |url-status=live }}</ref> and royal decrees form the basis of the country's legislation.<ref name= Campbell>{{cite book|title=Legal Aspects of Doing Business in the Middle East|first=Christian|last=Campbell|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4303-1914-6|page=265|publisher=Lulu Enterprises Incorporated|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20jmw1C3H5UC&pg=PA265|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117132432/https://books.google.com/books?id=20jmw1C3H5UC&pg=PA265|url-status=live}}</ref> The prime minister presides over the [[Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia]] and [[Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia]]. The king has usually been also the prime minister, with two exceptions: Crown Prince [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia|Faisal]], who was prime minister during the reign of [[Saud of Saudi Arabia|King Saud]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Saud Names His Brother Prime Minister of Nation|work=[[The New York Times]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=17 August 1954|location=Jeddah|id={{ProQuest|112933832}}}}</ref> and Crown Prince [[Mohammed Bin Salman]], the current prime minister since 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince to become Kingdom's Prime Minister: Royal decree |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2022/09/27/Saudi-Arabia-s-Crown-Prince-to-become-Kingdom-s-Prime-Minister-Royal-decree |access-date=27 September 2022 |website=Al Arabiya English |date=27 September 2022 |archive-date=27 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927172139/https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2022/09/27/Saudi-Arabia-s-Crown-Prince-to-become-Kingdom-s-Prime-Minister-Royal-decree |url-status=live}}</ref> The royal family dominates the political system. The family's vast numbers allows it to control most of the kingdom's important posts and to have an involvement and presence at all levels of government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Saudi_Arabia.pdf|title=Country Profile: Saudi Arabia|author=Library of Congress, Federal Research Division|year=2006|access-date=10 December 2010|archive-date=28 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628183858/http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Saudi_Arabia.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The number of princes is estimated to be at least {{gaps|7|000}}, with most power and influence being wielded by the 200 or so male descendants of Ibn Saud.<ref name="FT Saud">{{cite news |title=The House of Saud: rulers of modern Saudi Arabia |url=http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/the-house-of-saud-rulers-of-modern-saudi-arabia |newspaper=Financial Times |date=30 September 2010 |access-date=12 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402124656/http://peakoil.com/publicpolicy/the-house-of-saud-rulers-of-modern-saudi-arabia |url-status=live }}</ref> The key ministries are generally reserved for the royal family,<ref name=Cavendish78 /> as are the 13 regional governorships.{{sfn|Bowen|2007|p=15}}

[[File:Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel walks with Saudi Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Fahd bin Abdullah before departing Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on April 24, 2013 130424-D-BW835-179.jpg|thumb|left|As many as 500 princes, government ministers, and business people, including Prince [[Fahd bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Saud|Fahd bin Abdullah]], were arrested by Saudi Arabian authorities as part of the [[2017 Saudi Arabian purge]].]]
The Saudi government<ref>{{cite book |title=The Middle East reader |first=Michael |last=Curtis |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-88738-101-0 |page=235|publisher=Transaction Books }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Security issues in the post-cold war world |author= M. Jane Davis |year=1996 |isbn=978-1-85898-334-9 |page=81|publisher= Edward Elgar }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Middle Eastern leaders and Islam: a precarious equilibrium |first=Sonia |last=Alianak |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8204-6924-9 |page= 67|publisher=Peter Lang }}</ref> and the royal family<ref>{{cite book|title=Saudi Arabia and its royal family |first=William |last=Holden |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-8184-0326-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaitsro00powe/page/154 154–156] |url=https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaitsro00powe/page/154 |publisher=Secaucus, N.J. : L. Stuart }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Saudi Royal Family |author=Jennifer Bond Reed |first2=Brenda |last2=Lange |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7910-9218-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/saudiroyalfamily00reed_0/page/14 14] |publisher=Chelsea House |url=https://archive.org/details/saudiroyalfamily00reed_0/page/14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The corrupt, feudal world of the House of Saud |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-corrupt-feudal-world-of-the-house-of-saud-538468.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=14 May 2003 |place=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010181738/http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-corrupt-feudal-world-of-the-house-of-saud-538468.html |archive-date=10 October 2011}}</ref> have often been accused of corruption over many years,{{sfnm|1a1=Abir|1y=1993|1p=73|2a1=Bowen|2y=2007|2p=108}} and this continues into the 21st century.<ref>{{cite book |title=Saudi Arabia Enters the 21st Century |first=Anthony H. |last=Cordesman |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-275-98091-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaenter0000cord/page/47 47, 142] |url=https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaenter0000cord/page/47 }}</ref> In a country that is said to "belong" to the royal family and is named for them,<ref name= Kamrava /> the lines between state assets and the personal wealth of senior princes are blurred.<ref name="FT Saud"/> The extent of corruption has been described as systemic<ref>{{cite book |title=September 11 and the U.S. war: beyond the curtain of smoke |first1=Roger |last1=Burbach |first2=Ben|last2=Clarke|year=2002 |isbn=978-0-87286-404-7 |page=32|publisher=City Lights Publishers }}</ref> and endemic,<ref>{{cite book |title= Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa: A Freedom in the World Special Edition |author= Freedom House |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7425-3775-0 |page=63|publisher= Rowman & Littlefield }}</ref> and its existence was acknowledged<ref>{{cite news |title=A Nation Challenged: The Plots; Saudi Arabia Also a Target Of Attacks, U.S. Officials Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/09/world/nation-challenged-plots-saudi-arabia-also-target-attacks-us-officials-say.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=9 October 2001 |first=Lowell |last=Bergman |access-date=23 February 2017 |archive-date=14 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614195125/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/09/world/nation-challenged-plots-saudi-arabia-also-target-attacks-us-officials-say.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and defended<ref>{{cite book|title=The King's Messenger. Prince Bandar Bin Sultan and America's Tangled Relationship with Saudi Arabia |first=David |last=Ottaway |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8027-1690-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/kingsmessengerpr00otta_0/page/162 162] |url=https://archive.org/details/kingsmessengerpr00otta_0/page/162 |publisher=Walker & Company }}</ref> by [[Bandar bin Sultan|Prince Bandar bin Sultan]] (a senior member of the royal family)<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudi bribe claims delay £20bn fighter deal |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1899614.ece |newspaper=The Times |date=7 June 2007 |place=London |first=David |last=Robertson |access-date=29 June 2011 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117132440/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> in an interview in 2001.<ref name= PBS>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/terrorism/interviews/bandar.html |title=Interview: Bandar Bin Sultan |year=2001 |publisher=PBS |access-date=3 September 2017 |archive-date=31 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331223114/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/terrorism/interviews/bandar.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In its [[Corruption Perceptions Index]] for 2010, [[Transparency International]] gave Saudi Arabia a score of 4.7 (on a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 is "highly corrupt" and 10 is "highly clean").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010/results|title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2010|publisher=Transparency International|date=15 December 2010|access-date=2 December 2010|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226144223/https://www.transparency.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Saudi Arabia has undergone a process of political and social reform, such as to increase public transparency and good governance, but nepotism and patronage are widespread when doing business in the country; the enforcement of the anti-corruption laws is selective and public officials engage in corruption with impunity. As many as 500 people, including prominent Saudi Arabian princes, government ministers, and businesspeople, were [[2017–2019 Saudi Arabian purge|arrested in an anti-corruption campaign]] in November 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-waleed-bin-talal.html |title= Saudi Arabia Arrests 11 Princes, Including Billionaire Alwaleed bin Talal |first= David |last= Kirkpatrick |date= 4 November 2017 |work= The New York Times |author-link= David D. Kirkpatrick |access-date= 28 March 2024 |archive-date= 8 November 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171108003504/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-waleed-bin-talal.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

