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А.Х.О. Отман, О.Е. Гришин
ПОЛИТИЧЕСКАЯ РЕФОРМА В КОРОЛЕВСТВЕ САУДОВСКАЯ АРАВИЯ: ОБЗОР НАИБОЛЕЕ ВАЖНЫХ ВНУТРЕННИХ ВЫЗОВОВ *
Аннотация
Королевство Саудовская Аравия страдает от многочисленных проблем и вызовов в отсутствие четкой национальной стратегии и решения ситуации в Саудовской Аравии, которая сталкивается с рядом проблем, связанных с внутренней и внешней обстановкой, учитывая нынешние международные события, которые позволили политическому процессу пойти на спад, особенно после арабских восстаний 2010 года, и ухудшения экономических условий. Среди них такие, как распространение безработицы и другие последствия обвала цен на нефть на рынках, а также открытость сообщества в Интернете. Это добавило правовую и политическую осведомленность о проблемах Королевства, социальные сети стали ареной для распространения мнений и разногласий по социальным вопросам и повседневным событиям. Все эти вызовы представляют угрозу стабильности политической системы через народные требования, призывающие к большему количеству реформ и их ускорению в качестве шагов, аналогичных тем, которые произошли в некоторых арабских странах, и в форме поправок, связанных с политической реформой, что привело к настоятельной необходимости для внутренней политики Саудовской Аравии провести ряд политических и экономических преобразований, чтобы устранить риски, которые угрожают стабильности политической системы.
A. Othman, O. Grishin
POLITICAL REFORM IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA: AN OVERVIEW OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DOMESTIC CHALLENGES
Abstract
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia suffers from numerous problems and challenges in the absence of a clear national strategy and to address the Saudi situation, which is faced by a series of challenges arising from the internal and external situation, given the current international developments that have enabled the political process to decline, particularly after the Arab uprisings of 2010, and the deterioration of economic conditions, Such as the spread of unemployment and other consequences of the collapse of oil prices in the oil markets, as well as the openness of the community on the internet, which added legal and political awareness to its issues and social media sites have become an arena for the circulation of opinions and differences on societal issues and everyday events. All these challenges pose a threat to the stability of the political system through popular demands calling for more reforms and speeding them up as steps similar to what happened in some Arab countries and in the form of amendments related to political reform, which led to an urgent reality for Saudi domestic politics to conduct a series of political and economic reforms to keep pace with the risks that threaten the stability of the Saudi political system.
Ключевые слова:
Королевство Саудовская Аравия, реформа, политическая система, политическая стабильность.
Key words:
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, reform, political system, challenges, Stability.
* The work was supported by RUDN university program "5-100".
The Arab Gulf region has witnessed a series of transformations in terms of real political participation and its freedoms, these transformations have occurred due to internal and external pressures, and therefore the ruling elites began to face several forces trying to impose modern ideologies, As these transformations are based on the priorities of localizing democracy and human rights and opening the way to party pluralism, and that change and reform have become inevitable, and this is what we find in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where it occupies an important place in Arab and international political studies due to many geostrategic, political, religious and economic considerations, These have been reflected on the importance of future studies that address the internal and external Saudi affairs, foremost of which is the issue of reform, with the increase in elite and popular demands for reform and its necessities day by day, expressing structural etiology.
These include the long period of rule of the royal family from the Saud family from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present, the huge inflation of financial wealth with the need for transparency in monitoring government institutions, and the absence of the real content of democracy and public freedoms after the country was imposed on a formula of alliance between the political and religious institutions, in order to control thinking and practice in society and the state in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
From here, this research deals with a major problem, namely the political challenges of reform in the Saudi political system after the 2011 Arab uprisings and the collapse of oil prices in 2014, and if the Kingdom was able to achieve an economic renaissance, political and societal stability in light of these challenges, so we will address in this research stages of development and emergence of the state of Saudi Arabia and the most important political reforms in addition to the most important obstacles that prevent the implementation of these reforms, regional and international variables and their implications for the behavior of decision-makers and the impact of political reform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on political stability.
1. Stages of development and emergence of the political system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The State of Saudi Arabia was established in three pivotal stages before the establishment of the so-called Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Each stage went through political conditions and circumstances that differed from each other, as explained in the following three stages:
1.1. The first Saudi state
The first Saudi state was established in 1744 in the Arabian Peninsula and took the city of Diriyah in the heart of Najd as its capital. Its enthusiasm for supporting the Salafi call led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab was one of the greatest reasons for its success in the historic period; the Najd region experienced a state of disruption, strife, and rivalry between tribes and small emirates. The religious faith among people was weak, security was lost, chaos prevailed, myths and ignorance spread everywhere [1].
When it was agreed between Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Al-Wahhab and Prince of the city (Diriyah), Imam Muhammad ibn Saud, the founder of the first Saudi state, to spread the message of Islam and call on people to reject myths and heresies, Saudi Arabia carried the banner of this message and strived for it.
The first Saudi state continued until 1818, and it fell at the hands of the commander of the Ottoman forces Muhammad Ali Pasha, and the conditions in Najd and the conditions of its people were disturbed, The country's notables were forced to leave and head to some neighboring countries to survive the Ottoman forces [2]. Between 1818 and 1840, the Al Saud continued to struggle to regain their rule until, in 1840, they were able to expel Ottoman forces and establish a second Saudi state [3].
1.2. The second Saudi state
It was established in the period between (1840-1891) when one of the most important factors that led to the emergence of the second Saudi state over a limited area was the Ottoman Sublime Porte's reluctance to reinforce their positions on the coast of the Arabian Gulf.
After overthrowing the first Saudi state in 1818, the Ottomans assassinated the ruler of mount (Shamar) and an ally of AL Saud, Prince Muhammad bin Abdul Mohsen AL Ali, and he sat on the throne of the region (Hail), the sister of Prince Saleh bin Abdul Mohsen AL Ali in 1818, but when the Saudis re-established their second state, they contacted Prince Saleh, who renewed
with them the covenants, charters, and customs of the (Hail) region, an ally of the House of Saud.But it had happened in the Shammari House that there was a ruling dispute between the Ali family and their cousins, the Rasheed family, concerning money and weapons, because of the assistance provided by the Rasheed family in restoring the authority of the Saud family [4].
Although the second Saudi state had rebuilt Saudi rule and eliminated foreign influence in most parts of the Arabian Peninsula, it did not reach the level of the first Saudi state, however, the country has reached great distances that, in many historians' estimates, exceeded the limits reached by the contemporary Saudi state.
Its borders extended from the east to include the western coast of the Persian Gulf and the coast of Oman, and from the west, it reached the (Harb tribe) areas between Medina and Riyadh, and from the north, it reached the desert of influence, and mount (Shamar) was subject to the political subordination to the government of Imam Faisal, and from the south, it reached the Empty Quarter desert And Northeast Asir. And when Imam Abdul Rahman Al-Faisal (the last ruler of the second Saudi state) felt the weakness of his position and the deterioration of his capabilities, he left Riyadh with his family members heading to Qatar and Bahrain and from there to Kuwait, where he remained there for nearly ten years and during this period began preparing his son Abdul-Aziz to restore the king of his fathers and grandfathers [5].
1.3. The third Saudi state
The modern Saudi state arose at the beginning in an area around the Riyadh region in 1902, and in the same year, King Abdul Aziz was able to enter Riyadh and overcome his opponents, the Rashid family, and Abdul Aziz was able to include ( Al-Ahsa, Qatif ) and the rest of the countries of Najd and Hijaz at the hands of the Brotherhood or the Brotherhood movement who obeyed God from The Bedouins who abandoned the life of the desert under the leadership of Sultan bin Bijad between 1913-1926, in the year 1926 Abdul-Aziz became king of Hijaz, and the kingdom was then known as the kingdom of Hijaz, Najd, and its accessories [6].
In 1932, the royal decree was issued to unify the provinces of the state, which were transformed according to this decree to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in 1934 a war broke out with Yemen that ended with the annexation of the Asir region and part of the Empty Quarter desert, the fea-
tures of Abdul-Aziz's military power and political superiority in economic terms were not clear until the discovery of oil in the country in 1938, and the development and modernization programs were delayed due to World War II, and officially started in 1946, and oil contributed to the prosperity of the Saudi economy and the conclusion of trade deals with the international community [7].
