Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman’s reshuffling of top positions is perhaps the most dramatic move in leadership Saudi Arabia has ever seen.
Dramatic? Yes. Surprising? Well, no, not really. From the very start of his ascension to becoming Saudi Arabia’s leader, King Salman has demonstrated a savvy sense at a time when our country needed tough leadership. He instantly dismissed a minister for disrespecting a citizen and he brooked no misbehavior by relieving another high official for abusing a journalist. Since when has that ever happened in Saudi Arabia?
The rules have changed in the Kingdom because they must. Saudi Arabia is surrounded by bloody conflicts, particularly in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. The murderous self-ascribed Islamic State (IS) continues to not only terrorize the entire region; the terrorist group also threatens Saudis inside our own borders. Demonstrating independence from our western allies, particularly the United States, we have come to expect that only we can protect our own interests. So how does the appointments of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman figure into this? Simple. We are a youthful nation. An estimated 60 percent of the population is under the age of 20. We are a nation that has embraced social media with all its communication advantages and unbridled technology that has exposed us to different cultures and values, and even with all of its faults.
The crown prince is and the deputy crown prince is just 30. As a nation with the median age of 25 years looking toward the future, we must have youthful leaders, but youth guided by older, wiser men led by King Salman.
With youth we have stability. Our longstanding religious and cultural values will remain in tact. Equally important is preparing us to secure that stability and the protection of Saudi Arabia. Our attempts to bring to an end the progress of the Houthi rebels and restore the rightful government in Yemen is a job for a strong, young leader as Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has demonstrated. And the West’s ill-advised relationship with Iran requires the same bold moves to protect Saudi Arabia’s interests.
Since 9/11, Saudi Arabia has matured dramatically as a nation. We are no longer the isolated “closed society” that was so much a part of our reputation in the international community. We quickly realized over the past decade that we could no longer afford insular policies that allowed western nations with their economic interests in the region to control the domestic policies of Middle Eastern countries. We are better educated, and certainly the female population has benefited the most from the King Abdullah Scholarship Program to send young people abroad to obtain university degrees.
But let’s face it; the single biggest influence on Saudi society has been the Internet and young Saudi’s access to social media. Today, 60 percent of the Saudis on the Internet have Twitter accounts, up by 45 percent in 2013. An estimated 8 million people in Saudi Arabia have Facebook accounts. The application, WhatsApp is fast approaching as the most popular means of communication. No one pays attention to email anymore.
This is important because whatever successes future Saudi leaders may enjoy will depend on their understanding of the new generation of Saudis and how they use social media. Social media, for better or worse depending on one’s point of view, is the agent of change. Young Saudis are forcing the issue by addressing government corruption, rallying aid in times of natural disasters and airing provocative opinions once thought taboo.