=== Al ash-Sheikh and role of the ulema ===
[[File:Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al ash-Sheikh Senate of Poland 02.JPG|thumb|[[Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al ash-Sheikh]] with [[Bogdan Borusewicz]] in the [[Polish Senate]], 26 May 2014]]

Saudi Arabia is unique in giving the [[Ulama|ulema]] (the body of Islamic religious leaders and jurists) a direct role in government.<ref name= Goldstein118>{{cite book |title=Religion and the State |url=https://archive.org/details/religionstate0000gold |url-access=registration |first=Natalie |last=Goldstein |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8160-8090-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/religionstate0000gold/page/118 118]|publisher=Facts On File }}</ref> The preferred ulema are of the [[Salafi movement]]. The ulema have been a key influence in major government decisions, for example the imposition of the [[1973 oil crisis|oil embargo in 1973]] and the [[Gulf War|invitation to foreign troops to Saudi Arabia in 1990]].<ref name="meforum.org">{{cite journal |first=Nawaf E. |last=Obaid |date=September 1999 |title=The Power of Saudi Arabia's Islamic Leaders |journal=Middle East Quarterly |volume=VI |issue=3 |pages=51–58 |url=http://www.meforum.org/482/the-power-of-saudi-arabias-islamic-leaders |access-date=8 December 2010 |archive-date=6 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806023223/http://www.meforum.org/482/the-power-of-saudi-arabias-islamic-leaders |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, they have had a major role in the judicial and education systems<ref>{{cite book |title=Modernity and tradition: the Saudi equation |first=Fouad |last=Farsy |year=1992 |isbn=978-1-874132-03-5 |page=29|publisher=Knight Communications }}</ref> and a monopoly of authority in religious and social morals.<ref name= Hassner>{{cite book|title=War on sacred grounds |author=Ron Eduard Hassner |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8014-4806-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/waronsacredgroun00hass/page/143 143] |url=https://archive.org/details/waronsacredgroun00hass/page/143 |publisher= Cornell University Press }}</ref>

By the 1970s, as a result of oil wealth and the modernization initiated by King Faisal, important changes to Saudi society were underway, and the power of the ulema was in decline.<ref>[[#Abir1987|Abir (1987)]], p. 30</ref> However, this changed following the [[Grand Mosque seizure|seizure of the Grand Mosque]] in Mecca in 1979 by Islamist radicals.{{sfn|Abir|1993|p=21}} The government's response to the crisis included strengthening the ulema's powers and increasing their financial support:<ref name= Hegghammer24 /> in particular, they were given greater control over the education system{{sfn|Abir|1993|p=21}} and allowed to enforce the stricter observance of Wahhabi rules of moral and social behaviour.<ref name= Hegghammer24 /> After his accession to the throne in 2005, King Abdullah took steps to reduce the powers of the ulema, for instance transferring control over girls' education to the Ministry of Education.<ref name="NYT Abdullah">{{cite news |title=Abdullah, King of Saudi Arabia |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/a/abdullah_bin_abdul_aziz_alsaud/index.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=29 November 2010 |first=Nada |last=Bakri |author-link=Nada Bakri |access-date=29 June 2011 |archive-date=27 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727045836/http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/a/abdullah_bin_abdul_aziz_alsaud/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The ulema have historically been led by the [[Al ash-Sheikh]],<ref>[[#Abir1987|Abir (1987)]], p. 4</ref> the country's leading religious family.<ref name= Hassner /> The Al ash-Sheikh are the descendants of [[Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab]], the 18th-century founder of the Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam which is today dominant in Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite book |title=Saudi Arabia: the coming storm |author=Wilson, Peter W. |author2=Graham, Douglas |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-56324-394-3 |page=16|publisher=M.E. Sharpe }}</ref> The family is second in prestige only to the Al Saud (the royal family)<ref name= Long11>[[#Long|Long]], p. 11</ref> with whom they formed a "mutual support pact"<ref name="IBP">{{cite book |title=Saudi Arabia King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud Handbook |publisher=International Business Publications |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7397-2740-9}}</ref> and power-sharing arrangement nearly 300 years ago.<ref name="meforum.org" /> The pact, which persists to this day,<ref name=IBP /> is based on the Al Saud maintaining the Al ash-Sheikh's authority in religious matters and upholding and propagating Wahhabi doctrine. In return, the Al ash-Sheikh support the Al Saud's political authority<ref>{{cite book |title=Area Handbook for the Persian Gulf States |first=Richard F.|last=Nyrop|year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4344-6210-7 |page=50|publisher=Wildside Press LLC }}</ref> thereby using its religious-[[moral authority]] to legitimize the royal family's rule.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Bligh, Alexander |year=1985 |title=The Saudi religious elite (Ulama) as participant in the political system of the kingdom |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=17 |pages=37–50 |doi=10.1017/S0020743800028750|s2cid=154565116 }}</ref> Although the Al ash-Sheikh's domination of the ulema has diminished in recent decades,<ref name= Mattar>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa: Vol. 1 A–C |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo00phil_0 |url-access=registration |first=Philip|last=Mattar|year=2004 |isbn=978-0-02-865770-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo00phil_0/page/101 101]|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA }}</ref> they still hold the most important religious posts and are closely linked to the Al Saud by a high degree of intermarriage.<ref name= Hassner/>