Globally, Abdul-Aziz adopted a policy of neutrality, as he refused the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to join the League of Nations, and from 1916 until he died in 1953 he did not leave the kingdom except for three official occasions, the most important of which was his meeting with US President Roosevelt, and at the end of his reign, Abdul-Aziz realized the importance and realism The political community, and in 1945, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was one of the founding members of the Arab League and joined the United Nations [8].
Before the death of King Abdul-Aziz in 1953, he realized the difficulties that the kingdom could face after him, so he qualified the eldest son Saud to become king after him in cooperation with his brother Faisal, who is distinguished by his economic and diplomat.
Saud assumed the throne after the death of his father Abdul-Aziz in 1953, and in 1960 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was exposed to economic risks; Because of Saud's unbalanced economic policy, as a resul t, the sons of Abdul-Aziz and some scholars met and decided to peacefully remove power from Saud and hand it over to Faisal, and Saud left the kingdom to Greece and died there, and King Faisal was known for his support for the issues of the Islamic world in general and the question of Palestine in particular. Called Faisal bin Musaed, Faisal followed his brother King Khalid in power, and his reign, which spanned seven years, followed expansions, achievements, and improvement of relations and the Kingdom developed in the economy and the use of petroleum increased during his reign. His reign was the shortest of the kingdom's reigns so far; he died in 1982, followed by his brother King Fahd. During his reign, the country entered into an urban renaissance under his culture and distinguished relationship with the United States, his reign was the longest in the history of the Saud family and the most recent since the reign of his brother Faisal, and his reign included interest in the Two Holy Mosques and their expansion [9].
Then the death of King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud was sworn in as king of Saudi Arabia on January 23, 2015 [10].
2. The problem of political reform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
2.1. Political reform
Political reform means that it is the sum of the processes that take place at the level of the political system to gradually amend laws, regulations, legislation, and institutions to keep pace with changes and developments in the internal and external environment, with an emphasis on protecting public freedoms and basic human rights, and the system's delay in responding to the needs and requirements of reform This leads to an exacerbation of the political situation towards the crisis, and that political reform is a process with specific goals and ends, not subject to the same forms and patterns [11].
The conviction of the leadership in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the necessities of real political, economic, educational, and societal reform does not only benefit the forces demanding reform but will also spare the Kingdom from risks threatening its values and creating a state of instability. The spark of the Arab Spring revolts for social reasons then turned into political demands that exceeded the permissible ceiling into demands that prolonged the political system of the state, so it is in the interest of the Saudi leadership to move away from the specter of what the systems and societies of other Arab countries have reached [12].
Political reform, like other political tracks, its outputs and ends depend on the goals and objectives of the forces that direct it or supervise its embodiment, and then on the ability of those forces to impose their reform logic to its end, and in each of its stages, the reform project is subjected to pressure from supporters and opponents hence, it is vulnerable to the risks of diverting from its course, authoritarian political regimes have acquired a long experience in employing democratic slogans other than their real contexts, they also possess great capabilities in the field of circumventing public demands from their actual aims and objectives, as long as those regimes taking the initiative and controlling the pace of reform, there are increasing concerns about the loss of new opportunities to materialize real political reform. However, the Saudi political reality, especially after the events of the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011, has
presented the Saudi decision-maker with many options and visions, foremost among which are the following options [13]:
1. Continuing the dialogue as a strategic choice towards a real will to strive towards achieving democracy;
2. Political participation and involvement in the dynamics of reform, construction, and change while affirming citizenship and loyalty to authority;
3. Transcending sectarianism, tribe, and factionalism, and enhancing women's opportunities and participation in society, and realizing their legitimate rights.
