US-Saudi Alliance: What Does the Future Hold for These Strange Bedfellows?
The US-Saudi alliance has endured for decades in spite of oil shocks, the rise of Al Qaeda and ISIS, the terror attacks of 9/11, and the stark difference in political and social systems prevailing in the two countries. Many in the U.S. have raised serious questions about the wisdom of being so closely tied to an absolute monarchy with severe restrictions on political, economic, and social rights of all citizens, especially women. Some refer to Saudi Arabia as a "Frienemy," highlighting the link between Saudi Wahabism and Islamic extremism. The Obama administration had serious divergent policies from those of Saudi Arabia. What will future U.S.-Saudi relations look like under a Trump presidency?
Dr. Baher Ghosheh, Ph.D., is a scholar-in-residence at the Jefferson Educational Society in Erie, Pennsylvania. An expert in Middle Eastern Studies, he holds a Ph.D. in Economic Development from SUNY-Buffalo and was a Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, cultural and economic Geography at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania until retiring in 2022. He has graduate degrees in International Relations/Middle Eastern Studies, International Trade, and Comparative Economic Development. A native of Jerusalem, Dr. Ghosheh has lived in eight countries, traveled to 59 countries, and has taught in Japan, China, Russia, Italy, and Morocco. He was awarded a Fulbright to conduct research in Malaysia and Singapore and was selected as the Pennsylvania Geographer of the Year and Edinboro University’s Educator of the Year.
