Prince Mohammed's Revolution Takes An Ominous Turn

Saudi Arabias would-be reformer is snared in warfare and caught up in diplomatic outrage

- Stephanie Flanders

When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman first took charge of Saudi Arabia in late 2015, he was eager to establish a global image as a radical reformer. “Are you leading a Thatcher Revolution for Saudi Arabia,” he was asked in early 2016. His answer: “Most certainly.”

Almost three years on, in a lengthy late-night interview on Oct. 3 with Bloomberg, the heir to the Saudi throne—known as MBS—insists he still wants to transform his country. But it’s increasingly clear it will be changed on his terms. If there’s a model the Saudi leader is following, it’s not Thatcher or even Mikhail Gorbachev. It’s more a combination of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

Although Saudi Arabia has changed under the 33-year-old’s leadership, the outside environment has as well. The more than doubling of oil prices—from about $40 when he took over to $88 a barrel—has made the country’s economic challenges feel less urgent. Thanks to the change of management at the White House, the pressure to adhere to basic norms of international conduct has also eased. Both of those developments have made it easier for the regime to behave in a way that’s outraged human rights activists and onetime allies such as Canada and Germany and left the local and international business community more than a little perplexed.