Saudi Arabia -  The Rise of Bin Salman

Why in news?

• Crown prince ‘Mohammed Bin Salman’ has been radically reforming Saudi Arabia’s polity.
• The latest action has been a stringent anti-corruption crackdown on high-profile citizens & Royals.

Who is Salman?

• His Rise - Salman, the son of the present King ‘Al Saud’, was appointed as Defence minister in 2015 at the young age of 30.
• Due to his unorthodox methods, his popularity rose steadily & saw him replacing his cousin ‘Nayef’ as Crown Prince in June this year.  
• His Work - He piloted several economic reforms to drive the kingdom towards a sustainable post oil era.
• Recently, he had even taken on the Salafi religious establishment and has projected himself as an ideological moderniser.
• Notably, only this year, women were given the right to drive in Saudi.
• Current Issue - Several senior government ministers, officials, billionaires and many powerful Princes were arrested recently.
• The action was claimed to be part of an anti-corruption campaign.
• But considering the high-profile names, it is seen as a move to consolidate Prince Salman’s power.  

How does his clout fare?

• With the latest action, Prince Salman appears to have established himself as the most powerful Saudi Crown Prince in decades.
• He is practically in charge of key policy decisions and is increasingly been seen as the real power centre in the kingdom.
• He currently controls of all branches of the Saudi security services — the military, internal security and the National Guard.
• But still, Prince Salman is said to be playing a risky game and a failure of his radical reforms could trigger an internal power struggle.

What are the challenges?

• Upending tradition - Power was traditionally distributed tactically among the different branches of the royal family to avoid dissent.
• Also, decisions are usually forwarded to the Ulema (religious council) for approval.
• By concentrating power in his own hands and turning against other Princes as well as some clerics, he has upset these equations.
• Foreign Policy Flips - His foreign policy moves also backfired with the Yemen war spinning further out of control.
•  Syrian civil war too has effectively turned in favour of President Bashar al-Assad, who is seen as an adversary by Riyadh.
• With the Riyadh-Tehran rivalry in West Asia hotting up again, needing urgent attention.
• Economics – There has been many subsidy cuts which might generate a public backlash.
• The reforms for restructuring the economy has been a non-starter thus far.

Source: The Hindu