Political Economy : A Branch Of Social Science

Political philosophy is the attempt to understand the foundations of society that we are in today. In order to understand current political situation we have to try to read and recognize early writings on political philosophy, Some of the earlier works by Plato called "The Republic", in the piece there are conversations between characters Socrates and Glaucon, Aristophanes, Adeimantus where they try and explain ideas and views of justice and what a truly just man and/or just "state" would appear How we come to the decisions as human beings that would be for the greater good of a man and/or state.

Economics is the study of currency and how it is made and distributed through our economy. Taxation is

Changes to political systems impact economic activities. First of all, if a political system such as the government is doing a poor job administering to its country, town, land, state, etc… other systems will get neglected. One example of such a system is trade. If the government is neglecting trade, trade will decline in that part of the world, and people will start to look for other places to live. Another example of how changes to political systems can impact economic activities is that if a power struggle is going on, the people of the area will no longer be protected. An example of this is

Saudi Arabia and Iran are two countries that sit on opposite sides of the Sunni/Shiite divide, which can be argued as being the most prominent issue the Middle East faces today. Saudi Arabia is predominantly known to be a Sunni state, while Iran is largely inhabited by Shia Muslims. Both countries aspire to be the hegemonic powers of the region. Ethnically, Iran is known to be a Persian land, unlike Saudi Arabia that is known to be in the heart of the Arab world. These two countries are separated by the Arabian Gulf and throughout the twentieth century and up until today, the relationship between the two countries has been notoriously contentious. Within the past few years especially relationships between the two states have been very fragile with Saudi Arabia ending diplomatic ties early in 2016. The two states are strained over many issues of which are, interpretations of Islam, oil export policy and hegemonic regional leadership.

Society around us is influenced by modern day economies. From trade, to GDP, to supply and demand, international economies are changing every single day. Economies change to balance the societal needs. When regarding economies, economics deals with the distribution, production, and consumption of services and goods. Additionally, economics is based on money in the government. But the amount of money changes every day with factors such as peak, recession, inflation, and deflation. Economics have influenced the world historically, socially, and institutionally throughout time and throughout our globe.

The United States relationship with Saudi Arabia is one that begun on February 14, 1945 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt met King Al-Saud at the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal. After World War II the United States became the most influential foreign power in Saudi Arabia. US’s main interest was focused in the direction of the oil industry. Then in 1960 Saudi Arabia was one of the main driving forces in the creation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). During the Cold War, Saudis favored the United States while the two also continued to but heads over the issue concerning the ever present Israeli-Arab conflict. Americas constant support for Israel has, and will continue to be an issue that brings about confrontation between the Saudis and the United States. Foreign relation ties never were as intense as they were during the Persian Gulf War. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait posed a potential threat to the Saudis provoking the United States to intervene. The Saudis allowed the United States to have access to their bases during this time. Since that time, our troops have remained there which is something that has led to much controversy because many Islamist believe that we our occupying their holy land. This has sparked many extremist to take action, most notably Osama Bin Laden who used this reasoning to justify the horrors of 9/11. Post 9/11 opened a new chapter to US-Saudi

The shared anti-communist interests that shaped the United States –Saudi Arabia relations were eliminated after the end of the cold war. The interests to prevent conflict through threats to the political status of the Persian Gulf region were strengthened. During this period, the conflicts between the U.S and Saudi persisted due to perceptions about the Arab-Israeli conflicts. Political activists in the Kingdom created domestic debates over the policies that were proscribed by their government in the 1950s and 1960s. The bilateral relationships in the period have been strong especially in areas such as defense but weakened in some areas. For example, the political ties were affected by the disagreements over the resurgence of Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2000 (Ahmed, 2005).

Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative Islamic states. The Islam is the religion that dominates all aspects of the citizen’s lives. The Islamic interpretations effects the politics, economics, businesses, and communications with other nations. For instance, Saudi Arabia and The United States have different views

According to Fairlax 2014, “Politics is the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs”, the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to

Thesis: Saudi Arabia’s importance in the Middle East cannot be underestimated. As a key ally in the Global War on Terrorism, we need to comprehend its role in the modern world and its pivotal role in Islam.

“The economy is all aspects of a society that relate to the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services” (Day & Schiele, 2013, p. 13). Production is farming and manufacturing of good, distribution is the marketing of products being bought and sold and tax transfers, and consumption is the using up of goods and services, which keeps distribution

Meanwhile, the United States managed to find a great source of cheap oil through Saudi Arabia. The exchange was protection for oil. Thus, protecting the American oil interests in Saudi Araba as well as the Persian Gulf region became one of the country’s top priorities.

Such a position was of great influence in the Middle East what is further exacerbating the fears of Saudi Arabia about the changes is the United States’ refusal to participate more actively in the ongoing war in Syria and Yemen against its competitor, Iran. Eisenstadt states that, in the political spheres of Saudi Arabia, it is believed Shiite Iran is a rival for leadership not only in the region but in the entire Muslim world. The Saudis believe that Iran is behind most conflicts and hot spots in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Iran support opposite sides of the civil war in Syria and Yemen. Particularly strong in Riyadh and in the other capitals of the Arab Gulf states, there is a fear of the growing influence of Iran on its Shiite minority.

“Economics is the branch of social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of

Taking your assigned country (unless you have Turkey, Israel, or Palestine) please explain its importance, or lack thereof, to the United States and its foreign policy in the Middle East. Please discuss the countries relationship with Saudi Arabia. And finally, please discuss any major involvement it has had in the peace process with Israel. If you are assigned to one of these countries, you may select any other country and write about it.