Introduction / Paul Aarts and Gerd Nonneman -- Ideology and change -- The Wahhabi ulama and the Saudi state: 1745 to the present / Guido Steinberg -- Islamo-liberal politics in Saudi Arabia / Stéphane Lacroix -- The war of ideas: education in Saudi Arabia / Michaela Prokop -- Political economy -- Saudi Arabia's economy: the challenge of reform / Monica Malik and Tim Niblock -- Segmented clientelism: the political economy of Saudi economic reform efforts / Steffen Hertog -- From private sector to national bourgeoisie: Saudi Arabian business / Giacomo Luciani -- Regime and opposition -- Circles of power: royals and society in Saudi Arabia / Madawi al-Rasheed -- Checks, balances and transformation in the Saudi political system / Iris Glosemeyer -- Political opposition in Saudi Arabia / Abdulaziz Sager -- The "cycle of contention" and the limits of terrorism in Saudi Arabia / Roel Meijer -- External relations -- Determinants and patterns of Saudi foreign policy: "omnibalancing" and "relative autonomy" in multiple environments / Gerd Nonneman -- Coping with regional challenges: a case study of crown prince Abdullah's peace initiative / Joseph Kostiner -- Understanding US-Saudi relations / Rachel Bronson -- Events versus trends: the role of energy and security in sustaining the US-Saudi relationship / Paul Aarts -- Conclusions and outlook -- A triple nexus: ideology, economy, foreign policy and the outlook for Saudi polity / Paul Aarts and Gerd Nonneman.