| Saudi Arabia’s succession dilemma |
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 The long expected death of the former Saudi crown prince has had some implications for the internal power struggle in the House of Saud. Nayef bin Abdul Aziz was named as the new crown prince by a royal decree, succeeding Prince Sultan. The move to directly appoint Nayef to the post was viewed as a solid step to fill the vacuum of power. However, the inability of King Abdullah to convince all the members of the Allegiance Council to vote for Nayef raises many questions about the disputes within the royal family. The king formed the council in 2006 to establish a new mechanism to choose princes for high-profile governmental posts. The council is said to be in disagreement over the qualifications of Prince Nayef, since he is also very old and his appointment could cause social and political frustration, especially among religious minorities. Nayef was described by the local press as the “man for the job” who can help the king lead the country in troubled times. He was also praised in Washington for his commitment to fight terrorism. However, the people of the country, especially those participating in the recent popular demonstrations, have a totally different outlook toward the new crown prince. For them, Nayef is a carbon copy of King Abdullah and his views about religious minorities are the same. He served as interior minister for nearly four decades and led the recent crackdown on Shia protesters in the Eastern Province. Some members of the Allegiance Council were opposed to the appointment of Nayef, since it could cause more demonstrations, not only by the Shias, but also by the Sunnis, who are fed up with the ruling family and its inability to establish justice and the rule of law. The world’s biggest oil producer is ruled by aging politicians who mainly rely on their wealth to satisfy the people and are generally not inclined to listen to the popular demands for freedom and democracy. In the wake of the new developments in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia is facing major challenges, especially in regard to its political system, which is being criticized for its reactionary and retrograde policies. Hassan Ahmadian is a researcher at the Bureau for International Studies of Iran’s Foreign Ministry and a specialist on Saudi Arabian politics. |
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