Stosunki amerykańsko-saudyjskie na przestrzeni XX i XXI wieku

Abstract

The relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America is based on mutual respect and common interests – economic, political, technological and social. This relationship has never been an easy one. The U.S. -Saudi friendship, which began eighty years ago, has survived many regional conflicts, global challenges and bilateral crises (such as the one in the aftermath of September 11, 2001). The analysis of the strong and weak points in these relations shows that Saudi Arabia, regardless of its political and social regime, has for decades and without interruption constituted a crucial element of the American presence in the Middle-Eastern region, one of the cornerstones of the American policy in the Middle East and a source of American long-term economic ties with this region. On the one hand, Washington officially raises the problem of human rights violations and limited religious freedom in Saudi Arabia and some members of the U.S. Congress are skeptical about Riyadh’s declarations of its eff orts to curtail religious extremism and to support the goals of the American foreign policy towards the Middle East and the South-east Asia. On the other hand, both the George W. Bush administration and the Barack Obama administration consistently indicated Saudi Arabia as an important economic, military and political partner in the region. The present article seeks to analyse the U.S.–Saudi relationship in the 20th and 21st centuries – to determine the leading tendencies in the bilateral relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, to point out the main phases in these relations and to highlight the periods of particular intensity or stagnation in such relations. The article will also focus on the main areas of cooperation and conflicting interests between Riyadh and Washington, both during the Cold War and after its end.