Lesson 4: Saudi Arabia and the Future of Oil
January 23, 2020
Review:
- Quiz 01 Results
- Map Quiz Game for Middle East
- Oil and Conflict in the Middle East
- Losing Iraq
- Iraq War (based on shaky justification, but that’s another story)
- US-led coalition forces invade Iraq and easily take Bagdhad
- Seemingly no plan to secure Iraq after invasion
- Limited understanding of internal Iraqi affairs, politics, culture
- Paul Bremer
- Disbanded Iraqi army, etc
- Cheney-Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz – axis of neocon nincompoops
- Obama withdraws US troops
- Radical al-Qaeda fighters allowed to regroup
- Form ISIS and begin grabbing territory in Iraq and Syria
- Iraq War (based on shaky justification, but that’s another story)
- Rise of ISIS
- War in Syria Explained (Vox)
Presentation:
- Major powers in the Middle East
- Saudi Arabia – Sunni majority
- Iran – Shi’a majority
- Shi’a vs Sunni
- Map of Shi’a vs Sunni population concentrations
- Is Saudi Arabia entering a new era of instability?
- Saudi economy is struggling with low oil prices
- In addition, House of Saud leadership in transition
- Watch Saudi Arabia Uncovered
- segment: 03:15 to 09:00
- Saudi Aramco
- World’s largest (energy) company (CNN Money video)
- IPO
- Now Publicly Traded
- Use proceeds to finance industrial diversification
- Saudi Arabia Shifting to Solar
- Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
Activity:
- You’ve been hired as an economic advisor to MBS.
- What do you advise him to do to diversify the Saudi economy?
- How does geography play a role in Saudi Arabia’s options?
Assignment:
- Watch the rest of Saudi Arabia Uncovered
- Listen to Geopolitical Futures (GPF) Podcast: State of the Middle East
- Read The Saudi Government’s Global Campaign to Silence Its Critics
- Prepare for Quiz 02
- Oil and conflict in the Middle East
- Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco
- Middle East Geography