=== Legal system ===
{{main|Legal system of Saudi Arabia}}
{{see also|Crime in Saudi Arabia}}
[[File:Iqra.jpg|thumb|Verses from the Quran. The Quran is the official constitution of the country and a primary source of law. Saudi Arabia is unique in enshrining a religious text as a political document.{{sfn|Bowen|2007|p=13}}]]
The primary source of law is the Islamic [[Sharia]] derived from the teachings of the [[Qur'an]] and the [[Sunnah]] (the traditions of the Prophet).<ref name= Campbell /> Saudi Arabia is unique among modern Muslim states in that Sharia is not codified and there is no system of judicial precedent, allowing judges to use independent legal reasoning to make a decision. Thus, divergent judgments arise even in apparently identical cases,<ref name="Sharia Inc Courts">[[#Otto|Otto]], pp. 161–162</ref> making predictability of legal interpretation difficult.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gMPjxHzG1xQC&pg=PA202 |title=The Report: Saudi Arabia |publisher=Oxford Business Group |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-902339-00-9 |page=202 |quote=it is not always possible to reach a conclusion on how a Saudi court or judicial committee would view a particular case [because] decisions of a court or a judicial committee have no binding authority with respect to another case, [and] in general there is also no system of court reporting in the Kingdom.}}</ref> Saudi judges tend to follow the principles of the [[Hanbali]] school of jurisprudence (''[[fiqh]]'') found in pre-modern texts<ref name= Haffner58>{{cite book |title=Shari'a Politics: Islamic Law and Society in the Modern World |first=Robert W.|last=Hefner|year=2011 |isbn=978-0-253-22310-4 |page=58|publisher=Indiana University Press }}</ref> and noted for its literalist interpretation of the Qur'an and [[hadith]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Islam |author=Juan Eduardo Campo |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8160-5454-1 |page=288|publisher=Facts On File }}</ref> However, in 2021, Saudi Arabia announced judicial reforms which will lead to an entirely codified law that eliminates discrepancies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Turak |first=Natasha |title=Saudi Arabia announces major legal reforms, paving the way for codified law |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/09/saudi-arabia-announces-legal-reforms-paving-the-way-for-codified-law.html |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=CNBC |date=9 February 2021 |language=en |archive-date=4 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304041106/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/09/saudi-arabia-announces-legal-reforms-paving-the-way-for-codified-law.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Royal decrees are the other main source of law but are referred to as ''regulations'' rather than ''laws'' because they are subordinate to the Sharia.<ref name= Campbell /> Royal decrees supplement Sharia in areas such as labour, commercial and corporate law. Additionally, traditional tribal law and custom remain significant.<ref>[[#Otto|Otto]], p. 157</ref> Extra-Sharia government tribunals usually handle disputes relating to specific royal decrees.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islam and politics |first=John L.|last=Esposito|year=1998 |isbn=978-0-8156-2774-6 |pages=110–112|publisher=Syracuse University Press }}</ref> Final appeal from both Sharia courts and government tribunals is to the king, and all courts and tribunals follow Sharia rules of evidence and procedure.<ref name= Campbell268>{{cite book |title=Legal Aspects of Doing Business in the Middle East |first=Christian|last=Campbell|year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4303-1914-6 |pages=268–269|publisher=Lulu Enterprises Incorporated }}</ref>

Retaliatory punishments, or [[Qisas]], are practised: for instance, an eye can be surgically removed at the insistence of a victim who lost his own eye.<ref name="Economist Cruel">{{Cite news |date=14 June 2001 |title=Saudi Arabian justice: Cruel, or just unusual? |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/node/656147 |access-date=20 February 2020 |archive-date=8 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408031800/https://www.economist.com/node/656147 |url-status=live }}</ref> Families of someone unlawfully killed can choose between demanding the death penalty or granting clemency in return for a payment of [[diyya]] (blood money), by the perpetrator.<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudis Face Soaring Blood-Money Sums |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/26/AR2008072601785.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=27 July 2008 |access-date=3 September 2017 |archive-date=12 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112180004/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/26/AR2008072601785.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main|Regions of Saudi Arabia|Governorates of Saudi Arabia}}

Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 [[regions]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arab.net/saudi/sa_admindivisions.htm |title=Saudi Arabia: Administrative divisions |publisher=arab.net |access-date=13 May 2008 |archive-date=9 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109155349/http://www.arab.net/saudi/sa_admindivisions.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> ({{langx|ar|مناطق إدارية}}; ''manatiq idāriyya'', sing. منطقة إدارية; ''[[mintaqah]] idariyya''). The regions are further divided into 118 [[Governorates of Saudi Arabia|governorates]] ({{langx|ar|محافظات}}; ''muhafazat'', sing. محافظة; ''[[muhafazah]]''). This number includes the 13 regional capitals, which have a different status as municipalities ({{langx|ar|أمانة}}; ''amanah'') headed by mayors ({{langx|ar|أمين}}; ''amin''). The governorates are further subdivided into sub-governorates ({{langx|ar|مراكز}}; ''[[Markaz (country subdivision)|marakiz]]'', sing. مركز; ''markaz'').

{{center|{{Saudi Arabia Prv}}}}

=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia}}
The foreign policy of Saudi Arabia is officially focused on cooperation with the oil-exporting [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf|Gulf States]], the unity of the [[Arab World|Arab]] [[Arab World|world]], [[Ummah|Islamic solidarity]], and support for the [[United Nations]] and multilateralism. It joined the UN in 1945<ref name="US State Dept Saudi Arabia" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/members/index.shtml |title=United Nations Member States |publisher=United Nations |access-date=29 June 2017 |archive-date=30 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230101646/http://www.un.org/en/members/index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> and is a founding member of the [[Arab League]], [[Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf|Gulf Cooperation Council]], [[Muslim World League]], and the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]].{{efn|Formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.}}<ref name="Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs">{{cite web |url=http://www.mofa.gov.sa/SITES/MOFAEN/ABOUTKINGDOM/KINGDOMFOREIGNPOLICY/Pages/KingdomPolicy34645.aspx |title=The foreign policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |date=5 July 2005 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia |access-date=31 July 2011 |archive-date=19 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219093153/http://www.mofa.gov.sa/sites/mofaen/aboutKingDom/KingdomForeignPolicy/Pages/KingdomPolicy34645.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Saudi Arabia joined the [[World Trade Organization]] in 2005 and plays a prominent role in the [[International Monetary Fund]], the [[the World Bank|World Bank]], and the [[G20]].<ref name="US State Dept Saudi Arabia" /> Although part of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], Saudi Arabia is generally considered pro-Western.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ménoret |first=Pascal |url=https://archive.org/details/saudienigmahisto0000meno/page/22 |title=The Saudi enigma: a history |publisher=Zed Books |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-84277-605-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/saudienigmahisto0000meno/page/22 22]}}</ref>

Since co-founding [[OPEC]] in 1960, Saudi Arabia's oil pricing policy has officially aimed to stabilize the world oil market and moderate sharp price movements so as not to jeopardize Western economies.<ref name="US State Dept Saudi Arabia" /><ref>{{cite web|title=OPEC : Brief History|url=http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/24.htm|website=OPEC.org|publisher=Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries|access-date=20 May 2015|archive-date=28 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228051108/http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/24.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1973, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations imposed an [[oil embargo]] against the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and other Western nations that supported Israel in the [[Yom Kippur War]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Arab Oil Threat |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/23/archives/the-arab-oil-threat.html |work=The New York Times |date=23 November 1973 |access-date=22 July 2019 |archive-date=22 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722073135/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/23/archives/the-arab-oil-threat.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The embargo caused an [[1973 oil crisis|oil crisis]] with many short- and long-term effects on global politics and the global economy.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/oil/|title=The price of oil – in context|date=18 April 2006 | work=CBC News| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070609145246/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/oil/| archive-date= 9 June 2007 | url-status=live}}</ref> 

