MBS riding high in Saudi Game of Thrones

Description

“It’s very much a one-man show in Riyadh these days, with power now more concentrated than at any time since the founding years of the Saudi kingdom,” Andreas Krieg, assistant professor of security studies at London’ King’s College, told Asia Times. “This gives MBS the freedom to take far more risks – including taking on MBZ.”

“Politics was completely removed as a topic for public debate,” says Krieg. “If you so much as tweeted an opinion on this, the next day, you could be arrested.”

Indeed, MBS has demonstrated a keen awareness of social media, stamping down on its possibilities for criticism while also using it to bypass parts of the state that might act as obstacles and address the population directly.

“There was therefore a harsh response to campaigners for women’s driving, even as MBS was making that legal,” says Krieg. “There was a fear that these women could become alternative leaders.”

MBN was accused of treason in 2020, and while he has “resurfaced recently,” says Krieg, he “can’t meet anyone without MBS knowing and has been very intimidated by what happened to him.”

Period	15 Jul 2021
Held at	Asia Times, Hong Kong