Article
Frederic Wehrey, Charles H. Johnson
{
"authors": [
"Frederic Wehrey"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "MEP",
"programs": [
"Middle East"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Middle East",
"Lebanon",
"Saudi Arabia",
"Gulf",
"Levant"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Democracy"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
Crown Prince’s Power Grab Poses New Regional Risks
The sweeping arrest of royals and officials in Saudi Arabia has removed many of the last checks and balances to executive power in the country.
Published on Nov 8, 2017
Source: Axios
In Saudi Arabia, foreign and domestic policy have long been intertwined: Royals use diplomacy to consolidate legitimacy at home but also to solicit consensus from Saudi elites that acts to buttress their policies abroad. All that has now changed.
In seizing vast executive powers, as in this weekend's sweeping arrest of royals and officials, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is undoing the last of those checks and balances — princely economic and security fiefdoms that acted as countervailing influences. He has freed himself to engage in ill-fated confrontations abroad that dilute Saudi power, exposing the kingdom to greater military threats and scaring off investors.
Complicating matters further, the crown prince has opened too many fronts at once: military entanglement in Yemen, a blockade of Qatar, and a campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood. Most recently, he has accused Lebanon of being a hostile power because of the dominance of the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah.
Why it matters: By risking instability and even open conflict, these moves undermine Saudi Arabia's power and play to the strengths of its regional rivals. Iran in particular thrives on disarray in the Middle East, and its militant proxies far outmatch the kingdom's.
About the Author
Frederic Wehrey
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Frederic Wehrey is a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where his research focuses on governance, conflict, and security in Libya, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf.
- Parallel Climate Reckonings: Colonial Water Legacies and Indigenous Adaptation, from Morocco to the American West
- The Iran War Is a Stress Test for Gulf StatesCommentary
Frederic Wehrey, Charles H. Johnson
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
- The Mecca Agreement UnpackedCommentary
The accord represents a pivotal moment in the region to avert a security vacuum in the Gulf.
Azeema Cheema, Mohanad Hage Ali
- Years of FireCommentary
In an interview, Jason Burke discusses his sweeping account of the “revolutionists” who so shaped the 1970s and early 1980s.
Michael Young
- August 4 and Criminal ImpunityCommentary
Lying at the heart of Lebanon’s dysfunction is an inability to secure accountability and institutional legitimacy.
Maha Yahya
- Whither the Lebanon-Syria Relationship?Commentary
In an interview, Sohaib Jawhar analyzes the profound changes in the ties between the neighboring countries.
Michael Young
- From Hormuz to the Maghreb: The Geopolitical Reach of a Gulf CrisisArticle
Morocco and Algeria, each in its own way, are having to navigate the global economic fallout of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
Yasmine Zarhloule
