Much has been made of the unprecedented career trajectory of the deputy crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, owing exclusively to his relationship to his father, such that it is easy to overlook the underlying dynamic at play. Much like King Saud in the 1950s,who showed no hesitation in appointing his own sons to key government positions, often while they were still teenagers, Salman too shows signs of feeling unconstrained by the conventional limitations imposed by rulers of the Al Saud dynasty. Saud famously tried to fill every available role with his own progeny, no doubt hoping to create a parallel line of succession. In the wake of the death of his father, the Kingdom's founder Ibn Saud, there were few rules to guide the new monarch. The traditional ways of the desert chieftain (and Saud very consciously styled himself after a bedouin shaykh) informed his world view, and in succession matters, much of what was later accepted (by outsiders) as the dictate of Ibn Saud (for example the belief that future kings must be borne of a Saudi mother) is in fact apocryphal. In the heady years of the new dynasty, which was also the third incarnation of the Saudi state, Saud felt few checks on the exercise of his new-found power. Whereas others of the royal family understood that the founder wanted his sons to share the burden of rule, and avoid at all costs the disastrous events of the Al Saud fratricidal wars of the late nineteenth century, Saud was blithely unconcerned by the darkening clouds on the horizon.
Ultimately, Saud's incompetence and mismanagement spelled the end of his reign, but had he continued unchecked, his brothers would surely have found a way to remove him. In their understanding, the Kingdom was a patrimony to be shared among themselves, not something to accrue to the benefit of one of their siblings only. The trauma of the Saud debacle left a deep imprint on the royal family (and was itself a result of the lasting repercussions of the internecine wars between the sons of Faysal bin Turki, grandfather of Ibn Saud, which weakened the state and rendered it powerless to resist an outside challenge to their rule). As a consequence, the brothers agreed on an informal mechanism to pass the throne along to each in succession, according to seniority, excluding the incapable, the uninterested, and those stained by scandal. This first, somewhat naive understanding, was fleshed out in later years to allow for more predictability, whilst still providing for individual ambition to shine through. By the time of King Fahd, one could say with some certainty who would rule in the next five or ten years, always making allowance for the known (health issues) and the unknown (behind the scenes bargaining).
Later still, more formal mechanisms made their appearance, beginning with Fahd's 1995 Succession Law, and continuing with Abdallah's 2007 Allegiance Commission. Both were attempts to establish succession on an even more predictable footing, which had the effect of quelling popular speculation (with its corollary, public cynicism and what would hence be the delegitimisation of Al Saud rule), and providing market stability for investors. Two further influences had an effect - the rise in power after 1979 of the religious establishment, which was a disincentive to social change and so encouraged a conservative approach to royal family politics, and the entrenchment of the al-Sudayri branch of the family. The Sudayri bloc, a group of well-connected brothers who sat on key levers of state power such as Interior and Defense, were averse to political change, as they preferred to bide their time until their own offspring were strong enough to defend their inheritance, should a parallel line of succession be established. The result was sclerosis, and gerontocracy, as each brother in turn awaited his turn at the helm, unwilling to confront an inevitable handing over of power to the next generation of royals.
| Prince Muhammad bin Salman: The Meteoric Rise of Saudi Arabia's New Crown Prince
During a banquet on Donald Trump's visit to Riyadh, dozens of Arab officials jockeyed to take selfies with his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner as they mingled in a cavernous ballroom. But among the crowd of the Middle East's wealthiest and most powerful, the glamorous couple appeared bent on getting one man into their photographs: Muhammad bin Salman bin Abd al-Aziz, a 31-year-old Saudi royal. |
| The Young and Brash Saudi Crown Prince
Long ruled by an ossified gerontocracy, Saudi Arabia could soon be in the hands of a 30-something who may be more in tune with the nationâ??s overwhelmingly young population but whose impetuousness and hard-line foreign policy have raised concerns about whether he is ready for the top leadership post. |
| Saudi Crown Prince Donates $66 Million to Fight Yemen Cholera Epidemic
Saudi Arabia's crown prince has donated $66.7 million to combat a cholera epidemic in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting in a war blamed for causing a humanitarian disaster. |
| King Salman's Jordan Visit in Pictures
In this album, Jordanian honor guards parade in a ceremony honoring King Salman bin Abd al-Aziz of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. During the ceremony, Jordan's King Abdal |
| Universities under probe for financial discrepancies
Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH mdash; The Ministry of Education has uncovered financial discrepancies at some universities reaching millions of riyals and has formed a specialized committee to investigate the possible violations, Al-Watan daily reported. A source at the ministry reported that undocumented and unauth |
| Water supplied to Najran villages polluted, residents claim
nbsp; Saudi Gazette report nbsp; NAJRAN mdash; Residents of villages and small towns in Najran Province claim their water supplies are polluted and requested the Najran General Directorate of Water to fulfill its promise of providing potable water to the region, Al-Watan daily reported. |
| Saudi Arabia's religious authority says cinemas, song concerts harmful
Saudi Arabia's top religious authority has called cinemas and singing concerts harmful and corrupting, in a move that could complicate government efforts to introduce cultural reforms to the conservative kingdom. The comments by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, published on his website, said cinemas and round-the-clock entertainment could open the door to "atheistic or rotten" foreign films and encourage the mixing of the sexes. |
| Grand mufti backs conscription
Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Asheikh supports the idea of mandatory conscription that would see Saudi youths participate in military service. The grand mufti also wants legislation enacted requiring youths to be drafted into compulsory military training programs for a certain period of time. |
| Top Saudi cleric 'will not deliver' traditional sermon
Saudi Arabia's top cleric will not deliver a traditional Hajj sermon to pilgrims for the first time in 35 years, reports say. The speech from Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, the grand mufti, marks the peak of the Muslim pilgrimage, which this year falls on Sunday. |
|
The Death of Prince Mish'al - Demise of the Allegiance Committee?
With the death of Prince Mish'al, Chairman of the Allegiance Commission - the formal entity established to decide succession matters - King Salman has an opportunity to reconstitute the body and restore its relevancy at a time of great uncertainty over the role of his favorite son, the controversial Muhammad, who serves as deputy crown prince. It is a course of action Salman is unlikely to take. |
|
Hazards Ahead For Muhammad bin Salman: Trump To The Rescue?
The star of the deputy crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, will rise now that the Americans have thrown their weight behind Saudi efforts to reign in Iranian regional influence. President Trump, an unlikely ally, may ensure that Muhammad's place in the succession is secure. |
|
An Asian Tour: Opportunity At Home?
King Salman's Asian tour left the Crown Prince in charge of affairs as his deputy. But while the king's visit to Indonesia garnered worldwide attention for the displays of wealth and the size of his retinue, Muhammad bin Nayif was presented with a golden opportunity to raise his profile at home. |
|
Taking the Measure of the New Administration: Change in Store, but for Whom?
Despite U.S. President Trump's unorthodox style, Saudi has appeared to take the new administration in stride. This is not solely due to diplomatic niceties; the royals are cautiously optimistic that the Americans will lend their weight to a regional effort to contain and confront Iran, a matter which overshadows all else. But the appearance of Trump on the scene threatens to upend royal family domestic politics as well. |
|
Move, Countermove - Searching For Equilibrium?
The Deputy Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman, although facing pressure on multiple fronts, has skillfully outmanouevred his adversaries by backing them into a corner. By making himself indispensable, he forces potential challengers to his place in the succession to accept an outcome they would not otherwise have chosen. |