Tracing the historical background of Saudi Arabia, this book analyses political developments from a theoretical perspective by employing competing paradigms and conceptual categories evolved by the scholars from time to time. It tries to dissect the structural and operational matrix of the monarchical system caught between authoritarian clientelism and democratic symbolism. Beset with a number of challenges, al-Saud regime has allowed controlled democratic space to contain the simmering opposition inside the Kingdom, drawing its legitimacy from religion and rentier politics. In this context, the Saudi experiment with democracy takes a departure from the universal principles of democracy