Saudi Foreign Policy vs. Economic Priorities

Posted: September 30th, 2016

By Simon Henderson

Simon Henderson is the Baker fellow and director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at The Washington Institute, specializing in energy matters and the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf. A former journalist with Financial Times, Mr. Henderson has also worked as a consultant advising corporations and governments on the Persian Gulf. He became an associate of the Institute in 1999 and joined the staff in 2006. He started his career with the British Broadcasting Corporation before joining the Financial Times. His experience includes serving as a foreign correspondent in Pakistan in 1977-78, and reported from Iran during the 1979 Islamic revolution and seizure of the U.S. embassy.

How steady are the hands on the steering wheel of Saudi Arabia? That question prompts an immediate follow-on: Whose hands are we talking about? There seem to be too many. Notionally, the kingdom is being directed by King Salman, but he is 80 years old and suffering from the physical and mental deficiencies typical of his age. There are also two other people in the front seat: the king’s nephew, Interior Minister and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef (aka MbN) and his younger cousin, Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (aka MbS). In driving terms, MbN prefers the slow lane, MbS is in a hurry to get to his destination.

In policy terms, this translates as MbN being, to put it generously, the voice of continuity – which for the Saudi usually means do nothing. MbS is a man of action, with grand ideas for transforming the kingdom, though cynics would say this could be reduced to two words – power and riches. An anecdote lingers about him once leaving a bullet on the desk of an official who had the temerity to challenge his business ambition.

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