Saudi Arabia under Mohammed bin Salman is seeking to Westernise - yet its unclear what social tensions this could release
Supporters of the crown prince have lionised him as a daring reformer in a kingdom steeped in conservatism: “Islamic scholars were imprisonedMBS’s sceptics, on the other hand, were muted by his move to lift the ban on women driving, the opening of cinemas and the arrival of Western-style music festivals.
MBS’s Vision 2030 project, on the other hand, envisioned dramatic economic and social changes to Saudi society, itself a marked departure from the incremental change that the kingdom was accustomed to. A veiled woman with fries, from the"LoudArt" exhibit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The piece is by Mohammed Labban. Saudi Arabia emerged as a fledgeling kingdom from the ruins of the Ottoman state. Like other Middle Eastern states, Saudi Arabia has had to contend with a failure to find a “form of structural stability in achieving success in the long term”, said Dr Yakoob Ahmed a Middle Eastern and Ottoman historian at Istanbul University.
“I think it's premature to assume that Saudi Arabia will collapse, I think we have underestimated the social shifts in Saudi society. But what is clear is that there is a group of people that subscribe to the need of liberalisation and there is a group of people that believe in the doubling down of the religious identity,” said Ahmed.
Saudi fragility stands in marked contrast to Iran's regional hegemony. Faced with crippling sanctions, it has ensured through its backing of Houthi rebels that Saudi Arabia is bogged down in an unwinnable war with its southern neighbour.
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