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The first full history of the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, revealing why the alliance was formed and what we stand to lose if it collapses.
Author: Rachel Bronson, Former Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies
May 2006
The first full history of the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, revealing why the alliance was formed and what we stand to lose if it collapses.
By Rachel Bronson
Thicker than Oil can be a useful resource for a variety of undergraduate or graduate courses. These notes offer some suggestions for using the book in courses devoted to:
Thicker than Oil offers a useful guide to students about the complex global environment in which the U.S.-Saudi relationship developed. It goes beyond the traditional formulation of U.S.-Saudi relations as nothing more than a basic bargain of oil for security and shows the ongoing influence of factors such as religion and strategic location. The book provides insights into America’s Cold War choices and Saudi Arabia’s regional and global interests. It also lays out the strategic choices the United States and Saudi Arabia both face in the coming years and makes recommendations for moving forward. The book should provide for a number of useful discussions in a range of classes.
Discussion questions:
Debate: Is Saudi Arabia with or against the United States in the war on terror?
Discussion questions:
Debate: America and Saudi Arabia have a number of shared interests in the region, like stabilizing Iraq and detering Iran. Do you think that these shared interests will pull them together and cause the two to work in together or further divide them as they loose confidence in the other’s ability to succeed in their aims? What would be the consequences of each direction?
Discussion questions:
Debate the statement: The rise of religious radicalism across the globe is more of a political story than an economic or theological one.
Discussion questions:
Debate the statement: American policy toward Saudi Arabia should not revolve around reform.
Additional Reading
Jan Kalicki and David Goldwyn, Energy & Security: Toward a New Foreign Policy Strategy (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005)
Paul Aarts and Gerd Nonneman, Saudi Arabia in the Balance: Political Economy, Society, Foreign Affairs (London: Hurst & Co., 2005).
Academic Modules—featuring teaching notes by the authors of CFR publications—are designed to assist educators in creating or supplementing a course syllabus. The modules are customized packages built around a primary CFR text, such as a book or report, and include teaching notes; additional readings; video, audio, and transcripts of CFR meetings; Foreign Affairs articles; and other online resources. Use of these modules is free of charge. They may be used in part or in their entirety.
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