Political Regimes in the Arab World: Society and the Exercise of Power by Ferran Izquierdo Brichs

Author:Ferran Izquierdo Brichs [Brichs, Ferran Izquierdo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781136240836
Goodreads: 17536196
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2012-11-27T00:00:00+00:00

Note

1 Months after this text was written, the Tahrir revolution of February 2011 put an end to the Mubarak regime. A new cycle of history opened in which citizens’ rights and democratic principles form the new political focus for the future.

10 Saudi Arabia: family, religion, army and oil

Eduard Soler i Lecha and Luciano Zaccara

Introduction

Two images of the Saudi political system exist together. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is sometimes shown as a monolithic country, where the rigidity of customs rules, and as an authoritarian regime where power is concentrated into the hands of the royal family without a gleam of hope for any alternative credible government. Saudi Arabia has also been presented as if the foundations of the royal family have been trembling since September 11th and as if both the fall of the al-Saud family and a change of regime were inevitable. Neither of these images reflects with exactitude the reality of the kingdom: the situation of the royal family is not that precarious nor is it true that there aren’t any opposition movements or changes taking place in the country.

In this chapter, we will first recall the historical background of the country, and how current elites were formed, while also examining whether there is a single elite or different elite groups in competition. We will then go on to analyze the opposition movements pointing out how the pan-Arabic and leftist movements are less important now than they were in previous decades, having been replaced by radical Islamism and, to a lesser extent, by liberal movements of different trends and groups excluded from the main spheres of power as in the case of the Shiite community. We will then proceed to analyze the processes of adjustment, opening or repression that have recently been carried out by different government bodies vis-à-vis the opposition movements. This will help us determine how the power structure in Saudi Arabia is configured and what possible future scenarios we may be able to anticipate.

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