Article by: Angelo Manaloto
The death of the late King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud was without a doubt one met with responses of—to say the very least—opposing natures. On one hand, luminaries and dignitaries offered condolences and gestures of consolation, as is customary when an influential leader passes away. President Obama praised the late king’s critical role in Saudi Arabia’s emergence “as a critical force within the global economy” while U.N. Secretary-General praised Abdullah’s Arab Peace Initiative in the struggle to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
On the other hand, the one devoid of economic leniency and liberated of political duress, others tell a more holistic truth: Abdullah ruled with one of the world’s premiere examples of Islamic extremism. Using domestic policies that caused a grotesque repression of fundamental rights, he exuded an international influence that was anything but benign. Abdullah’s dynasty was thus founded upon a rigidly centralized control of a natural resource and perpetuated by coercive interpretations of a state’s homogeneous beliefs. Still, the United States supported it in order to preserve the two countries’ economic partnership.
With Abdullah’s passing, however, rises a new head of the House of Saud—Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, half brother of the late king. For more than half a century, Salman solidified his place in the topmost position of one of the world’s most powerful families, having held the position of governor of the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, for 48 years. In 2011, he consolidated his influence as Saudi Arabia’s minister of defense. And today, he stands before the world as the newly appointed king of the largest Arab nation in Western Asia.
His most recent act under the crown allotted over $30 billion dollars to two months’ worth of bonus salary to all Saudi state employees. Despite the strong approval for this act, there is no doubt that Salman has inherited the problems caused by his predecessor amidst the worsening turbulence in the region. In the South, Yemen’s pro-Saudi government has seen dissolution due to factional unrest. In the North, the Islamic State expands across regions of Syria and Iraq and has just recently questioned Saudi Arabia’s role as Islam’s cynosure. In the East, Shia-dominated Iran is engaged in a volatile game of diplomatic and ethnical chess with the Sunni-led state.
The new king is conservative and it is the prevailing opinion that he shall continue the policies of his predecessor. To some, that may very well be the way. However, it is important that the new king realizes that in times like this, ensuring that he does not fall prisoner to the system he has inherited may be more critical than playing safe. Far too many times have we seen incapable leaders grapple with the notion of political progress, only to end up isolated in a state of stagnancy. And in the world today, stagnancy may very well be a step back.
