Economic development along with the modernization theory have long been claimed to lead to wards democracy , however oil states seems to be a clear exception . Based on this background, this thesis focuses on Saudi Arabia with the purpose of trying to find out why and in what way oil is inhibiting a democratic development. The country has the world's largest known reservoir of oil which every year brings huge revenues to the government, but despite the economic growt h and the development into a welfare state the dictatorial rule remains strong. The analytical base consists of Michael L Ross (2001) theory on how oil impedes democracy, and focuses on the three casual mechanisms he identifies as possible explanations – t he rentier effect, the repression effect and the modernization effect. Using a qualitative text analysis method, I have applied these three effects on my case, partly as a means of testing the mechanisms but also as a guidance to discover other structures. The study's main findings are that oil has enabled for the royal family to establish contracts, both with its citizens and with the 'commoners', thereby hindering democratic forces by 'buying' them. These contracts and the dominating oil industry have in turn led to the preservation of patriarchal norms and traditions that exclude women at the same time as the male labor mentality have made the country dependent on immigrant labor.
2013-06-05