[[Saudi Arabia–United States relations|Saudi Arabia and the United States]] are strategic allies;<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news |title=How strained are US-Saudi relations? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36083990 |work=BBC News |date=20 April 2016 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=17 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417112848/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36083990 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Saudi-US Relations {{!}} The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.saudiembassy.net/saudi-us-relations |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=www.saudiembassy.net |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203045622/https://saudiembassy.net/saudi-us-relations |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=United States-Saudi Arabia Relationship: Eight Decades of Partnership |url=https://www.state.gov/united-states-saudi-arabia-relationship-eight-decades-of-partnership/ |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=United States Department of State |language=en |archive-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223065251/https://www.state.gov/united-states-saudi-arabia-relationship-eight-decades-of-partnership/ |url-status=live}}</ref> the U.S. has been the most influential foreign power in the kingdom since the end of World War II.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-13 |title=Saudi Arabia - Foreign Affairs, GCC, Oil {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Saudi-Arabia/Foreign-affairs |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Saudi Arabia's role in the 1991 [[Gulf War]], particularly the stationing of American troops on Saudi soil from 1991, prompted the development of a hostile Islamist response internally.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islamic activism: a social movement theory approach |first=Quintan|last=Wiktorowicz|year=2004 |isbn=978-0-253-34281-2 |page=255|publisher=Indiana University Press }}</ref> As a result, Saudi Arabia has, to some extent, distanced itself from the U.S.; for example, it refused to support or participate in the U.S.-led [[Iraq War|invasion of Iraq]] in 2003.<ref name="Britannica" /> Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia remains a key strategic ally of the U.S. and a leading importer of American arms.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-04-19 |title=How strained are US-Saudi relations? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36083990 |access-date=2025-05-14 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2017, President [[Donald Trump]] and King Salman signed a series of letters of intent for Saudi Arabia to [[2017 United States–Saudi Arabia arms deal|purchase arms from the United States]] totaling $350 billion over 10 years.<ref name="cnbc-20170520">{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/20/us-saudi-arabia-seal-weapons-deal-worth-nearly-110-billion-as-trump-begins-visit.html|title=US-Saudi Arabia ink historic 10-year weapons deal worth $350 billion as Trump begins visit|last=David|first=Javier E.|date=20 May 2017|website=CNBC|access-date=28 October 2018|archive-date=21 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521165657/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/20/us-saudi-arabia-seal-weapons-deal-worth-nearly-110-billion-as-trump-begins-visit.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The truth about President Trump's $110 billion Saudi arms deal |language=en |work=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/truth-president-trumps-110-billion-saudi-arms-deal/story?id=47874726 |access-date=2021-07-28 |archive-date=7 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607005940/http://abcnews.go.com/International/truth-president-trumps-110-billion-saudi-arms-deal/story?id=47874726 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

[[China–Saudi Arabia relations|China and Saudi Arabia]]'s relationship has grown significantly in recent decades. A significant number of Saudi Arabians have also expressed a positive view of [[China]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=YouGov Cambridge Globalism 2019/20 |url=https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/kkh07ajgn8/Globalism2020%20TBI%20China%20Reputation%20Annual%20Comparison.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921092811/https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/kkh07ajgn8/Globalism2020%20TBI%20China%20Reputation%20Annual%20Comparison.pdf |archive-date=2021-09-21 |website=[[YouGov]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-04 |title=China's Alliance With Russia Weakens Its Position in Eastern Europe |url=https://pro.morningconsult.com/instant-intel/china-alliance-with-russia-weakens-position-in-eastern-europe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214150028/https://pro.morningconsult.com/instant-intel/china-alliance-with-russia-weakens-position-in-eastern-europe |archive-date=2024-02-14 |website=[[Morning Consult]] |language=en |quote=Besides Russia, the five countries with the most favorable views of China are Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Peru and Colombia, just ahead of two of China’s major fossil fuel sources, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=November 2020|title=Fewer global citizens believe China will have positive influence on world affairs in coming decade|work=[[Ipsos]]|url=https://www.ipsos.com/en-ch/fewer-global-citizens-believe-china-will-have-positive-influence-world-affairs-coming-decade|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002160222/https://www.ipsos.com/en-ch/fewer-global-citizens-believe-china-will-have-positive-influence-world-affairs-coming-decade|archive-date=2021-10-02}}</ref> In February 2019, Crown Prince Mohammad defended China's [[Xinjiang internment camps]] for [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] [[Islam in China|Muslims]].<ref>{{cite news|date=22 February 2019|title=Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman Defends China's Use of Concentration Camps for Muslims During Visit to Beijing|work=[[Newsweek]]|url=https://www.newsweek.com/saudi-arabia-mohammad-bin-salman-defends-china-concentration-camps-muslims-1340592|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=10 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010075307/https://www.newsweek.com/saudi-arabia-mohammad-bin-salman-defends-china-concentration-camps-muslims-1340592|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=23 February 2019|title=Saudi crown prince defends China's right to fight 'terrorism'|work=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al-Jazeera]]|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/saudi-crown-prince-defends-china-fight-terrorism-190223104647149.html|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=19 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619044243/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/saudi-crown-prince-defends-china-fight-terrorism-190223104647149.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]]'', Saudi Arabia's human rights record has "come under frequent attack abroad and so defending China becomes a roundabout way of defending themselves."<ref>{{cite news |date=15 July 2019 |title=Which Countries Are For or Against China's Xinjiang Policies? |url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/07/which-countries-are-for-or-against-chinas-xinjiang-policies/ |work=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] |quote=For other states, such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea, their own human rights records at home have come under frequent attack abroad and so defending China becomes a roundabout way of defending themselves. |access-date=19 July 2019 |archive-date=11 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011225715/https://thediplomat.com/2019/07/which-countries-are-for-or-against-chinas-xinjiang-policies/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Saudi Arabia has traditionally sought to preserve the regional status quo by using its financial, diplomatic, and military resources to limit the effects of revolutionary uprisings in neighboring countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-13 |title=Saudi Arabia - Gulf War, Foreign Policy, Middle East {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Saudi-Arabia/Foreign-policy-since-the-end-of-the-Persian-Gulf-War |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> It has been engaged in a [[Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict|proxy conflict with Iran]] since the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution]], which had called for the overthrow of monarchies and secular governments. The consequences of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the [[Arab Spring]] (2010–2012) led to increasing alarm within the Saudi monarchy over the rise of [[Iran]]'s influence in the region.<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/17/world/middleeast/wikileaks-saudi-arabia-iran.html WikiLeaks Shows a Saudi Obsession With Iran] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125201955/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/17/world/middleeast/wikileaks-saudi-arabia-iran.html |date=25 January 2017 }}". ''The New York Times''. 16 July 2015.</ref> These fears were reflected in comments of King Abdullah,<ref name="NYT Abdullah" /> who privately urged the United States to attack Iran and "cut off the head of the snake".<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudi Arabia urges US attack on Iran to stop nuclear programme |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cables-saudis-iran |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 November 2010 |place=London |first1=Ian |last1=Black |first2=Simon |last2=Tisdall |access-date=13 December 2016 |archive-date=16 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216223407/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cables-saudis-iran |url-status=live }}</ref> 

[[File:Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict.png|thumb|Major [[Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict]] locations]]
Saudi Arabia has been seen as a moderating influence in the [[Arab–Israeli conflict]], periodically putting forward a peace plan between Israel and the [[Palestinian people|Palestinians]] and condemning [[Hezbollah]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Prophets and princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the present |author=Watson, Mark |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-470-18257-4 |page=2|publisher=John Wiley & Sons }}</ref> 

