Redefining Saudi Arabia: Domestic and Regional Implications
As Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman proceeds with plans to diversify the Saudi economy and attract foreign investment, he has sent shock waves around the world with unprecedented moves that supporters claim will end a culture of corruption, but critics insist will simply consolidate power in his hands. This series examines the events that are central to this redefinition of the kingdom and their implications for the Saudi state, its society and the region as a whole.
Nov 9, 2017
Hariri Resignation Signals Intensified Saudi-Iranian Rivalry in Lebanon
The resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri almost certainly signals the determination of Saudi Arabia and its allies to intensify their regional confrontation with Iran and its clients in Lebanon and beyond. It’s not just that Hariri is a long-standing and loyal ally of Saudi Arabia, and, indeed, a dual citizen of the two...
Nov 9, 2017
Mohammed bin Salman’s Plan to Moderate Islam in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) announced that his country would “return to moderate Islam.”
Nov 10, 2017
Qatar Crisis Slips Down Saudi Priority List
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) is a busy man. He is brusquely centralizing power in Saudi Arabia under his aegis like no one before him. This has included the recent detention of some of the most senior Saudi princes on corruption charges. Such a move is unprecedented in Saudi history and, indeed, it...
The Saudi Crown Prince Is Gambling Everything on Three Major Experiments
Call it shock and awe. Call it a purge. Call it a clean sweep. However it’s characterized, the mass arrest of some of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent royals, administrators, and tycoons last weekend has completely upended both the structure of the Saudi elite and the country’s way of doing business. It’s not exactly the Night...
Nov 10, 2017
Media, Youth, and the New Saudi Arabia
The stunning arrest of dozens of prominent princes, ministers, and businessmen once thought untouchable, and indications of a broadening campaign against corruption, raise fundamental questions about the future direction of Saudi Arabia. The debate on whether the current round of arrests is a genuine campaign against corruption or a power grab by Crown Prince Mohammed...
Nov 9, 2017
The Saudi Cultural Revolution
The arrests of 11 princes and numerous prominent political and business personalities in Saudi Arabia this week might best be described as a frontal attack on the existing order of business among Saudi elites. The princes, politicians, and merchants caught in the net have been accused of corruption. Of course, accusations of corruption are not...
