Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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This intermittent process of sedentary among the bedouins has persisted for centuries.
In more recent times of the Saudi reign, the two factors, growing oil economy and
prolonged droughts, have worked together to expedite the influx of both village folks and
bedouins to the seemingly merciful confines of the city. As first recipients of oil income,
cities have increasingly become the embodiment of secure income outlets and its improved
sanitary provisions have drastically swayed bedouins and villagers alike to forego the
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precarious wilderness and rural poverty. The increasing demand for laborers in the
fledgling oil industry in the Eastern Province and the government civil and military labor
force has provided promising opportunities attracting throngs to the urban centers including
foreigners. New settlements sprouted near Aramco's water wells and oil installationsthanks
to the explosive growth in the national economy.
Most importantly, the society's response to the new economic imperatives and
realities was, in the political sphere, reflected in the shuffling of the society's associations
and loyalties. The erosion of the traditional social, economic and cultural bases of the
society have been paralleled by a similar process of institutional development and
organization. The emergence of a strong and central government has gradually undermined
the traditional authority of the bedouin tribe and dynastic squirearchies dominating the
Peninsula's villages, and have paved the way for significant changes in the national life.
The branching of the public administration, which began during the early years
following the founding of the Kingdom, was culminated in the creation of the Council of
Ministers (CM) in October 1953, during the last days of King Abdul-Aziz's reign, a step
which constitutes a closing chapter in the country's modern history. The creation of the
Council marked the transition from one man rule to ministerial administration. CM
heralded the proliferation of government specialized departments reflecting the need to meet
the growing functional and administrative complexities of the new nation-state, thanks to
the increased oil revenues which poured into the state treasury. Economically, such
proliferation has paralleled the gradual increase of state economic strength following the
discovery of oil in commercial quantities in 1932. Al-Said wrote: