Saudi Arabia

In Riyadh, shortly after midnight on Dec. 14, Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed bin Salman surprised the world when he held a press conference — his first — in which he announced the formation of a new Islamic military coalition against terrorism. Predicated on the premise that Muslims have suffered more from terrorism than...

On December 17, AGSIW hosted a panel discussion on the December 12 municipal elections in Saudi Arabia, the first in which women were included as voters and as candidates.

On December 12, municipal council elections were held for the third time in Saudi Arabia. The third round was the first in which women were included as voters and as candidates. Over 900 women contested for 2,100 seats around the kingdom. Twenty one women were elected, including Rasha Hefzi, who joined the panel held at...

Saudi citizens will cast their votes in the municipal council elections December 12, marking an historic first:  the inclusion of women as both voters and candidates. This shift marks the legacy of King Abdullah’s 2011 royal decree, in which he stated, “Muslim women have given opinions and advice since the era of Prophet Muhammad. Because...

Six months after the last attempt to bring the warring parties in Yemen to the negotiating table collapsed before the talks even began, a new round is scheduled to begin in Geneva, perhaps as early as December 15. This is most welcome news, not least of all because both Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and...

The meeting of Syrian rebel groups in Saudi Arabia, beginning today and running through December 10, marks a major step forward in efforts to create a coherent political front for the opposition as international mediation efforts gain steam. By hosting the meeting, Riyadh, with strong support from Doha, is taking a lead in efforts to...

The Saudi phenomenon known as tafhit, or joyriding, is both a youth-driven pastime and an urban menace. As argued in a groundbreaking study, “Joyriding in Riyadh: Oil, Urbanism, and Road Revolt” by the scholar Pascal Menoret, the use and deliberate misuse of driving at high speeds gives power, voice, and attention to those challenging the...

The September 11 collapse of a crane at the Grand Mosque in Mecca provided a grave metaphor for Saudi Arabia experts. A number of observers, citing supposed infighting among senior Saudi royals, have predicted an unprecedented political upheaval. Other critics however, have focused on the precipitous drop in oil prices since June 2014 to argue that the kingdom is in serious economic...