climate

Saudi Arabia

Published: 2025-04-20 18:51:13 5 min read

Behind the Façade: The Contradictions of Modern Saudi Arabia Introduction Saudi Arabia, a nation synonymous with vast oil wealth, religious influence, and geopolitical power, remains one of the most enigmatic and controversial states in the modern world.

Beneath its gleaming skyscrapers and ambitious Vision 2030 reforms lies a complex web of contradictions economic diversification efforts clashing with entrenched oil dependency, social liberalization coexisting with authoritarian repression, and a foreign policy that balances Western alliances with regional hegemony.

This investigative essay critically examines these paradoxes, arguing that Saudi Arabia’s pursuit of modernization is undermined by systemic political repression, economic vulnerabilities, and unresolved human rights abuses.

Thesis Statement While Saudi Arabia’s leadership projects an image of progressive reform, the kingdom remains anchored in autocratic governance, economic precarity, and selective human rights concessions, revealing a fragile transformation that risks instability without deeper structural change.

Economic Mirage: Vision 2030 and the Oil Trap Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan promises to revolutionize Saudi Arabia’s economy by reducing dependence on oil, yet the kingdom remains perilously tied to hydrocarbon revenues.

Despite initiatives like NEOM and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), oil still accounts for 80% of state income (IMF, 2023).

The 2022 Aramco IPO, intended to diversify capital, raised only a fraction of projected funds, exposing investor skepticism (Reuters, 2022).

Meanwhile, youth unemployment hovers at 28% (World Bank, 2023), underscoring the failure to create sustainable private-sector jobs.

Critics argue that megaprojects like The Line a $500 billion futuristic city prioritize spectacle over substance.

A leaked NEOM report revealed forced evictions of the Huwaitat tribe, with dissenters imprisoned (BBC, 2022), illustrating how economic progress masks repression.

Social Reforms or Illusory Change? Saudi Arabia’s social reforms women driving, cinemas reopening, and loosened guardianship laws are celebrated globally, yet activists warn these are superficial concessions.

While female labor participation rose to 37% (Saudi Gazette, 2023), women still face systemic discrimination in divorce and child custody cases (Human Rights Watch, 2023).

The 2018 arrest of feminists like Loujain al-Hathloul, later conditionally released, demonstrates that dissent remains perilous.

Religious moderation is similarly uneven.

The government promotes moderate Islam to attract tourism, yet blasphemy laws carry death penalties, and Shiite minorities face persecution (Amnesty International, 2023).

The 2022 mass execution of 81 men mostly Shia activists reveals the regime’s brutal intolerance (UNHRC, 2022).

Authoritarianism Under the Reformist Mask Mohammed bin Salman’s consolidation of power has been marked by ruthless suppression.

The 2017 Ritz-Carlton purge, framed as an anti-corruption campaign, was a political shakedown netting $100 billion (Bloomberg, 2018).

Journalists like Jamal Khashoggi’s 2018 murder exposed the crown prince’s willingness to silence critics, even on foreign soil (CIA report, 2021).

Proponents argue MBS’s authoritarianism is necessary for stability, citing regional chaos like the Arab Spring.

Yet scholars warn that repression fuels long-term risks.

As Madawi al-Rasheed notes, The social contract no voice in exchange for welfare is breaking as austerity bites (LSE, 2023).

Geopolitical Tightrope: Allies and Atrocities Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy balances Western alliances with aggressive regional maneuvers.

Its détente with Iran, brokered by China in 2023, contrasts with its brutal Yemen war, where 377,000 have died (UN, 2023).

Saudi Arabia - Islam, Sunnis, Shiites | Britannica

Despite U.

S.

arms sales, Biden’s administration condemned Saudi-led airstrikes on civilians (State Department, 2022).

The kingdom’s green energy pledges also ring hollow.

While investing in solar projects, it lobbied to weaken COP28 climate agreements (The Guardian, 2023), prioritizing oil interests.

Conclusion: A Kingdom at a Crossroads Saudi Arabia’s contradictions economic ambition versus oil reliance, social change amid repression, and geopolitical pragmatism overshadowed by brutality reveal a regime navigating modernization without relinquishing control.

Without genuine political liberalization, equitable growth, and human rights accountability, Vision 2030 risks becoming another authoritarian mirage.

The world watches whether Saudi Arabia will evolve or erupt under the weight of its own contradictions.

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(2023).

- BBC.

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- Human Rights Watch.

(2023).

- CIA.

(2021).

- UN.

(2023).