|
The dawn of the oil age meant that bargaining was mainly done over the state offices, which were receiving an appropriate portion of oil revenues[8]. In order to accommodate all of the family members involved, more institutions were created, thus giving a sharp rise in the size of state bureaucracy. The state employees were recruited mainly from the Najdi tribe of Riyadh – the region where Al-Saud came from. The rise of Ibn Saud in 1932 allowed the Najdi to take a place of prominence in politics, however the economy was persistently dominated by the Hejazi merchant guilds, who were the only business class having any substantial economic power in the state. Given that the new bureaucratic class was too weak to limit its power, not to say replace it with a new Najdi merchant class, Hejazi continued to control the state’s economy throughout 30’s, 40’s and 50’s[9]. The immeasurable amount of income resulting from the rise in oil prices, allowed the Al-Saud and Najdi to direct the revenues to their own kin and create a favourable environment, enabling Najdi businesses, companies, and enterprises to dominate the economy.
|
