by the new centralized state lured the
Peninsular nation to restructure itself
to the mold of the modern world.
Alexel Vassiliev notes, “The collision
between the traditional socio-political
institutions, which had developed
from within Saudi society itself, and
the modernizing trends from outside
did not upset the state’s socio-political
balance in the first decade. There were
two main reasons for this: the impact
of modernization, which came from
far more developed states of the Middle
East, was still weak; and second,
the traditional structures were still
dominant. The situation underwent a
radical change only in the late 1940’s,
when the sudden vast inflow of oil revenues
undermined the earlier society
in Saudi Arabia.”8
The phenomena was so spectacular
and unexpected that one historian,
Arthur Young was forced to say, “It was
in the decades between the two world
wars that Saudi Arabia began to change
from a land of nomads, oases, and a
few walled towns to one of the world’s
key countries. The major causes of
change were the unification of most
of Arabia by Abd al-Aziz, commonly
known as Ibn Saud, and the discovery
of the world’s richest oil fields. During
less than half a century of these
events, with the efforts of Saudi’s leaders
and people, have had a spectacular
effect . . . in a way without precedent in
history.”9 This modernization process,
which concentrated itself on urbanizing
the Arab peoples, led to the slow
dissolution of the nomadic life. David
Long writes, “How long the traditional
patterns of Saudi society will remain
entrenched is an open question. Saudi
society, which was at a preindustrial
level just a few decades ago, is rushing
into modernity at an unbelievable
pace. The impact of development on
the society is everywhere present. Urbanization
is bringing people to the
cities, where they are cut off from the
support systems of tradition society.
Modern communication and transportation
have brought the world to
the doorstep of what had long been
one of the most remote and isolated
countries on earth.10
In another article, William Polk observes,
“In 1950, the country had alwww.
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