In 2017, as part of [[Nuclear power in Saudi Arabia|its nuclear power]] [[Nuclear program of Saudi Arabia|programme]], Saudi Arabia planned to extract uranium domestically, taking a step towards self-sufficiency in producing [[nuclear fuel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/19/mike-pompeo-alleged-saudi-arabia-uranium-facility-yellowcake-china-democrats|title=Pompeo pressed on claims China is helping build Saudi uranium facility|access-date=19 August 2020|website=The Guardian|date=19 August 2020|archive-date=19 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819114802/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/19/mike-pompeo-alleged-saudi-arabia-uranium-facility-yellowcake-china-democrats|url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequently, the kingdom has been exploring foreign partnerships for constructing its first civil nuclear reactors, including with the United States, China, Russia, South Korea, and France.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Explainer: Why does Saudi Arabia want a civil nuclear deal with the US? |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/why-does-saudi-arabia-want-civil-nuclear-deal-with-us-2025-05-08/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250508205125/https://www.reuters.com/world/why-does-saudi-arabia-want-civil-nuclear-deal-with-us-2025-05-08/ |archive-date=2025-05-08 |access-date=2025-05-14 |work=Reuters |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Allegations of sponsoring global terrorism====
{{Main|Saudi Arabia and state-sponsored terrorism}}

Saudi Arabia has been accused of sponsoring Islamic terrorism.<ref>{{cite web |author=Edward Clifford |date=2014-12-06 |title=Financing Terrorism: Saudi Arabia and Its Foreign Affairs |url=http://www.brownpoliticalreview.org/2014/12/financing-terrorism-saudi-arabia-and-its-foreign-affairs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018060915/http://www.brownpoliticalreview.org/2014/12/financing-terrorism-saudi-arabia-and-its-foreign-affairs/ |archive-date=18 October 2015 |access-date=19 September 2015 |work=brownpoliticalreview.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Walsh |first1=Declan |date=2010-12-05 |title=WikiLeaks cables portray Saudi Arabia as a cash machine for terrorists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023137/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding |archive-date=2016-12-15 |access-date=2016-12-11 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> According to Iraq Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]] in March 2014, Saudi Arabia along with Qatar provided political, financial, and media support to terrorists against the Iraqi government.<ref>{{cite web|title=Maliki: Saudi and Qatar at war against Iraq|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/maliki-saudi-qatar-at-war-against-iraq-20143823436553921.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=14 September 2015|archive-date=1 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001142113/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/maliki-saudi-qatar-at-war-against-iraq-20143823436553921.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, President of Syria [[Bashar al-Assad]] noted in 2015 that the sources of the extreme ideology of the terrorist organization [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]] and other such [[Salafi jihadism|salafist extremist]] groups are the Wahabbism that has been supported by the royal family of Saudi Arabia.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiC4w7Erz8I "Syria conflict: BBC exclusive interview with President Bashar al-Assad" with Jeremy Bowen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216150810/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiC4w7Erz8I |date=16 February 2020 }} (9 February 2015)</ref>

Relations with the U.S. became strained following [[September 11 attacks|9/11 terror attacks]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A History of Saudi Arabia |first=Madawi |last=Al-Rasheed |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-74754-7 |page=233|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> American politicians and media accused the Saudi government of supporting terrorism and tolerating a ''[[jihadist]]'' culture.<ref>{{cite book |title=Great powers and regional orders: the United States and the Persian Gulf |first=Markus |last=Kaim |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7546-7197-8 |page=68|publisher=Ashgate Publishing }}</ref> According to former U.S. Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] in December 2010, "Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the [[Taliban]], [[LeT]] and other terrorist groups... Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide."<ref name="Guardian_05122010">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding |first=Declan |last=Walsh |date=5 December 2010 |title=WikiLeaks cables portray Saudi Arabia as a cash machine for terrorists |newspaper=The Guardian |place=London |access-date=13 December 2016 |archive-date=15 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023137/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding |url-status=live }}</ref> The Saudi government denies these claims or that it exports religious or cultural extremism.<ref>[[#Malbouisson|Malbouisson]], p. 27</ref> In September 2016, the U.S. Congress passed the [[Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act]] that would allow relatives of victims of the 11 September attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for [[Alleged Saudi role in the September 11 attacks|its government's alleged role in the attacks]].<ref>"[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/23/obama-veto-terrorism-lawsuit-bill-setting-up-override-battle/90407496/ Why Obama doesn't want 9/11 families suing Saudi Arabia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113073608/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/23/obama-veto-terrorism-lawsuit-bill-setting-up-override-battle/90407496/ |date=13 January 2019 }}". ''USA Today''. 23 September 2016.</ref> In 2014, [[Abdulaziz Al Sheikh|Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh]], the [[Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia]] and Chairman of the [[Council of Senior Scholars (Saudi Arabia)|Council of Senior Scholars]], issued a [[fatwa]] explicitly prohibiting joining or supporting terrorist organizations such as [[Islamic State|ISIS]] and [[al-Qaeda]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-17 |title="هيئة كبار العلماء" السعودية تحرم الالتحاق "بالقاعدة" وتنظيم "الدولة الإسلامية" |url=https://www.france24.com/ar/20140917-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%89-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%82-%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%B4 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=فرانس 24 / France 24 |language=ar}}</ref> According to the [[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]], "Saudi Arabia plays an important role in working toward a peaceful and prosperous future for the region and is a strong partner in security and counterterrorism efforts and in military, diplomatic, and financial cooperation."<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Relations With Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-saudi-arabia/ |access-date=2024-08-10 |website=United States Department of State |language=en}}</ref> A significant Saudi counterterrorism success was the foiling of a 2010 [[2010 transatlantic aircraft bomb plot|cargo plane bomb plot]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Borger |first1=Julian |last2=McGreal |first2=Chris |last3=Finn |first3=Tom |date=2010-11-01 |title=Cargo plane bomb plot: Saudi double agent 'gave crucial alert' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/01/cargo-plane-plot-saudi-agent-gave-alert |access-date=2024-08-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In December 2015, Saudi Arabia announced the formation of the [[Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition]], an alliance of Muslim-majority countries aimed at combating terrorism and extremism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saudi Arabia forms Islamic anti-terror coalition – DW – 12/15/2015 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/saudi-arabia-says-it-will-head-muslim-counterterrorism-coalition/a-18917666 |access-date=2024-08-10 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en}}</ref>

