Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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toward a polyarchy of tribes lurked in the background. Again, Abdul-Aziz met the
clamoring tribes and scornful town populations with subsidies, hence maintaining the
buoyancy of the dynasty. This time, financial backing came from Americans who
recognized the vitality of the Saudi oil to the U.S. economy. This anticipation for future
economic interests, was translated in the U.S. foreign policy in a declaration by President
Roosevelt in 1943 that "Saudi Arabia as a state is vital to the defense of the United
States." 25 In 1948, Abdul-Aziz received a hefty $17.5 million from the United States,
sufficient enough to stave off the economic hardship of the time.
With the news of the discovery of large oil reserves, the Getty Oil Company was able
to obtain a sixty year petroleum concession in the neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia and had equal rights with Kuwait over the exploration of oil. Soon after, the Saudi
government granted the Japan Petroleum Trading Company, Ltd a forty-four year
concession which covered the water coastlines of Saudi Arabia in the Neutral Zone.
Operations started in 1959 and oil gushed in 1960. In 1965, the French succeeded in
winning a concession agreement when the Saudi government concluded an agreement with
Societe Auxiliarie de la Regie Autoin. At the request of the King, who shied away from the
increasing numbers of foreigners in his conservative territory, the oil companies, including
SOCAL which was renamed ARAMCO (an acronym for Arab American Oil Company) in
1944, built their community camps segregated from the nearby towns and settlements.
ARAMCO started with a massive construction project encompassing hundreds of single
family homes, bachelor apartments complemented with a club, shady and landscaped
gardens, recreational facilities and shops, a scheme hitherto unbeknown to the preindustrial
society. This project was jealously dubbed "little America" by some Britons.
King Abdul-Aziz's achievements must be judged in light of the tremendous energy
and the time which he devoted to unifying the nation-state. In light of the contextual
circumstances surrounding the creation of the nation-state and the polity, Abdul-Aziz must
be acclaimed for his progressive efforts to set up the various departments and offices
handling increasingly specialized modern functions while maintaining the integrity of the
new nation-state.
In addition, in terms of physical developments, King Abdul-Aziz's reign and life
witnessed the establishment of substantial infrastructure, considering the meager income
available to him and the overall xenophobic society. In 1925, the first Hospital was