Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 05/2011

Counterrevolution in the Gulf

Toby C. Jones

April 2011

United States Institute of Peace

Abstract

Saudi Arabia is pursuing a combination of domestic and regional policies that risk destabilizing the Persian Gulf and that risk undermining the United States interests there. Amid calls for political change, Saudi Arabia is failing to address pressing concerns about its political system and the need for political reform. Instead of responding favorably to calls for more political openness, the Kingdom is pursuing a risky domestic agenda, which ignores the social, economic, and political grievances that might fuel popular mobilization.