However, since 2016 the kingdom began backing away from Islamist ideologies.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Khalilzad|first=Zalmay|title='We Misled You': How the Saudis Are Coming Clean on Funding Terrorism|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/saudi-arabia-terrorism-funding-214241|access-date=2021-10-11|website=Politico Magazine|date=14 September 2016|language=en|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019043523/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/saudi-arabia-terrorism-funding-214241/|url-status=live}}</ref> Several reforms took place including curbing the powers of [[Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Saudi Arabia)|religious police]],<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|date=2016-04-13|title=Saudi cabinet curbs powers of religious police|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-police-idUSKCN0XA24Y|access-date=2021-10-11|archive-date=11 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011053057/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-police-idUSKCN0XA24Y|url-status=live}}</ref> and stopping funding mosques in foreign countries.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-25|title=Saudi Arabia to stop funding mosques in foreign countries|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200125-saudi-arabia-to-stop-funding-mosques-in-foreign-countries/|access-date=2021-10-11|website=[[Middle East Monitor]]|language=en-GB|archive-date=11 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011053057/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200125-saudi-arabia-to-stop-funding-mosques-in-foreign-countries/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Military ===
{{Main|Saudi Arabian Military Forces}}
{{see also|List of wars involving Saudi Arabia}}
{{Multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| caption_align     = center
| image1            = Partner Nations Conduct Training during Eager Lion 2022 220914-A-XQ828-461.jpg
| caption1          = [[M1 Abrams]] of the [[Royal Saudi Land Forces]]
| image2            = Royal Saudi Navy frigate Al Dammam (816) in May 2014.JPG
| caption2          = [[Al Riyadh-class frigate|''Al-Riyadh''-class frigate]] of the [[Royal Saudi Navy]]
| image3            = RSAF Typhoon at Malta - Gordon Zammit.jpg
| caption3          = [[Eurofighter Typhoon]] of the [[Royal Saudi Air Force]]
}}
Saudi Arabia's military forces include the [[Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia]] under the [[Ministry of Defence (Saudi Arabia)|Ministry of Defence]], which consist of the [[Saudi Arabian Army|Royal Saudi Land Forces]] (including the [[Saudi Royal Guard Regiment|Royal Guard]]), the [[Royal Saudi Air Force|Air Force]], the [[Royal Saudi Navy|Navy]], the [[Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces|Air Defence]], and the [[Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force|Strategic Missile Force]]; the [[Saudi Arabian National Guard]] under the [[Ministry of National Guard]]; paramilitary forces under the [[Ministry of Interior (Saudi Arabia)|Minister of Interior]], including the [[General Directorate of Border Guard|Saudi Arabian Border Guard]] and the Facilities Security Force; and the [[Presidency of State Security]], including the Special Security Force and the [[Saudi Emergency Force|Emergency Force]]. As of 2023 there are 127,000 active personnel in the Armed Forces, 130,000 in the National Guard, and 24,500 in the paramilitary security forces. The National Guard is made up of tribal forces that are loyal to the Saudi royal family and have a role in both domestic security and foreign defence.<ref name="iiss2023">{{Cite book |author=IISS |author-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies |date=2023 |title=The Military Balance 2023 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-032-50895-5 |pages=351–354 }}</ref><ref name="CIAfactbook">{{Cite web |title=Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saudi-arabia/#military-and-security |work=CIA World Factbook |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=19 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319180722/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saudi-arabia#military-and-security |url-status=live }}</ref> Saudi Arabia has security relationships with the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, which provide it with training and weapons.<ref name="defensenews2015">{{cite web |title=Saudi Arabia: The Gulf's Best-Equipped Military |date=26 March 2015 |work=[[Defense News]] |url=https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2015/03/26/saudi-arabia-the-gulf-s-best-equipped-military/ |access-date=28 March 2024 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328144301/https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2015/03/26/saudi-arabia-the-gulf-s-best-equipped-military/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Saudi Arabia has one of the highest percentages of military expenditure in the world, spending around 7% of its GDP in its military, according to the 2023 [[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]] estimate, which places it as the world's fifth largest military spender behind the United States, Russia, India and China, and the world's second largest arms importer from 2019 to 2023, receiving 15 per cent of all U.S. arms exports.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tian |first1=Nan |last2=Lopes Da Silva |first2=Diego |last3=Liang |first3=Xiao |last4=Scarazzato |first4=Lorenzo |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2023 |url=https://www.sipri.org/publications/2024/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-world-military-expenditure-2023 |website=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |access-date=4 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wezeman |first1=Pieter D. |last2=Djokic |first2=Katarina |last3=George |first3=Mathew |last4=Hussain |first4=Zain |last5=Wezeman |first5=Siemon T. |title=Trends in International Arms Transfers |url=https://www.sipri.org/publications/2024/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-international-arms-transfers-2023 |website=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |access-date=4 February 2025}}</ref> Spending on defence and security has increased significantly since the mid-1990s and was about US$78.4 billion as of 2019.<ref name=":23">[https://www.iiss.org/blogs/military-balance/2020/02/global-defence-spending Global defence spending: the United States widens the gap] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725224454/https://www.iiss.org/blogs/military-balance/2020/02/global-defence-spending |date=25 July 2020 }} ([[International Institute for Strategic Studies|IISS]]) – 14 February 2020</ref> According to the [[Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies|BICC]], Saudi Arabia is the 28th most militarized country in the world and possesses the second-best military equipment qualitatively in the region, after Israel.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2019 |title=Global Militarisation Index 2019 |url=https://www.bicc.de/uploads/tx_bicctools/BICC_GMI_2019_EN.pdf |journal=BICC |pages=8 and 14 |access-date=28 July 2020 |archive-date=6 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806002150/https://www.bicc.de/uploads/tx_bicctools/BICC_GMI_2019_EN.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Its modern high-technology arsenal makes Saudi Arabia among the world's most densely armed nations.<ref name="Library of Congress 2006">{{Cite web |title=About this Collection &#124; Country Studies &#124; Digital Collections &#124; Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/country-studies/about-this-collection/ |website=Library of Congress |access-date=9 August 2020 |archive-date=13 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213014814/https://www.loc.gov/collections/country-studies/about-this-collection/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The kingdom has a [[Pakistan–Saudi Arabia relations#Security relations|long-standing military relationship with Pakistan]]; it has long been speculated that Saudi Arabia secretly funded Pakistan's [[Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|atomic bomb programme]] and seeks to purchase atomic weapons from Pakistan in the near future.<ref name="QV">{{cite book|title=Allah's Bomb: The Islamic Quest for Nuclear Weapons|first=Al J.|last=Venter|pages=[https://archive.org/details/allahsbombislami0000vent/page/150 150–153]|year=2007|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=978-1-59921-205-0|url=https://archive.org/details/allahsbombislami0000vent/page/150}}</ref><ref name="SPO">{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EK07Ak01.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031107031736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EK07Ak01.html |url-status=unfit |archive-date=7 November 2003 |title=Saudi Arabia's nuclear gambit |work=Asia Times |date=7 November 2003}}</ref>

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia mobilized 150,000 troops and 100 fighter jets to support its [[Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war|intervention in the civil war]] in neighbouring [[Yemen]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Yemen Crisis: Saudi Arabia Masses 150,000 Troops to Support Airstrikes |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/saudi-arabia-masses-150-000-troops-support-airstrikes-yemen-n330416 |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 March 2015 |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204185727/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/saudi-arabia-masses-150-000-troops-support-airstrikes-yemen-n330416 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HRW_2015-11-26_WMT">{{cite news|date=26 November 2015 |title=What Military Target Was in My Brother's House – Unlawful Coalition Airstrikes in Yemen |url=https://www.hrw.org/node/283702 |url-status=live |publisher=Human Rights Watch |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6dM5mYROt?url=https://www.hrw.org/node/283702 |archive-date=27 November 2015}} ({{cite web |title=PDF download |url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/yemen1115_4up.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6dM5EnSsE?url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/yemen1115_4up.pdf |archive-date=27 November 2015}})</ref> By early 2016, Saudi ground forces and their coalition allies captured [[Aden]] and parts of southwest Yemen, though the Houthis continued to control northern Yemen and the capital city [[Sanaa]]. From there the Houthis launched successful attacks across the border into Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Almeida, Alex; Knights, Michael |title=Gulf Coalition Operations in Yemen (Part 1): The Ground War |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/gulf-coalition-operations-yemen-part-1-ground-war |work=[[The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] |date=25 March 2016 |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=6 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206195626/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/gulf-coalition-operations-in-yemen-part-1-the-ground-war |url-status=live }}</ref> The Saudi military has also carried out an aerial bombing campaign and a naval blockade aimed at stopping weapons shipments to the Houthis.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Knights, Michael |title=Gulf Coalition Operations in Yemen (Part 2): The Air War |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/gulf-coalition-operations-yemen-part-2-air-war |work=[[The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] |date=25 March 2016 |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204200459/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/gulf-coalition-operations-yemen-part-2-air-war |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Pollak, Nadav; Knights, Michael |title=Gulf Coalition Operations in Yemen (Part 3): Maritime and Aerial Blockade |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/gulf-coalition-operations-yemen-part-3-maritime-and-aerial-blockade |work=[[The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] |date=25 March 2016 |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204200459/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/gulf-coalition-operations-yemen-part-3-maritime-and-aerial-blockade |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2024, Saudi Arabia had 2,500 troops actively participating in the conflict in Yemen.<ref>{{Cite book |author=IISS |author-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies |date=2024 |title=The Military Balance 2024 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-032-78004-7 |page=385 }}</ref>

