March 6, 2011 by TMO
With a wave of pro-democracy fervor sweeping the Middle East, could the region’s richest powerhouse, Saudi Arabia, be next to fall?
Or perhaps the question should be: Can oil money buy stability?
Weeks ago, the answer seemed to be “yes.” While revolutions took hold in Tunisia and Egypt , the Persian Gulf ’s richest and most entrenched kings and sultans seemed to be riding out the unrest around them unscathed. But over time, the movement has spread to surprising places such as Oman and Bahrain Saudi Arabia
“All bets are off as far as any certainties in the entire region. While each and every country has an individual set of circumstances — demographics, economics and politics — each is being affected by this wave of revolution moving through the region,” James Denselow, a researcher in Middle East security at King’s College in London, told AOL News. “Each government is responding in its own way, and no one is immune. The Saudis have been least touched by events, but I think there’s every chance that things will happen.”
Essentially, the proverbial deck of dominoes has begun to fall, and it’s got everyone wondering who could be next. For Saudis, it’s the billion-dollar question — quite literally.
With that money, the kingdom has long managed to buy its subjects’ loyalty. Saudis have no voting rights and are prohibited from organizing into political parties. The king is essentially the whole government — its legislative, judicial and executive branches combined in one man. A council of ministers and a consultative assembly are underneath him, with nominal powers. The royal family dominates most of those posts.
Even the slightest hint of unrest in the kingdom is enough to make the world’s financial markets quiver. When the 86-year-old Saudi king suffered a slipped disk in his back last fall, oil spectators went wild. But the Saudi finance minister told reporters today that protests roiling the Arab world have had no impact on his kingdom.
“We haven’t seen any adverse impact on the Saudi economy,” Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said. That’s despite the fact that Saudi stocks slipped to nine-month lows this week.
King Abdullah was out of the country for three months, having surgery in New York and recuperating in Morocco Riyadh
“Concessions by the royal family to the people are a symbol of them trying to pre-empt protests and get ahead of the curve,” Denselow said.
“Other governments, including [Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak’s before he left, tried to do the same thing: appease the people by giving them carrots before having to use any sticks. The problem comes when these protests occur, and let’s face it, this is a country that’s not really used to handling democratic freedoms or protests particularly well.”
Al-Assaf said that what Denselow referred to as “carrots” — a massive package of economic incentives totaling $37 billion — would go into effect today.
But for the first time in the royal family’s nearly 80-year reign, it may not be enough. Over the weekend, more than 100 leading Saudi academics and activists posted a statement on the Internet calling for sweeping reforms, including swapping out Saudi Arabia
“The current situation … is full of reasons for concern,” the statement said. “We are seeing … a receding of Saudi Arabia
That language is hauntingly similar to complaints by protesters in Egypt , Tunisia , Libya , Yemen , Bahrain and Oman
Like those countries, about two-thirds of Saudis are younger than 30, and many of them are unemployed. There’s an 18-year waiting list for government-subsidized housing — meaning many young people must delay marriage for decades, because having an apartment is a cultural prerequisite.
Those voiceless masses got some surprise sympathy from an unlikely corner last week: a Saudi prince, albeit one who holds no official government role. In an op-ed for The New York Times, Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, a grandson of Saudi Arabia
“The facts are undeniable,” he wrote, citing the Arab world’s relative youth, high unemployment, and unmet needs for housing, health care and education. “The gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening.”
Young Saudis also share technology with their Arab brethren across the Middle East , watching pan-Arab satellite TV stations like Al-Jazeera and logging in hours on social media.
Facebook pages calling for Saudi protests later this month have received several thousand followers. But activists say they believe authorities are also tracking them online. Police stymied attempts to hold rallies in the Red Sea city of Jeddah
“They are watching closely what people are saying on Facebook and Twitter,” Saudi blogger Ahmed al-Omran told Reuters. “Obviously they are anxious as they are surrounded with unrest and want to make sure we don’t catch the bug.”
As Saudi dissidents become emboldened by the unrest in surrounding countries, Riyadh and Washington Saudi Arabia ’s oil flow were disrupted, even for a short time, world energy prices could skyrocket, resulting in shortages and social unrest not just confined to the Middle East .
“The more they seem to be involved, the more likely these protests are to flourish, because Western meddling, as it’s seen, is one of the factors involved in this whole revolution,” Denselow said. “It’d be very hard-pressed for any Western government to come out on TV and say at one minute they’re supporting the rights of the Egyptian or Libyan people, but they can’t support the rights of the Saudi people. That would just be a complete disaster.
“There will be a public face, one saying, ‘We encourage reform in Saudi Arabia
