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Reform, Crackdown and Succession: Continuity or Disruption?

by Senior Analyst Talal Kapoor

The career trajectory of Muhammad (MbS), who went from total obscurity to heir apparent in just a few short years, came as something of a shock to royal watchers, since the complex dynastic issues involved in passing the throne to the next generation had until then been predictably kicked down the road by each succeeding monarch, despite the obvious urgency and a lack of suitable candidates from the dwindling pool of obvious contenders. Yet the changes in the line of succession which Salman imposed in 2015 incensed much of the royal family, as the king and MbS, now the de facto viceroy, initiated a package of reforms that upended not only domestic family politics but the entire structural foundations of the state.

Father and son share many similarities, both having been educated at home (Salman at the princes' school in Riyadh and MbS at King Saud University, where he studied Islamic law), in contrast to those who went abroad, and both held the Defense portfolio on the path to becoming crown prince. Salman, known as a scholar and unofficial royal historian, is the patron of various cultural institutions such as the King Abd al-Aziz Foundation, and shares with his son a keen sense of nationalism. The two also have a profound distrust of any independent reform movement, be it religious reform or women's rights, being suspicious of any initiative not emanating from their dynastic line of the family.

In the past, there existed a sort of uneasy equilibrium between the several branches stemming from the Kingdom's founder, Ibn Saud, based on the division of critical administrative functions into discrete fiefdoms - the Defense Ministry was the portfolio of Sultan and his sons, Nayif and his sons controlled Interior Affairs, and Abdallah held the National Guard. From 1963, Salman was provincial governor of the capital Riyadh, a seemingly innocuous position which yet gave him an outsized role. Being especially close to his full brother Fahd, who as king lent him unwavering financial and political support, Salman eventually positioned himself as something of an unofficial viceroy; his role soon became that of facilitator and chief arbitrator of family disputes, whose opinion was often decisive. He headed the so-called Family Council (Majlis al-Usra) established by Fahd, and was a member of the Allegiance Committee (Bay'ah), set up by Abdallah. As the most influential member of the family, Salman was well positioned to take charge of the full apparatus of state, upending the delicate balance between the brothers.

As Riyadh governor, Salman launched the first plans to develop the city during the latter part of the 1960's; somewhat surprisingly, given his passion for the nation's cultural legacy, urban development involved the destruction of surrounding historic neighborhoods. His management of the capital had a political dimension, however, as he forged closer ties with the Kingdoms' business elites; fearing a challenge to royal legitimacy from the 'awakening' (salwa islamiyyah), a religious revival movement, he envisioned a new strategy which would tighten relations with the class of economic elites, while at the same time distancing the monarchy from the hardline clerics. The extensive contracts for the massive program of heavy construction works secured their loyalty, as well as assuaging the concerns of those who pointed to an over-reliance on the oil industry.

As new development plans were proposed for Riyadh, Salman created institutions such as the Riyadh Development Authority which made it possible to circumvent the bureaucracy of the normal ministries, bringing the process under his direct control. The Medstar (Metropolitan Strategy for Riyadh) Plan of 1996 was a keynote success, and the pace of construction of public institutions ramped up from there, looking ahead to the centenary celebration of Ibn Saud's conquest of al-Masmak fortress in 1902, which required elaborate preparation.

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