Publication

This brief explores Saudi Arabia’s domestic and regional security problems and the growing impact they're having on Riyadh’s relationships with its Western partners. On the domestic front, Shi’ite unrest, political Islam and the downstream repercussions of the Arab Spring continue to threaten local stability. Externally, the problems are equally familiar, if not even more precarious -- a potentially nuclear Iran, the spillover effects of the Syrian civil war, and Riyadh's frustrations with US policy in the region. Given these stubborn problems, the brief concludes, it is not surprising that Saudi Arabia is forging a more independent stance in regional affairs.