=== Human rights ===
{{main|Human rights in Saudi Arabia}}
{{see also|Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia|Public executions in Saudi Arabia}}

The Saudi government, which mandates Muslim and non-Muslim observance of Sharia law under the absolute rule of the House of Saud, has been denounced by international organizations and governments for violating human rights.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41731.htm|title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2004|author=Unattributed|date=28 February 2005|access-date=2 June 2008|publisher=US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour|archive-date=7 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107004858/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41731.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The authoritarian regime is consistently ranked among the "worst of the worst" in [[Freedom House]]'s [[Freedom in the World|annual survey of political and civil rights]].<ref>[https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/Worst%20of%20the%20Worst%202010.pdf Worst of the Worst 2010. The World's Most Repressive Societies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024180123/https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/Worst%20of%20the%20Worst%202010.pdf |date=24 October 2021 }}. freedomhouse.org</ref> According to [[Amnesty International]], security forces torture and ill-treat detainees to extract confessions to be used as evidence against them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/report-saudi-arabia/|title=SAUDI ARABIA 2016/2017|access-date=4 November 2017|archive-date=15 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815175129/https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/report-saudi-arabia/|url-status=live}}</ref> Saudi Arabia abstained from the UN vote adopting the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], saying it contradicted Sharia.<ref>{{cite book |author=Nisrine Abiad |title=Sharia, Muslim states and international human rights treaty obligations: a comparative study |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dex7TKuoUhgC |year=2008 |publisher=BIICL |isbn=978-1-905221-41-7 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dex7TKuoUhgC&pg=PA60 60–65] |access-date=28 March 2024 |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118134309/https://books.google.com/books?id=dex7TKuoUhgC |url-status=live }}</ref> Mass executions, such as those carried out [[2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution|in 2016]], [[2019 Saudi Arabia mass execution|2019]], and [[2022 Saudi Arabia mass execution|2022]], have been condemned by international rights groups.<ref name="Anishchenkova2020">{{cite book | author = Valerie Anishchenkova | date = 1 June 2020 | title = Modern Saudi Arabia | publisher = ABC-CLIO | pages = 74– | isbn = 978-1-4408-5705-8 | oclc = 1137212712 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=F7XjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA74 | access-date = 16 January 2022 | archive-date = 28 March 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240328144421/https://books.google.com/books?id=F7XjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA74 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Since 2001, Saudi Arabia has engaged in [[Censorship in Saudi Arabia#The Internet|internet censorship]]. Most censorship falls into two categories: one based on censoring "immorality" (mostly pornographic and LGBT-supportive sites along with sites promoting any religious ideology other than Sunni Islam) and one based on a blacklist run by [[Ministry of Media (Saudi Arabia)|Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Media]], which primarily censors sites critical of the regime or associated with parties that are opposed to or opposed by Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 November 2018 |title=Saudi Arabia |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2018/saudi-arabia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222220534/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2018/saudi-arabia |archive-date=22 February 2020 |access-date=31 March 2019 |website=freedomhouse.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alisa |first1=Shishkina |last2=Issaev |first2=Leonid |date=14 November 2018 |title=Internet Censorship in Arab Countries: Religious and Moral Aspects |url=https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/11/358/pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331181346/https://res.mdpi.com/religions/religions-09-00358/article_deploy/religions-09-00358.pdf?filename=&attachment=1 |archive-date=31 March 2019 |access-date=31 March 2019 |journal=Religions|volume=9 |issue=11 |page=358 |doi=10.3390/rel9110358 |doi-access=free }} [[iarchive:religions-09-00358|Alt URL]]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Saudi internet rules, 2001 |url=https://al-bab.com/saudi-internet-rules-2001 |access-date=31 March 2019 |website=al-bab.com |archive-date=31 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331182424/https://al-bab.com/saudi-internet-rules-2001 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Dira Square.JPG|thumb|right|[[Deera Square]], central Riyadh. It is a former site of public beheadings.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=al-Omar|first1=Asmaa|last2=Hubbard|first2=Ben|date=2021-08-13|title=For a Crime at 14, He Faces Death in a Case Casting Doubt on Saudi Reforms|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-execution.html|access-date=2022-01-19|issn=0362-4331|quote=A former site of public executions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital.|archive-date=3 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003010148/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-execution.html|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Saudi Arabian law does not recognize [[LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia|sexual orientations]] or religious freedom, and the public practice of non-Muslim religions is actively prohibited.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136079.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315154836/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136079.htm |archive-date=15 March 2010 |title=2009 Human Rights Report: Saudi Arabia |publisher=[[United States Department of State]]}}</ref> The justice system regularly engages in [[capital punishment]], which has included public executions by [[decapitation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde23/004/1993/en/|title=Saudi Arabia: An upsurge in public executions|website=Amnesty International|date=30 June 1993 |access-date=2018-11-21|archive-date=2018-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122054039/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde23/004/1993/en/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Rights group condemns Saudi beheadings|date=14 October 2008|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27184784|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|access-date=14 October 2008|archive-date=4 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104031323/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/27184784/|url-status=live}}</ref> In line with Sharia in the [[Legal system of Saudi Arabia|Saudi justice system]], the death penalty can theoretically be imposed for a range of offenses,<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudi system condemned |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/aug/09/saudiarabia.brianwhitaker |newspaper=The Guardian |date=9 August 2003 |access-date=27 July 2011 |location=London |first=Brian |last=Whitaker |archive-date=13 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313062308/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/aug/09/saudiarabia.brianwhitaker |url-status=live }}</ref> including murder, rape, armed robbery, repeated drug use, [[apostasy]],<ref name= BBCexecutioner>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2966790.stm |title=Saudi executioner tells all |date=5 June 2003 |work=BBC News |access-date=11 July 2011 |archive-date=1 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401233508/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2966790.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> adultery,<ref name= FRD306>{{cite book |title=Saudi Arabia A Country Study |last=Federal Research Division |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-4191-4621-3 |page=304}}</ref> witchcraft and sorcery,<ref name= Miethe>{{cite book |title=Punishment: a comparative historical perspective  |last=Miethe |first=Terance D. |author2=Lu, Hong |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-60516-8 |page=63|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> and can be carried out by beheading with a sword,<ref name= BBCexecutioner/> [[stoning]] or firing squad,<ref name= FRD306/> followed by [[Crucifixion#Legal execution in Islamic states|crucifixion]] (exposure of the body after execution).<ref name= Miethe/> In 2022, the Saudi Crown Prince stated that capital punishments will be removed "except for one category mentioned in the Quran", namely [[Qisas#Traditional jurisprudence|homicide]], under which certain conditions must be applied.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-12 |title=Saudi Arabia puts 81 to death in its largest mass execution |url=https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-saudi-arabia-al-qaida-dubai-united-arab-emirates-a1984eab0faadefa0152d5c138525d80 |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=AP NEWS |language=en |quote=Well about the death penalty, we got rid of all of it, except for one category, and this one is written in the Quran |archive-date=24 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024081433/https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-saudi-arabia-al-qaida-dubai-united-arab-emirates-a1984eab0faadefa0152d5c138525d80 |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2020, Saudi Supreme Court issued a directive to eliminate the punishment of flogging from the court system, replaced by imprisonment or fines.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52420307|title=Saudi Arabia to abolish flogging – supreme court|date=24 April 2020|work=BBC News|access-date=24 April 2020|archive-date=24 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424214438/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52420307|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/04/24/Saudi-courts-ordered-to-stop-use-of-lashing-as-punishment-Okaz-report.html|title=In landmark decision, Saudi Arabia to eliminate flogging punishment|date=24 April 2020|website=Al Arabiya English|access-date=24 April 2020|archive-date=28 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428151858/https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/04/24/Saudi-courts-ordered-to-stop-use-of-lashing-as-punishment-Okaz-report.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Historically, Saudi women faced [[discrimination]] in many aspects of their lives and under the [[Wali (Islamic legal guardian)|male guardianship system]] were effectively treated as [[minor (law)|legal minors]].<ref name="HRW2016">{{cite journal| title =Boxed In — Women and Saudi Arabia's Male Guardianship System| journal =[[Human Rights Watch]] | date =16 July 2016| url =https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/16/boxed/women-and-saudi-arabias-male-guardianship-system | access-date =22 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826080422/https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/16/boxed/women-and-saudi-arabias-male-guardianship-system |archive-date=26 August 2016}}</ref> The treatment of women had been referred to as "[[sex segregation]]"<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.hri.ca/pdfs/HRT%20Spring,%20Volume%208,%20No.%201,%202001.pdf
 |access-date=21 August 2007
 |title=Human Rights Tribune – ed. Spring 2001
 |work=Human Rights Tribune
 |date=Spring 2001
 |publisher=International Human Rights Documentation Network
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002083608/http://www.hri.ca/pdfs/HRT%20Spring%2C%20Volume%208%2C%20No.%201%2C%202001.pdf
 |archive-date=2 October 2008
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/dworkin/WarZoneChaptIIIA.html
|title=A Feminist Looks at Saudi Arabia
|year=1978
|author=Andrea Dworkin
|publisher=Andrea Dworkin on nostatusquo.com
|access-date=2 June 2008
|archive-date=29 August 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829142441/http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/dworkin/WarZoneChaptIIIA.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref> and "gender [[apartheid]]".<ref name=Handrahan>{{cite journal |author=Handrahan LM |title=Gender Apartheid and Cultural Absolution: Saudi Arabia and the International Criminal Court |publisher=Human Rights Internet |journal=Human Rights Tribune' |volume=8 |issue=1 |date=Spring 2001}} {{dead link|date=July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/the-australian-who-has-become-a-prisoner-of-gender-apartheid-20091113-ier0.html|title=The Australian who has become a prisoner of gender apartheid|date=14 November 2009|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=6 March 2010|archive-date=17 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217045604/http://www.smh.com.au/world/the-australian-who-has-become-a-prisoner-of-gender-apartheid-20091113-ier0.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As of June 2023, the kingdom has reportedly reversed its ban on women "becoming lawyers, engineers, or geologists" and established "aggressive [[affirmative action]] programmes", doubling the female labour force participation rate. It has added "its first female newspaper editors, diplomats, TV anchors and public prosecutors", with a female head of the Saudi stock exchange and member on the board of [[Saudi Aramco]].<ref name="GFOELLER 5 June 2023">{{cite news |last1=GFOELLER |first1=MICHAEL |last2=RUNDELL |first2=DAVID H. |date=5 June 2023 |title=Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Are More Than Just Oil and Water |agency=Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/saudi-arabia-us-are-more-just-oil-water-opinion-1804607 |access-date=6 June 2023 |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606002230/https://www.newsweek.com/saudi-arabia-us-are-more-just-oil-water-opinion-1804607 |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2018, the Saudi government issued a law officially allowing women to drive.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44576795.amp | title=Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving officially ends | date=23 June 2018 }}</ref> However, an investigation by ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper in 2025 found that the ''[[Dar al-Reaya]]'', officially "care homes", continued to be effectively "jails" for women whose families wish to institutionalize them for disobedience, extramarital sexual relations or being absent from home. Some women are sent to Dar al-Reaya to protect a family's reputation after a woman is sexually abused by a brother or father. Treatment was reported to be "hellish": very harsh, with solitary confinement, flogging, and no visits or contact.<ref name=levitt>{{cite news |last=Levitt |first=Tom |last2=Parent |first2=Deepa |date=28 May 2025 |title=Revealed: Saudi Arabia's secretive rehabilitation 'prisons' for disobedient women |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/may/28/saudi-arabia-women-girls-rehabilitation-prisons-dar-al-reaya |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

