The political system in Saudi Arabia Term Paper

The political system in Saudi Arabia - Term Paper Example However, in Middle East and Saudi Arabia Islamic rules are prevailing. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Abdul Aziz bin Saud. Since then Saudi Arabia was ruled by somebody from Abdul Aziz bin Saud’s family. Ibn Saud’s son, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been the ruler since 2005, though he had been regent from 1996, due to the illness of his brother King Fahad. The King’s heir apparent is Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who also holds the title of Deputy Prime Minister, and who is a half-brother of the King (The Political System of Saudi Arabia) In political terms one can say that absolute monarchy is prevailing in Saudi Arabia. Absolute monarchy is exists when the ruler has power beyond the constitution and laws of the country. In Saudi Arabia, the King holds supreme power beyond the limits of constitution and law. Political observers are surprised to see the developments in Saudi Arabia even without a democratic or communist government. Many people have the illusion that only democracy or communism like stable political ideologies can bring developments in a country. But the case of Saudi Arabia is entirely different. Even without these political institutions, Saudi taught the external world that a country can develop properly with the help of visionary leadership. This paper compares the political systems in Saudi Arabia with that in other parts of the world. ... In other words, the responsibilities of the Saudi king are extremely large compared to the responsibilities of other gulf political leaders. However, the King appoints a Crown Prince to help him in administrative matters. â€Å"The Crown Prince is second in line to the throne† (About Saudi Arabia). In Iran, President holds the power of the president as well as prime minister. However, a cabinet is there both in Iran to assist the president in administrative matters. In India, all the administrative matters are done by the president and his colleagues. Elections are conducted in Iran once in every four years to elect the president. But in Saudi Arabia, no parliament elections are conducted even though ministries and cabinet are functioning in Saudi also. Saudi ministry and cabinet are nominated by the King. Other gulf countries such as UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman etc also have similar political systems as that in Saudi Arabia. In all these countries absolute monarchy is p revailing and the King holds the supreme power in all administrative matters. â€Å"Saudi legislative council is made up of a Consultative Council (also known as Majlis as-Shura or Shura Council) with 150 members and a chairman appointed by the king for a four-year term† (The Political System of Saudi Arabia). It should be noted that in democratic countries, the legislative council is formulated based on elections. For example, in India, legislative council or parliament members are elected by the people in general elections. It should be noted that Islamic rules are prevailing in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Saudi Arabia is the most sacred country for Muslims all over the world. Mecca and Medina are the most important