a The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between the problem of the traditional system and supporting popular change

Abstract

The duality shown by traditional regimes towards the movements of change that swept the Arab arena is of great importance to many of those concerned with international affairs, not because of the weight of the political change that swept the Arab region (which was formed by several political, religious, social, and economic determinants). These processes of change that swept the region changed the positions of many countries towards the basic issues, most notably the legitimacy of the ruling regimes, the legitimacy of the methods of governance, and the methods of accessing power. The liberal liberation movements that led the popular uproar to change the ruling regimes carried with them a new approach to governance based on: the legitimacy granted by the ruled, and not the legitimacy that the ruler seizes through a coup and/or taking power through inheritance. Here emerges the basic research problem represented by the support provided by authoritarian regimes with a traditional character that derives its legitimacy from the old rules that popular protests have taken to change. What are the motives behind the support provided by traditional regimes to support change movements in countries whose regimes are allies, such as the position of Saudi Arabia on the change of regime in Egypt? Therefore, for the purpose of clarifying these positions that carry the research problem, we will choose the Saudi model in order to show the motives and justifications behind this support. Our choice of Saudi Arabia stems from its political, economic and religious importance, and consequently its role in most of the major issues that concern the Arab region, in a way that makes its fingerprints clear in those events and issues.