Saudi Arabia is an Authoritarian Wolf in Western Sheep’s Clothing

A satellite image of Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh. Planet Labs, Inc., Wikimedia.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has been faced with one of the most pressing dilemmas since its founding in 1960. The collective, along with its satellite partners in OPEC+, controls 40% of the world’s oil supply, giving it unprecedented power over the trade of one of the most important commodities. When countries began to reopen their economies, all eyes predictably turned to OPEC as a growing number of people suddenly needed a far greater amount of energy than was technically available.

Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s most influential producer, has taken a more conservative stance on production when an energy crisis arises. In October 2022, in response to pressure from the United States to increase oil production, the country stated that Western countries should implement policies in order to ramp up their own production. Amin Nasser, CEO of the country’s state-controlled oil company Saudi Aramco, argued that international efforts to reduce the usage of nonrenewables have prevented governments from making the transition. The Saudis do not see themselves as saviors; they are aiming to become a global force to be reckoned with.

A towering barrier confronts them in this endeavor, however. Saudi Arabia exists as a regional power in a Western-dominated system that is increasingly hostile to its values and ambitions. It attracts frequent criticism for human rights violations, from its torture and imprisonment of dissident women to its brutal suppression of freedom of speech. Along with scrutiny for its involvement in the Yemeni civil war, the Saudis realized that if they wanted to rise higher in the world, they must adjust their image and create a facade.

This began a campaign to become an authoritarian wolf in Western sheep’s clothing. To maintain its power domestically, the ruling family co-opts movements against it. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have pushed numerous reforms in the realm of women’s rights, including lifting a prohibition on driving and allowing them to vote. But this is only tolerated if the women participating remain loyal to the regime. Independent activists and their followers were arrested, with state-backed media calling them traitorous for opposing the ruling family. When the thin veil of “reform” is lifted, the Saudi government can be seen repressing opposition as it always did.

Saudi Arabia exhibits similar behavior on an international scale and is trying to masquerade as a modernizing quasi-Western powerhouse. A massive program called Saudi Vision 2030 aims to diversify the country’s economy and reduce its dependence on oil, but it has run into hurdles in trying to convince anyone besides investors of its modernization narrative. Its most public tenet is Neom, a futuristic city proposed by Mohammed bin Salman with a budget of $500 billion that would be constructed based on the desires of investors rather than the citizens. Everything from its infrastructure to its legal framework would be “cutting edge”. According to Bloomberg’s Vivian Nereim, some employees even said it would be an “urban skunk works,” providing a sandbox for experimentation. There is little interest in creating a livable space for residents because the focus is on attracting wealthy international investors.

Despite these megaprojects, the kingdom hasn’t built everything from scratch. It has also found success in purchasing existing Western companies in order to get an economic foothold. Using the Public Interest Fund, a sovereign wealth fund worth $776 billion, the Saudis have made massive investments in everything from Silicon Valley startups to premiere sports leagues. According to the Financial Review, the Fund established partnerships with nearly 40 American venture capital firms, giving it unprecedented reach within a potent market. Most recently, they have engaged in what has become known as “sportswashing” by purchasing large stakes in professional sports companies and paying top athletes such as Cristiano Ronaldo record-breaking salaries to play for them.

The goal is to infiltrate tenets of Western society through the kingdom’s oil revenues in order to demonstrate that they are a modern country. Few are convinced considering their human rights violations continue unabated, and the novel projects only contain seeds for authoritarianism. As is demonstrated in Neom’s desire to shift governance from citizens to unaccountable investors, the Saudi regime wants only to secure its financial future. It wants the economic prosperity and stability of the West without having to engage in its values of liberty and popular sovereignty. As a result, Saudi Arabia’s continuing success has come mostly in its continuation of oil production, and its sheep’s clothing act has been mostly met with exasperation and criticism by observers.

As Nereim explains, it’s unclear whether its thinly veiled modernization endeavors “will survive contact with financial and physical reality,” but on its current trajectory, the Saudi wolf will be found by the hunter in due time.