ABSTRACT
Despite great changes in Saudi foreign policy over the few years, notably its willingness to become more directly involved in intra-Arab politics and in the Arab-Israeli peace process, Saudi Arabia’s basic approach to foreign affairs has been singularly constant in the more than 50 years since the Kingdom was founded in 1932. Najdi isolation also produced another psychological effect on Saudi foreign-policy perceptions. The peoples of central Arabia developed a strong sense of encirclement because, throughout much of their history, they have indeed been surrounded by enemies. Najd, as central Arabia is called, was until the present century one of the most inhospitable, impenetrable places to live on earth. The Arab world in general was a vastly different place in the 1960s from what it is today, and so was Saudi Arabia. Egypt’s President Nasser so dominated the regional political stage that inter-Arab politics were largely restricted to reactions to his initiatives.
