This 56-page special report, one of a series examining the resilience of GCC economies in the face of COVID-19 and produced in partnership with Parsons, casts an eye across key sectors of the economy during this period, including transformative technologies, resources, logistics, education, and investment, drawing on the words of the businesspeople we have spoken with in recent months. It aims to paint a picture of the resilience of Saudi Arabia at this crucial time, as well as one of the country's potential fortunes in the post-COVID-19 environment.

The United States'' relationship with Saudi Arabia has been one of the cornerstones of U.S. policy in the Middle East for decades. Despite their substantial differences in history, culture, and governance, the two countries have generally agreed on important political and economic issues and have often relied on each other to secure mutual aims. The 1990-91 Gulf War is perhaps the most obvious example, but their ongoing cooperation on maintaining regional stability, moderating the global oil market, and pursuing terrorists should not be downplayed. Yet for all the relationship''s importance, it is increasingly imperiled by mistrust and misunderstanding. One major question is Saudi Arabia''s stability. In this Council Special Report, sponsored by the Center for Preventive Action, F. Gregory Gause III first explores the foundations of Riyadh''s present stability and potential sources of future unrest. It is difficult not to notice that Saudi Arabia avoided significant upheaval during the political uprisings that swept the Middle East in 2011, despite sharing many of the social and economic problems of Egypt, Yemen, and Libya. But unlike their counterparts in Cairo, Sanaa, and Tripoli, Riyadh''s leadership was able to maintain order in large part by increasing public spending on housing and salaries, relying on loyal and well-equipped security forces, and utilizing its extensive patronage networks. The divisions within the political opposition also helped the government''s cause. This is not to say that Gause believes that the stability of the House of Saud is assured. He points out that the top heirs to the throne are elderly and the potential for disorderly squabbling may increase as a new generation enters the line of succession. Moreover, the population is growing quickly, and there is little reason to believe that oil will forever be able to buy social tranquility. Perhaps most important, Gause argues, the leadership''s response to the 2011 uprisings did little to forestall future crises; an opportunity for manageable political reform was mostly lost. Turning to the regional situation, Gause finds it no less complex. Saudi Arabia has wielded considerable influence with its neighbors through its vast oil reserves, its quiet financial and political support for allies, and the ideological influence of salafism, the austere interpretation of Islam that is perhaps Riyadh''s most controversial export. For all its wealth and religious influence, however, Saudi Arabia''s recent record has been less than successful. It was unable to counter Iranian influence in post-Saddam Iraq, it could not prevent Hezbollah taking power in Lebanon, and its ongoing efforts to reconcile Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have come to naught. The U.S.-Saudi relationship has, unsurprisingly, been affected by these and other challenges, including Saudi unhappiness with Washington''s decision to distance itself from Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the lack of progress on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and Iran. For its part, the United States is unhappy with the Saudi intervention in Bahrain and Saudi support for radical Islamists around the region and the world. The two traditional anchors of the U.S.-Saudi relationship-the Cold War and U.S. operation of Riyadh''s oil fields-are, Gause notes, no longer factors. It is no wonder, he contends, that the relationship is strained when problems are myriad and the old foundations of the informal alliance are gone. It would be far better, Gause argues, to acknowledge that the two countries can no longer expect to act in close concert under such conditions. He recommends that the United States reimagine the relationship as simply transactional, based on cooperation when interests-rather than habit-dictate. Prioritizing those interests will therefore be critical. Rather than pressuring Riyadh for domestic political reform, or asking it to reduce global oil prices, Gause recommends that the United States spend its political capital where it really matters: on maintaining regional security, dismantling terrorist networks, and preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. There have been few relationships more important to the United States than that with Saudi Arabia, and it is vital that, as it enters a new phase, the expectations and priorities of both countries are clear. In Saudi Arabia in the New Middle East, Gause effectively assesses the challenges and opportunities facing Saudi Arabia and makes a compelling argument for a more modest, businesslike relationship between Washington and Riyadh that better reflects modern realities. As the United States begins reassessing its commitments in the Greater Middle East, this report offers a clear vision for a more limited-but perhaps more appropriate and sustainable-future partnership.

This 92-page special report, featuring interviews, news, and analysis, navigates the major challenges, prospects, and trends that will guide the sector over the coming years. It features insights from the leading decision makers in the sector and seeks to be a reference for those wanting impactful information on investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has in recent years committed large-scale investments in digitalizing its economy. In this special report, we delve deeper into these developments through the eyes of the business and political leaders who are leading the charge. This special report comes in a new series of online publications, focusing on a certain aspect or industry in one of our 35 global markets. Our reports are consumed by investors, analysts, and decision makers around the world. This 74-page report covers digital governance, financial technology, telecoms and cybersecurity, logistics, industry, and education.

This publication was compiled over the course of several months of interviews in Saudi Arabia after the COVID-19 outbreak. The pace of internal reform in the Kingdom has been significant over the past three-five years, and in many cases the old, low-tech, and sclerotic public service that had so long been a feature of Saudi Arabia was vastly changed when the pandemic arrived in Riyadh. Nonetheless, this virus has challenged the modernizing bureaucracy in the desert at a magnitude that no other event, be it war or reform, has even come close to doing.

The Business Year's latest report on the Saudi economy, Special Report: Digital Kingdom—How COVID-19 Changed the Conversation in Saudi Arabia, examines how COVID-19 accelerated digitalization efforts across the public and private sectors and better helped the kingdom see beyond oil and gas. This 112-page special report contains interviews with top business leaders from across the economy, as well as a range of news and analysis.

Like countries the world over, Saudi Arabia has been transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic. But while other nations simply adapted to the work-from-home model and embraced digital payment solutions more readily, Saudi Arabia undertook a fundamental overhaul of its national technology strategy. This report explores the countless digital innovations being integrated with daily life in Saudi Arabia, based on interviews with key contributors to the country’s technology ecosystem. This 29-page publication documents the historic adoption of technology that is transforming life in Saudi Arabia today. This publication is about adaptation. It is about the change that took place during the pandemic and about what that change has created in the post-pandemic era.