New prince, tougher kingdom?
Inside Story discusses what Nayef bin Abdelaziz’s appointment as crown prince means for Saudi Arabia’s future.
Prince Nayef bin Abdelaziz, Saudi Arabia’s interior minister, has been installed as the new crown prince of Saudi Arabia. He became the governor of Riyadh when he was just 20-years-old, and has been the interior minister since 1975.
While his brother, King Abdullah, is widely viewed as a reformer, Prince Nayef is known as staunch anti-reform conservative, being opposed to giving women the right to vote or drive.
His task is to keep the kingdom politically stable and prevent the sort of upheavals seen in the wider Middle East, and most of the time this has been the case.
One of the most powerful men of the country, it is not a surprise that he has been installed as the new crown prince, but should reformists in the country be concerned about Prince Nayef’s new role? And what does it mean for the future of the kingdom and the region?
Inside Story presenter Hazem Sika discusses with guests Saeed Al Shihabi, a political analyst specialising in the Gulf region; Michael Stephens, a researcher at the Royal United Services Insitute, also co-author of a commentary on the death of Crown Prince Sultan and what it means for the house of Saud; and Hussein Shobokshi, a Saudi journalist.