2.2. Challenges facing political reform in Saudi Arabia
To begin any process of democratic reform aimed at a change that satisfies all political, economic, and social actors, including the ruling families, political reform and strengthening of the democratic system, especially in Saudi Arabia, therefore, political reform does not threaten the status of the ruling families and does not weaken their interests, but helps them to stay in power. The most important reform challenges facing the Saudi political system can be summarized as follows:
1. Absence of national dialogue: Any political reform must have an open national dialogue between all parties within Saudi Arabia, including civil society institutions, cultural, intellectual, and economic elites, and political activists, as dialogue does not necessarily require that the process of transition to democracy, but begin by discussing issues related to public freedoms, human rights issues, and freedoms of change;
2. Absence of succession or transfer of power: as the transfer of power, is the main part of the system of democratic practice, so considered a political challenge in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, a mechanism must be found for the peaceful transfer of power, whether through change or government reshuffle or the government amendment, that is, the establishment of constitutional monarchies in which the constitutional symbol of legitimate government and the representative of supreme sovereignty remains represented by the person of the ruler, or the king according to the mechanism of democratic constitutional governance [14];
3. The absence of political consensus, under a regime that does not believe in the opposition and does not accept criticism, is a translation of the concept of political consensus, so the ruling Saudi families must feel the ma-
jority opinion and invoke it about fundamental and fateful issues, in the manner of political consensus;
4. Not to regard democracy as a means of gaining power. Lack of faith in democracy as a means of gaining power creates a state of non-obligation for all parties in power and opposition. Therefore, the civil, cultural, and political forces in Saudi Arabia must work within the framework of the democratic system, so there must be a foundation for democracy starting from the early years of education; Democracy is established only by reforming education systems, which in turn promotes the values of citizenship and civic responsibility [15] ;
5. Customs and traditions: where customs and traditions are considered an obstacle to political reform in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Often constitute the slow process of political reform, customs and traditions have turned reform projects into an accumulated heritage that cannot be discarded or moved as the habit of preventing women from doing certain jobs and engaging in certain professions [16];
6. Hardline and Rejectionist Ideas:
Some advocacy voices are considered an obstacle to reform, for their use of platforms to promote ideas rejecting every reform step, using the pretense of blocking pretexts at one time, and by Westernization at other times.
Perhaps the decision to women's participation in the municipal elections and the Shura Council is clear and flagrant evidence of these votes. As well as the first electoral event that Saudi Arabia practiced in the first municipal elections in 2005, which revealed the weakness of those intellectual voices and their concealment with things unrelated to reality taken from the rules of rejection and the conspiracy theory as a shield to confront any progressive step. Therefore, the wheel of reform cannot rotate in the presence of cultures and approaches that reject reform. Customs, traditions, and religious voices are obstacles that cannot be ignored, regardless of how some feel and no matter how much they try to justify. Therefore, to implement political and democratic reform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it must get rid of some aspects that are incompatible with the possibility of political reform. Therefore, it must get rid of the renter economy culture and its value and political secretions and activate civil society institutions in political work by increasing the participation rate. Political, and get rid of entrenched tribal
and clan loyalties. All these appearances are indications of the inability of the Saudi regime to achieve political reform [17].
3. Regional and international variables and their reflection on decision-maker behaviors
Since 2011, a state of controversy, suspicion, questions, and questions have continued to arise about whether there is a real harvest of the Arab Spring revolutions, and who will compensate for all those millions that lost their lives and were displaced from their homes and cities, and what about the devastation caused to those countries, some of whose cities have become mere rubble [18]?
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has not been far away from the regional and international changes that have exceeded the limits and restrictions caused by communications technology, the information revolution and social networks; therefore, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia today finds itself faced with two options: the first is to continue its new role, which is fraught with a lot of risks that may damage its regional and international image and reputation in an Arab environment that has rejected its political, religious and social theses, and the second is to take a downward path to return as a Gulf regional state with limited influence only in its Gulf environment [19].
Regional and international changes, especially the Arab Spring revolutions, have had an impact on the behavior of the political decision maker in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the following actions:
1. High ceiling on popular claims: A group of detainees' families demanded the release of detainees held by the Saudi authorities for many years without trial or after the end of their sentences. However, the new arrests did not prevent the detainees' families from gathering and holding sit-ins in front of the Board of Grievances and the central prison. As these protests, in all their forms and direct motives, represent a blow to the Saudi media's discourse and echo in the Arab region, who insisted on portraying the manifestations of the popular movement in Saudi Arabia as part of the plots behind Iran, after it became clear that the protests were not limited to Shiite areas in eastern Saudi Arabia and its south [20];
It seems that the content of the collective statements and documents calling for reform in Saudi Arabia coincided with its demands for dialogue and confronting societal issues in popular language, but translating ideas and visions is a major challenge that can be difficult to reach.
