Saudi Arabia: a ʺSoft Revolutionʺ or a Reform Period?

• 07.05.2017, 15:12
•  Near East,  World

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The Saudi crown prince continues receiving congratulations. The Council of Ministers of Bahrain congratulated crown prince Muhammad Bin Salman and expressed its full support and solidarity with the Kingdom in all the steps taken to maintain its security and stability as well as to combat terror in all its forms and manifestations, Saudi Gazette informs. Kuwait’s Council of Ministers also congratulated Muhammad Bin Salman on his appointment. The weekly session of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah at Bayan Palace, wished the crown prince every success in serving the Kingdom and its people.

Let's remind, that earlier the Emir of Kuwait offered his mediation to resolve the crisis among Qatar and a group of states led by Saudi Arabia. This proposal received a positive response from the Qatari authorities. It is not excluded that Kuwait can really make a serious contribution to eliminating differences between the parties, especially considering the fact, that during the previous crisis in 2014, the Kuwaiti leader played an important role as a mediator.   

Despite the current diplomatic crisis between Qatar and the Persian Gulf, Qatar's Emir earlier congratulated Mohammed Bin Salman, who is less conservative than his father. Mohammed bin Salman has already managed to limit the powers of the religious police, cut state subsidies and introduce new taxes and offered to sell part of the shares of the national oil company Saudi Aramco. According to Mohammed, dependence on oil in the Kingdom has hindered the development of many sectors of the economy. The crown prince also takes a very hard line on terrorism. In 2016, he approved the execution of almost 50 radical jihadists, which led to the deterioration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is worth noting that Mohammed bin Salman generally takes a tough stance towards the spreading influence of Iran in the region. A striking example is the fact that, as a defense minister, he made a decision on the participation of Saudi Arabia in the civil war in neighboring Yemen, claiming that Tehran is standing behind the Shiite rebels fighting against Yemen's central government. It is believed that it was Mohammed Bin Salman who initiated the deterioration of diplomatic relations with Qatar in June 2017, TASS reports. 

According to experts, one of the main reasons for the termination of diplomatic relations between the two states is the Doha's desire to strengthen ties with Tehran, which is perceived by Saudi Arabia as a threat to its position in the region and in the Islamic world as a whole. Tehran already described the succession of the Crown Prince as a "soft revolution" in Saudi Arabia. So, we can expect that the decision of the King of Saudi Arabia will deepen the confrontation between the two states.

Perhaps, the appointment of the new Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia indicates that the Kingdom realizes the necessity of economic and political reforms. Experts have long been saying that Saudi Arabia is getting worse both in terms of economic and social status. The country is drawn into a conflict in Yemen, which takes resources from it, not to mention other problems, such as confrontation with Tehran, problems in Syria, issues relating to the inter-Arab dialogue, etc.

The new crown prince, appointed to replace Muhammad Bin Naif, began his political career in 2009 as his father's special adviser. Then he was a governor of Riyadh province. Recently, the new crown prince headed the Council for Economic and Development Affairs of Saudi Arabia. In addition, Mohammed bin Salman is the Minister of Defense of the country.  Prince Mohammed first came into international limelight after King Salman, who ascended on the throne two years ago, named him the deputy crown prince, meaning second-in-line to the throne. In December 2015, Forbes magazine included the young prince in the rating of the world's most influential thinkers in the category of "leaders", together with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

His appointment as the crown prince is being viewed as a significant move by many. The reason is that traditionally Saudi Arabia has been ruled by kings aged 70 or above, NDtv reports. Maybe, the appointment is a message to the young Saudi generation, more than half of which is under 25, that things are changing. Another remarkable fact is that during all his existence the power of Saudi Arabia has been transferred from brother to brother, but now we are witnessing a new phenomenon - the new crone prince of the country is the king's son. Moreover, the previous candidate was also not the king's brother, but his cousin.