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Saudi Arabia proved it's still the key player in the Gulf
Joe Biden's pledges to prevent Iran from getting the bomb and to defend Saudi Arabia from an attack were "music to Saudi Arabia's ears," Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and confidante of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World. Biden's controversial trip was largely viewed as a big win for the Saudis, while the US didn't get much out of the discussions because Biden's team didn't do their homework, says Haykel.
The Saudis "were able to show that they have tremendous convening power" by bringing in all the Gulf leaders, thus demonstrating that Riyadh is the most important player there — and the partner you need for political and energy stability.
Haykel discusses how MBS consolidated power, the kingdom's strategic value to the US in the Middle East, MBS's strategy to modernize his country, and the prospects for future warmer ties with Israel. After the international furor over murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Haykel says, "I don't think that they will ever do anything like that again."
Iran: lynchpin in the Saudi-Israeli relationship
US President Joe Biden didn't get much from his recent trip to Saudi Arabia — other than some symbolic progress on Saudi ties with Israel.
Indeed, Biden's plane flew directly to the country from Israel, and now Israeli airlines will be allowed to overfly Saudi airspace. But is this really a big deal?
"I would describe it as [...] giving crumbs to Biden," Bernard Haykel, a Princeton University professor and expert on Saudi Arabia, tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
What would make a difference is normalizing ties with Israel — which the Saudis are not yet ready for. Haykel believes the Saudi public won't accept such a move until "something is given to the Palestinians."
Still, he expects the Israel-Saudi relationship to continue warming because, hello, Iran.
Watch the GZERO World episode: Saudi Arabia’s repressive power politics
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Oil, entitlement, & how MBS is changing Saudi Arabia
What is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman really doing to modernize Saudi Arabia? On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer asks Princeton University's Bernard Hayel.
MBS, as he's known in the West, is "basically banking on the bulk of the population that's under 30, [who think] he's a rock star because of the things he's doing."
Meanwhile, "anyone over 40 hates him because he's taking away entitlements" and changing the modus operandi of the country.
Haykel explains that the crown prince knows it's unsustainable for Saudi Arabia to continue relying exclusively on oil to grow.
They're still raking it in because prices are high, but MBS needs to get ahead of the curve by reforming subsidies and taxation.
Watch the GZERO World episode: Saudi Arabia’s repressive power politics
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Blowback on MBS from Khashoggi murder saved many other journalists, says expert
US-Saudi relations were strained after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA says was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MBS. And he knows it was a risky move.
"I don't think that they will ever do anything like that again," says Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and MBS insider.
Still, he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, the regime will continue to be very repressive and authoritarian, doing things like mass executions of convicted terrorists from al-Qaeda and the Islamic State but also dissident Shiites.
Haykel says no one in the US will shed a tear for the former, but the latter "certainly did not deserve execution."
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How MBS consolidated power in Saudi Arabia
What sets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, better known as MBS, apart from other autocrats who've risen to power in recent years?
He's consolidated power by "emasculating" his own family, including America's pick to succeed his dad, says Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and MBS confidante.
The effort "was extremely brutal and messy at times," he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
On the heels of the US president's recent trip to Saudi Arabia, Haykel thinks that even if there's no love lost between Joe Biden and MBS, America needs a "status quo power" like the kingdom in the region to defend US core strategic interests.
Watch the GZERO World episode: Saudi Arabia’s repressive power politics
Saudi Arabia’s repressive power politics
US President Joe Biden famously said he would treat Saudi Arabia as a "pariah" for ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But with oil prices near record highs and Iran seen as a growing menace, he felt he had no choice but to go there to revive the US-Saudi relationship.
Biden didn't get much out of his trip, which Princeton University professor and MBS confidante Bernard Haykel says was a "big win" for the Saudis and the crown prince himself. On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to Haykel, a Saudi expert, who discusses how MBS consolidated power, why the targeting of other journalists is unlikely, the kingdom's strategic value to the US, MBS's strategy to modernize his country, and the prospects for future warmer ties with Israel.
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Podcast: Crown Prince MBS’s power & Saudi Arabia’s contradictions
Listen: US President Joe Biden didn't get much out of his recent controversial trip to Saudi Arabia, says Princeton University Bernard Haykel, who frames it as a "big win" for the Saudis and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself. On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks with Haykel, an expert on all things Saudi and an MBS confidante. He explains how MBS consolidated power over the kingdom and its strategic value to the US in the Middle East. They also discuss MBS's strategy to modernize his country, the prospects for future warmer ties with Israel, and why the crown prince will avoid situations like the Khashoggi murder in the future.
The Saudis "were able to show that they have tremendous convening power" by bringing in all the Gulf leaders, thus demonstrating that Riyadh is the most important player in the region, offering political stability. The Saudi crown prince now looks less like a pariah and more like a partner of the US.
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- Saudi Arabia proved it's still the key player in the Gulf - GZERO Media ›
Biden-MBS meeting was "total win" for Saudis, says expert
US President Joe Biden didn't get much out of his recent — and very controversial — trip to Saudi Arabia. Why?
His team didn't do their homework by getting the Saudis to agree on stuff in advance, says Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and confidante of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
"This was a total win for the Saudis," Haykel tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Indeed, Biden's pledges to never allow Iran to get the bomb or defend Saudi Arabia from an attack are all "music to Saudi Arabia's ears."
What's more, Haykel adds, the Saudis "were able to show that they have tremendous convening power" by bringing in all the Gulf leaders, thus demonstrating that Riyadh is the most important player there — and the partner you need for political and energy stability.
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