Author: Dr. Abdulaziz Sager
Saudi Arabia today stands at a critical crossroad. The political leadership in Riyadh is acutely aware that serious and sustainable reform is a societal ‘must’ and should be implemented sooner rather than later, so goes the central thesis of this paper prepared by the Gulf Research Center (GRC), out of the Center’s deep conviction that reform must be anchored within a comprehensive and well-planned strategy. Starting off on a highly subtle note the paper begins by examining the concern of the Saudi authorities, eminently expressed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, in His 17 May 2003 address to the Saudi Consultative Council, and concretely reinforced by the move decided by Crown Prince Abdulla bin Abdulaziz to set up executive committees tasked with the mission to implement the reforms mentioned in the King’s speech. The six sections into which the paper is divided construct an intelligible and well-rounded agenda for reform through a rigorous deconstruction of the multiple determinants and factors that prompt reform, may hamper it or help it. Some of these determinants reside within Saudi Arabia itself, others in its proximate geographical neighborhood, while a few others flow from the wider international scene. The main argument that informs the paper branches off logically and smoothly into a focused discussion of the full gamut of sectorial reform as it runs through social, political, economic and educational fields. Every issue is systematically and comprehensively analyzed on its own, as the paper looks into its diverse constituent elements and examines the way the issue might prove to be a value-adding asset for reform or, conversely, a hindering liability. National challenges, such as terrorism, religious opposition, budget deficit, population growth, etc, are addressed at reasonable length. Regional and international challenges take up a good portion of the whole discussion. U.S. military presence in the Gulf, the need for the Gulf Cooperation Council to re-vamp its policies for better regional integration, are two of the main regional challenges the Kingdom has to wrestle with.
Reform in Saudi Arabia: Current Challenges & Feasible Solutions
