Saudi Arabia

Having historically been the only oil producer with sufficient spare capacity to shape the world economy, Saudi Arabia has held a critical position in 21st century geopolitics. Despite the increasingly robust role Saudi Arabia is playing on the regional scene, the kingdom faces internal and external challenges that keep it from fulfilling its vast potential....

March 26 will mark one year since the Saudi-led coalition began launching airstrikes in Yemen at the invitation of the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. As reports surface of Saudi Arabia holding direct talks with Houthi representatives, the reported suspension of cross border incursions and artillery shelling by Houthi fighters into Saudi Arabia and...

Blink twice, and Yemen’s all-but-forgotten war — news of which is buried under grim headlines about Syria and terrorism and Middle East migrants — will be into its second year. On March 26, 2015, a coalition of Sunni Arab states led by Saudi Arabia began an air campaign designed to restore Yemen’s legitimate government and force...

One can readily understand why Saudi Arabia suspended a $3 billion (Dh11bn) aid package for the Lebanese Armed Forces to purchase French weapons, and cancelled outright an additional $1 billion in support for Lebanese internal security. But if no alternative or additional means are found to bolster Riyadh’s allies in Lebanon, the move could prove problematic.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to suspend a major military aid package to Lebanon – $3 billion earmarked for the purchase of French weapons – and to revoke another $1 billion pledged to support Lebanon’s internal security services, is an unexpected and dramatic change of policy toward a politically crucial Arab country. At the same time, the...

Tensions between the United States and Saudi Arabia are becoming a disturbingly prominent feature of political discourse in the two countries. Saudi commentators loudly complain about abandonment and betrayal by Washington, while unease about, and indeed resentment of, Riyadh is gaining ground in American analysis.

Is Saudi Arabia really preparing to send ground troops into Syria? When Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri said on February 4 that Riyadh was willing to contribute ground troops or special forces to any international initiative to combat ISIL in Syria, most observers dismissed the idea. But this past week the logic of these statements has...

On December 12, 2015, Saudi Arabia held its third round of municipal elections. The elections were the first in which women could vote and run for positions in the Municipal Council. Over 900 women registered to run as candidates and 21 women won seats in the historic election. The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington...