MBS: Saudi Arabia's enigma

Book review of Blood and Oil: Mohammed bin Salman's Ruthless Quest for Global Power

Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, known generally as MBS, looms large in global consciousness. First heralded as the great reformer of his country that espoused a rigid and intolerant brand of Islam, practised public beheadings and placed severe restrictions on women, he later was tainted by the gruesome murder of the dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, and rampant human rights abuses in the country.

This book by journalists from The Wall Street Journal  seeks to unravel the mysteries surrounding this enigmatic prince and explain the factors that make him so driven and ruthless. But, given the opacity that surrounds Saudi royalty and domestic decision-making, their efforts are only partly successful.

The book is a chronological account of the main events that have defined the prince’s public career from January 2015, when he began his ascent in the Saudi hierarchy.  He became defence minister at age 29, when his father, King Salman, became monarch. In the first few months, MBS took control of the economy and security of his country, and in two years became crown prince, elbowing out two senior princes.

He became a global celebrity as a reformer when, in April 2016, he announced his “Vision-2030”, an ambitious programme to re-invent his country for the post-oil era. It promised a thorough restructuring of the national economy, development of the private sector, commitment to research and technology, education and training of youth, and projection of the country as the bastion of moderation and tolerance.

This was supported by real change on the ground: The religious police, who intrusively monitored public conduct, were curbed, gender mixing was allowed in public spaces, and public entertainment — cinema, music, sports — was opened to mixed audiences. The most dramatic reform was the removal of the ban on women driving.

The kingdom as the land of economic opportunity was projected through the “Davos of the Desert” conferences that were attended by business heads of global standing. Here, mind-boggling projects, valued at billions of dollars, were proffered to salivating corporate honchos.

The most visionary proposal the prince came up with was “NEOM” — a $640 billion hi-tech megacity to be built across most of the desert in the Arabian Peninsula. This would be a hub of energy, industry, technology and entertainment, with skyscrapers served by flying robot taxies.

Alongside these grandiose visions, MBS repeatedly displayed his desire for power. He affirmed his authority in three crucial areas: The clergy, business and the royal family. He achieved this through the simple expedient of arresting the prominent among them, confining them in demeaning circumstances to break their spirit, and releasing them after recovering about $100 billion from them as the fruits of corruption.

Blood and Oil: Mohammed bin Salman’s Ruthless Quest for Global Power 

Author: Bradley Hope and Justin Whale

Publisher: John Murray

Price:  712

He also subjected reformers and activists to jail and torture, even if they espoused the same changes he did — in his order, there could be only one fountainhead of reform.

He cracked down on dissent — at home and abroad. With the help of corrupt officials at Twitter, he could access thousands of twitter accounts and, supported by dubious IT companies, also created several thousand fake accounts to praise his achievements, spending millions of dollars in this effort.

Even now, two years after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the taint has not rubbed off — the murder was just too gruesome and too well-documented for any effort at denial to be successful. Besides Khashoggi, a number of other royal rivals and prominent critics have either “disappeared” or remain imprisoned, or, if they are abroad, their family members are held hostage.

This is a popular and racy account of MBS’ five-year public career. Almost all the information here is already in the public domain, though quotes from conversations with some principals involved have been woven into the narrative to impart immediacy to the drama.

Thus, we learn that MBS when young wanted to be “richer than [Prince] Alwaleed” and that he saw Machiavelli as a “model”. We also get the impression that he was a loner who is only close to his younger brother, Khalid, and two cousins.

But MBS still remains a cardboard cut-out. We know little about him as a family member — his wife and children are not even mentioned. Crucially, it is still not clear why the sagacious King Salman chose this young prince to be the next king. This decision to favour MBS has totally disrupted the royal order that has for the past 60 years been collegial, moderate and accommodative of all branches of the royal family — an order that now stands threatened with internal discord and disruption.

Above all, the book does not live up to its dramatic title: We see little of the prince’s “quest for global power”. There is today nothing to show for the grandiose visions of political reform and economic opportunity he waved before world leaders and corporations. Again, nearly six years later the war continues in Yemen — though the nation is wrecked, there is no sign of victory.

MBS is, thus, merely an angry, impulsive and ruthless prince, who enjoys the licence to jail, torture and murder as he climbs the bloodied ladder to the throne.