| dc.description.abstract | Ronald Reagan entered the presidency after several watershed events in the Middle East. America’s closest ally, the Shah, was replaced by a theocratic regime that despised America. At the same time, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and the Cold War reached a new height, while Iran and Iraq fought for regional hegemony. These events reinforced in Washington the need for allies and Saudi Arabia quickly became an important one. This thesis portrays the US-Saudi relationship during Ronald Reagan’s first presidential term. The biggest inquiry of this study has been to research why, and how, the relationship between two divergent allies has endured the many ups and downs as the ones in the period of 1981-1985. These impediments, when zoomed in, are outweighed by a deep and common dependency for the strategic partnership that has sustained since the early 1940s. As a marriage of convince, the United States and Saudi Arabia were, and continue to be, bound by common need for stability in global oil markets and regional stability, not for love of common ideals. | eng |