For the Saudi Military, Arms and Assets Aren’t Enough

Despite big investments, the country’s military capabilities are seriously lacking.

By
Hilal Khashan
-
1314
Saudi Arabia has one of the most well-funded militaries in the world. Though its defense budget fluctuates based on oil prices and the level of foreign threats it faces, Saudi Arabia spent $48.5 billion on defense in 2020, among the top 10 military expenditures in the world. (In 2014, Saudi Arabia’s military budget totaled $80.8 […]

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Hilal Khashan
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/author/hkhashan/
Hilal Khashan is a Professor of political science at the American University of Beirut. He is a respected author and analyst of Middle Eastern affairs. He is the author of six books, including Hizbullah: A Mission to Nowhere. (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2019.) He is currently writing a book titled Saudi Arabia: The Dilemma of Political Reform and the Illusion of Economic Development. He is also the author of more than 110 articles that appeared in journals such as Orbis, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, The Brown Journal of World Affairs, Middle East Quarterly, Third World Quarterly, Israel Affairs, Journal of Religion and Society, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, and The British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies.

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