2. Establishment of the Anti-Corruption Commission: Some events have shown corruption in some sectors of the Government. This has led to the accountability of negligent people. Although some activists have appealed to the Government and asserted that there is a neglect of areas in the periphery, such as the northern and southern regions, and the concentration of action and efforts in vital and pivotal areas. Therefore, there were many calls for the establishment of oversight bodies until efforts culminated in the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission in Saudi Arabia in 2012, which is an important step towards the process of institutional and administrative reform in Saudi Arabia [21].
The Commission aims to promote the principle of transparency, combat financial and administrative corruption in all its forms, manifestations, and methods and follow up on irregularities and abuses related to financial and administrative corruption [22];
3. Demand for Democracy: several concerns have reinforced the Saudi position is significant, the first of which is the fear of spreading the winds of change resulting from the Arab Spring revolutions, which has seen an upward trend of political Islam in the region, it has increased fears that the contagion of the Arab Spring could spread to the currents of political Islam in Saudi Arabia, prompting calls for the establishment of the concept of democracy [23];
To escape the trap of democracy, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia responded by taking special measures after the events of the Arab Spring revolutions, where the late Saudi monarch spent nearly $ 130 billion, including increasing wages in the public sector and disbursing two months' salaries for all workers in the state, including civilians and soldiers, in addition to two months for all male and female students. Governmental education and allocations were approved for the unemployed, and then 70,000 new jobs were created in the Ministry of the Interior, half a million housing units were created, and the maximum housing loans raised to $ 133,000.
4. The participation of Saudi women in the elections: After the events of the Arab Spring revolutions, the Saudi feminist role and a state of democratic détente began looming on the horizon, as Saudi women were allowed to participate in politics after 2011. Political participation is due to social and cultural norms that contradict their ability to become leaders and drivers of transformation in a way. It is evident throughout the history of the Arab
world, and from the point of view of development, the participation of women is necessary to build strong and sustainable economic and political systems, and it is important to include the perspective of women in the Saudi political decision-making process [24].
Political reform in Saudi Arabia and its impact on political stability It seems that the impact of regional and international changes has led to some reforms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and that the Kingdom's co n-viction with a real, firm belief in the necessities of real political, economic, educational, societal, media, and institutional reform in the structure of the state and society does not only benefit the forces calling for reform. Rather, it will spare the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the expected instability. With the escalation of internal and external security threats, and the openness of the electronic community, which added human and political awareness of its issues, social networking sites became an arena for the exchange of opinions and differences on societal issues and daily events, especially after the Arab Spring that began in 2011.
All these challenges imposed a stormy and accelerating reality in front of domestic politics in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [25].
The political movement and interaction between the Saudi government and society have begun through reform initiatives and speeches, which usually carry clear and repeated demands for change that revolve around popular participation, the fight against corruption, and the exploitation of wealth. The various currents within the Kingdom have also shared behind these speeches, at a time when government intentions for change and the positive direction of the demands of the elite and intellectuals have emerged [26].
Due to these circumstances and developments, Saudi Arabia needed to take some reform measures to cope with the political pressures, and as part of responding to these demands, it undertook some reforms, the most important of which are:
1. Reform in the development of the system of government The system of government is the main pillar in the Saudi political system, as political reform began through its callers, statements, and the circumstances it went through. Therefore, voices began to grow louder since 2004, when the idea of a constitutional monarchy was launched, calling for the re-
formulation of the contract or relationship between the ruling family and the people, from an absolute monarchy to a new constitutional monarchy.
Although the Kingdom has established a basic system for governing it, those who demand constitutional monarchy and the rule of law do not see in it a constitution to lead a modern state with three authorities, institutions, ministries, and citizens that guarantees their money and their political and civil rights, and pursues corruption, as the constitution is a legal document that defines the nature of the state and governs it [27].