Saudi Arabia is a notable destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of [[slavery|slave]] labour and sexual exploitation.<ref name="factbook">{{cite web |title=Trafficking In Persons |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/print_2196.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208041651/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/print_2196.html |archive-date=8 December 2015 |access-date=4 December 2015 |website=cia.gov |publisher=[[The World Factbook]]}}</ref> Migrants from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are employed in the country's construction, hospitality, and domestic work sectors under the [[kafala system]] which human rights groups say is linked to abuses [[Slavery in Saudi Arabia|including slavery]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 16, 2022 |title=Saudi Arabia: "It's like we are not human": Forced returns, abhorrent detention conditions of Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde23/5826/2022/en/ |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=[[Amnesty International]] |page=6 |language=en |quote=Under Saudi Arabia’s repressive sponsorship (kafala) system, migrant workers are only able to obtain a work permit or residency through an employer, and they are only able to terminate their contracts or change employers under certain conditions without the consent of their employer. Those who lose their residency status, either because they leave their jobs without the consent of the employer or overstay their work permits, and those who are unable to find employment in the formal sector are at risk of arbitrary detention, deportation to their home country by the authorities, as well as abuses such as forced labour and physical and sexual assault. |archive-date=14 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314062320/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde23/5826/2022/en/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=6 July 2021 |title=French prosecutors probe slavery claims against Saudi prince |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-prince-accused-modern-day-slavery-french-prosecutors |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=[[Middle East Eye]] |language=en |quote=Human rights groups have often criticised Saudi Arabia's kafala system, a policy they say is exploitative and a form of modern slavery. |archive-date=14 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314062320/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-prince-accused-modern-day-slavery-french-prosecutors |url-status=live }}</ref>