[Book Launch] Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads

Date: 26 Nov 2020, 4pm to 5.30pm (SGT) Speaker: David Rundell (Former Chief of Mission, American Embassy in Riyadh) Saudi Arabia remains to many an enigma despite significant social and economic reforms enacted since King Salman ascended to the throne in 2015. The crackdown on activists as well as the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the subjugation of powerful members of the ruling family and the business community, and the war in Yemen have tarnished its relationships in the West. Providing a unique and granular analysis of the inner workings of the kingdom, Mr David Rundell, who served a total of 15 years as a US foreign service officer in Saudi Arabia, illustrates King Salman’s long-standing focus on combatting corruption that is at the core of Saudi reforms in his recently published book, Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads. The former diplomat also delves into the governing of King Salman’s governing of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, for nearly five decades before his ascension to the throne. Anti-corruption has played a dramatic role since Salman became king in solidifying and concentrating power in the kingdom and breaking with a past of slow and gradual change. Instead, King Salman introduced rapid reforms with little consultation. To do so, he picked his son, Mohammed bin Salman, as crown prince because he saw in him a bulldozer with the needed ambition, drive, and ruthlessness to undermine the traditional pillars of support of the Saudi system like elite cohesion and the maintenance of rival armed forces. In doing so, Mr Rundell argues that King Salman may have made Saudi Arabia less stable by turning it into a country in which absolute political and military power have been concentrated in the hands of one man, ruling over a young population that aspires for greater transparency and accountability.     Image caption: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attending the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. Photo: Palácio do Planalto / Flickr