FEATURES OF THE SOCIOECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SAUDI ARABIA AFTER THE GULF WAR

Abstract

This article examines Saudi Arabia’s domestic political and socioeconomic development from the 1990–1991 Gulf War to 2025. It asks how wartime security pressures, institutional measures adopted in 1992, changing social relations, and economic diversification interacted over time. The research combines historical periodization, comparative reading of legal instruments, critical engagement with scholarship, and comparison of official economic and labor market data. Particular attention is paid to the fiscal deficit of 1991, the Basic Law of Governance, the Consultative Council, women’s participation in public life, and the outcomes reported under Vision 2030. The findings identify the war as an important context for subsequent political adaptation rather than a sufficient explanation for every later reform. Growth in non-oil activity demonstrates a changing composition of output, but does not by itself establish that fiscal reliance on hydrocarbons has ended. Institutional change cannot automatically be equated with broader political participation, while social reform should be assessed through both legal provisions and their implementation. The article proposes three analytical phases: postwar adaptation, gradual reform, and accelerated transformation under Vision 2030. It thereby connects historical developments with measurable contemporary outcomes without treating the official reform agenda as evidence of its own success.