Contemporary Saudi Arabia and the Emerging Indo-Saudi Relations

Contents: Introduction/Gulshan Dietl. 1. The political dynamics of Saudi Arabia and the challenge of reform/Talmiz Ahmad. 2. State and oppositions in Saudi Arabia emerging trends/Anwar Alam. 3. Saudi Arabia from oil kingdom to market/Girijesh Pant. 4. Population and society in Saudi Arabia/Prakash C. Jain. 5. Iranian Nuclear Programme Saudi concerns and responses/Gulshan Dietl. 6. Saudi Arabia and the US contextualizing an uneasy relationship in the post-11 September phase/Bansidhar Pradhan. 7. Indo-Saudi relations: past and emerging challenges/A.K. Pasha. 8. New trends in Indo-Saudi economic relations/Javed Ahmad Khan. Appendices: 1. Saudi Arabia: Basic Law of Government. 2. Delhi declaration, signed by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh of India. Contributors. Index.

"Saudi Arabia is a unique country at least in three specific details. One, it possesses more than a quarter of the global oil reserves, has been the largest oil producer for over half a century and is the only producer with a spare production capacity today. Two, the holiest Islamic shrines are located in Makkah and Medina placing the country in the epicenter of the Muslim sacred space. Three, it is one of the last surviving ruling monarchies and the only one that has named the country after its own family name.

Saudi Arabia is worth a scrutiny. The political, economic and social situation in the country, its foreign policy and Indo-Saudi relations are focussed in this book. The authors, with different perspectives and on different subjects, have coalesced to put together a volume that is a serious and well-rounded treatment of the theme." (jacket)