Introduction :

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula, is located
in the southwestern corner of Asia . The king of Saudi is Salman. The capital of
Saudi is Riyadh, which is located in the central region of the country. Language
Saudi Arabia's official language is Arabic, although English is also spoken in the
Kingdom. Religion The official religion of Saudi is Islam.Here we will discuss Saudi
Arabia’s political system, government officials, and political conditions.

Details of the democratic country:

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 and until recently it remained
an absolute monarchy. The king of the state did not have any limitations of power,
such as parliament or laws. Since 1962 one could observe some progress in
establishing the system of checks and balances when Saudi kings first mentioned
about consultative council (majlis ash shura) that would advise them how to rule
the country. In 1992 King Fahd offered the 61-member model of consultative
council and specified their responsibilities (Metz), however, it was not until 2005
when the first Consultative Council of 150 members was formed by the King.
Although the authority of the King remains undisputable and the King power is
hereditary, one can distinguish between three branches of government in Saudi
Arabia: legislative, executive, and judicial.
The Consultative Council that consists of 150 members and allows women
to be its member represents legislative branch. The Council plays only consultative
role and helps the King with state-important issues. The Council consists of 12
committees that deal with variety of important spheres, such as human rights,
foreign affairs, health, education, public services, security, Islamic affairs,
economy, finance, administration, culture (Ziegler). There are no elections for the
Consultative Council since the King personally appoints its members for a 4-year
term.
The King and Council of Ministers represent the executive branch. King is
the prime minister, chief of the state and commander in chief of the military in
Saudi Arabia (Ziegler). The Cabinet consists of 22 ministries, the members of
which are appointed by the King. Starting from 2009, women can be appointed to
the minister’s position as well. King Abdullah made Narah Al-Fayez the first
female cabinet-level official (Ziegler).
 The judicial branch is subordinated to the Islamic Law and consists of three
main parts: Courts of the First Instance, Courts of Cassation, and the Supreme
Council of Justice (Ziegler). The Shari’ah courts process the majority of cases in
the legal system. The Board of Grievances processes cases where government is
involved. It makes a supplemental body to the Shari’ah courts. The Supreme
Council of Justice, made of 12 jurists, represents a judicial branch of the
government. The jurists are appointed by the King on the recommendation of the
Supreme Judicial Council (Ziegler).
Due to the fact that the King holds all power in the country and is enhanced by the
supporters from royal family, voting is becoming an innovative part of the
Saudi Government. The King appoints all the main officials in the country,
therefore, the elections are held on the lower level. In 2005, the local
elections in 178 municipalities were first held (Ziegler) where only men over
21 have the right to vote. There is no constitution in our modern understanding in
Saudi Arabia. Quran, the sacred book of Islam, is considered to be the constitution.
Quran becomes the main source of the King’s authority and the sharia laws. The
governmental structure presented above enhances and specifies the main
provisions of Quran. In addition, the King addresses multiple regulations that deal
with governmental matters. In 1992, King Fahd united these regulations in a single
document called nizam (Metz).

Views and solutions:

An important issue is religious freedom throughout the country. Any public practice
of other than Islam religion causes severe sanctions from the state. Such practices are
unlikely for the country that wants to attract more investments and foreigners. Saudi
Arabia needs to find the golden middle between religious devotion and international
recognition
Women in Saudi Arabia had limited rights in comparison to men for a long
time. Although King Abdullah made some improvements by letting women into
politics, the majority of women requires more rights widely accepted in the West,
such as driving, travelling without men’s permission, playing sports etc.
Minorities in Saudi Arabia also face severe discrimination in education and
employment. Most of the religious minorities do not have legal rights or protection,
which results in their exclusion from Saudi Arabian life. Being under a great pressure
from the West, compliance with basic human rights and freedoms becomes an
important issue in the Saudi politics .
Future scope:
Saudi has a plan to reduce its dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop
public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation and tourism.
Goals include reinforcing economic and investment activities, increasing non-oil industry
trade between countries through goods and consumer products, and increasing
government spending on the military, manufacturing equipment and ammunition.
Conclusion:
Saudi Arabia’s government is trying to bring changes and recover from it’s problems.
Soon it will change into a developed country.