Hama's Oct. 7 attack on Israel threatens to undermine a key pillar of Saudi Arabia’s foreign and domestic agenda: the “de-risking” of the region, writes fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen.
Amid recent disputes on oil trade, "fractious Saudi-UAE relations are ... better understood as a return to the pre-2015 status quo than a unique diplomatic breach," write Jim Krane and Kristian Coates Ulrichsen.
Leveraging a crash in oil revenue, the Saudi government has quickly imposed unprecedented changes to the way it raises cash by increasing taxes and slashing subsidies in ways Saudi citizens once considered unthinkable.
Declarations against violence issued by ulama on behalf of their government provide an opportunity for Muslim political leaders to signal their commitment to the international security agenda while vilifying Islamist opposition actors as terrorists. Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/2LNAZrr
Although Mohammed bin Salman wields considerable power, he has not singlehandedly altered Saudi society. The social transformation taking place in the kingdom was underway before he became crown prince, but he has tried to take credit for it, writes the author. Baker Institute Blog via Lobe Log: https://bit.ly/2WLrScM
With the implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement, many Gulf Cooperative Council states now openly wonder whether U.S. support can still be relied upon, given the speed with which the U.S. government has engaged Iran in negotiation and diplomacy since 2013. This incomprehension may lead to further instability in the Middle East as the Gulf States continue to take increasingly unilateral action in Yemen and other regional conflict zones, fellow for the Middle East Kristian Coates Ulrichsen writes.