On June 21, 2017, the Royal Decree was issued, which stipulates that Paragraph (B) of Article 5 of the Basic Law of Governance be amended to read the following:
A ruling is in the sons of the founding King Abdul-Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al-Faisal Al Saud and the sons of the sons, and he pledges allegiance to the fittest of them to rule in the Book of God Almighty and the Sunnah of His Messenger, as the king and the Crown Prince are chosen from within the royal family and from the sons of the founding King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud [28].
2. Activating municipal councils
Where the Saudi government seemed to contribute to evaluating government action and rationalizing the decision, the municipal elections that were approved in 2005 constituted a new political situation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the selection of municipal council members and the election of members was a form of democracy, as municipal councils pay attention to projects after two cycles of approving the municipal council's system in Saudi Arabia for the years 2005, 2010, 2015, the need to develop this apparatus has become urgent by establishing a culture of election and community representation within state institutions.
3. Reforms related to civil and political rights
Civil and political rights are considered one of the basics enjoyed by the Saudi citizen. and according to what was approved by the Basic Law of Governance in the Kingdom, and what is included in the articles on rights and duties of protecting the state and those calling for reform, officials in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have confirmed that the doors of political institutions in Saudi Arabia The human freedom index, issued by three foreign institutes in 2015. Confirmed that Saudi Arabia ranks 141 in terms of allowing freedoms and not practicing violations of human rights [29].
4. Reforms related to corruption and abuse of power
Corruption has become a phenomenon that is fractured in most political systems, as a result of the abuse of power, as Saudi Arabia has a huge wealth of oil reserves, and a large stock of oil revenues, amounting to hundreds of billions. As the Kingdom's budget grew year after year, many projects stalled in the public eye. This called for the need to establish oversight bodies. This was already reflected in the establishment of the National AntiCorruption Commission in Saudi Arabia in 2012, which is an important step towards institutional and administrative reform in the Kingdom.
5. The Basic Law stipulates the function of the Council of Ministers
As an executive and legislative body as well, and the Shura Council as a legislative institution, while the Royal Court appears to be the most powerful political and legislative institution in the Kingdom, without stipulating the nature of its work, as it is linked to all the king's orders that remove and appoint officials, and cancel Institutions and ministries are established in the state, as the institution entrusted with legislation, the Shura Council, does not perform the function of legislation in an institutional form [30].
In addition, the direct election of the people to the Shura Council or regional councils, which is in his home, is a strong support and an urgent need to rationalize the political decision that ultimately seeks to serve the citizen, and to activate the accountability tool that reduces corruption rates [31].
6. Future reforms related to development programs and projects
In reality, Saudi Arabia is going through a different historical stage. Due to the difficulty of the expected role for it regionally, and in order to enhance national security and preserve the gains of geography, influence and religious status, the future of political reform in Saudi Arabia remains locked into reactions in the past towards domestic issues. And what can be monitored of the desire to solve community issues by the leadership, and its determination to change in the concept of the relationship between the ruler and the people.
7. Saudi Vision 2030: It is a vision with an orientalist view towards a promising economic and political future, prepared by the Saudi leadership as part of a reform strategy that includes economic, political and military reforms, which was announced on April 5, 2016, under the auspices of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Through this study, it can be said that the term political reform has become a subject that imposes itself in all internal, regional and international approaches, as the current global events and developments have contributed to making it a subject that must be dealt with, especially in light of political changes and economic developments, which allowed convincing the ruling political system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is adopting changes, and the necessity to transform the concept of reform as part of the political culture, and to formulate modern concepts in what is known as creating a spirit of political participation and acceptance of popular pluralism, which found itself obliged to adapt to the developments of the political movement, and to adhere to the requirements of the global arena, which began clearly through the approach of political reform.
The researcher believes that the regional and international variables have greatly affected the political stability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These changes had a clear impact on Saudi decision-makers by undertaking many political and economic reforms in line with the rapid developments and events surrounding the region.
The new Saudi leadership has realized the danger of these transformations to stability, which prompted this to change the course of the old strategy and adopt a policy aimed at achieving its regional and international interests.
Finally, Saudi Arabia has witnessed new political developments, represented by changes in the regime through constitutional amendments, as well as a remarkable development in the improvement of Saudi international relations, especially with the United States of America and Russia through mutual visits, as well as the return of relations and reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar after years of boycott.
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