The Changing Contours of Saudi Arabia: Mohammed bin Salman and the Paradox of Saudi Reforms.

• Author: Shafi, Adil
• Position: "Salman's Legacy: The Dilemmas of a New Era in Saudi Arabia," "The Son King: Reform and Repression in Saudi Arabia," "The Son King: Reform and Repression in Saudi Arabia"

Modern Saudi Arabia, which enjoys a special place in the Muslim world as the birthplace of Islam, came into existence in 1932. Tribal alliances, feuds, and flexible loyalties still shape the landscape, as they have done ever since the time when Ibn Saud, Amir of Hijaz allied with Imam Abdul Wah-hab. Saudi Arabia has no congress, no parliament, no president, and no supreme court. The country continues to be a monarchy that follows a conservative interpretation of Islam. This review article aims to provide broader nuances about Saudi Arabia amid the rapid developments taking place in the Middle East in general and Saudi Arabia in particular, following the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). This article begins with Salman's Legacy, edited by Madawi al-Rasheed, and subsequently, takes up Madawi al-Rasheed's The Son King and Ben Hubbard's biography of MBS. It provides a brief summary of the books under review and analyzes their different themes while critically examining their prevailing shortcomings.

The rise of MBS has brought about visible changes, not only in the political body of Saudi Arabia but in the wider Arab world as well. Salman's Legacy: The Dilemmas of a New Era in Saudi Arabia, edited by Madawi al-Rasheed, seeks to highlight these challenges and provide a broad overview of Saudi Arabia, ranging from domestic affairs to foreign affairs and exploring the factors that drive the Saudi regime. While the traditional approach toward looking at Saudi Arabia has always laid emphasis on its oil reserves and conservative brand of religion, Madawi al-Rasheed tries to move beyond this paradigm to lay emphasis instead on new social and political outcomes. In her latest book, The Son King: Reform and Repression in Saudi Arabia, al-Rasheed brings into focus the paradox of the reforms started by MBS and the ways in which these changes have led the strong authoritarian regime to subject voices of dissent to unprecedented repression. The rise of MBS as a central figure in the power politics of Saudi Arabia has been much talked about in the recent past. Known for his rather impulsive decision-making, MBS has led Saudi Arabia on a trajectory that runs contrary to its otherwise conservative historic traditions, while at the same time displaying his overarching ambition to be a powerful monarch. Ben Hubbard, head of the Beirut office of The New York Times, draws upon his extensive expertise of the region in his biography of Mohammad bin Salman. MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman provides an account of the remarkable ascendance of the ambitious young Crown Prince and his outlook toward the changing nature of politics in the region.

Salman's Legacy: The Dilemmas of a New Era in Saudi Arabia

Salmans Legacy, an edited volume by Madawi al-Rasheed, consists of three broad sections. The first deals with themes ranging from the stability of the Saudi regime to the 'mystique' of monarchy, a phrase al-Rasheed uses to refer to the aura created by the rise of MBS. The author brings to light the challenges facing King Salman's regime because of the confluence of social, political, and economic factors that are set to produce serious internal upheavals in the kingdom backed by active citizenry. Saudi Arabia today faces issues ranging from succession, the oil crisis, and the growing rivalry with Iran toward reaching out to the Asian and Gulf countries and mending ties with its important partner, the U.S., all despite ongoing internal strife within the royal family. By making an amendment to Article B of the Basic Law and appointing his son Crown Prince, King Salman has ensured that succession from now on has to be horizontal rather than vertical.

Also in the first section, Steffen Hertog describes how the Saudi regime has resorted to providing incentives to the people that includes rent distribution to "depoliticize the citizens and stabilize the regime" in order to thwart any chances of rebellion the same ploy that is used when threatened by the left-led movements (p. 21). Lauding the resilience of the Saudi regime, Hertog remains optimistic about its survival, albeit with diminished patronage. In his chapter, F. Gregory Gause III reflects on the intersection of different factors, including oil-funded patronage networks, the subordination of the religious establishment, and winning a trusted ally in the U.S., that supports the regime's survival. This chapter also reflects on the economic plan in the shape of a document called Vision 2030, which questions the patron-client relationship that the Saudi regime has built over time...