Political Participation in Saudi Arabia

This article addresses the situation of political participation in Saudi Arabia and its obstacles. Although in recent years notably following King Abdullah’s succession to the throne, important measures were undertaken by the government in order to open political space and to reply to the political and economic demands of the emerging middle class, there are still serious problems in this regard including the activities of the extremist Wahhabi groups and the close links between some members of the ruling dynasty and conservative Saudi Ulema. Now the dilemma is that the pressures exerted by the conservative forces and their obstruction in the way of reforming the Saudi political system may radicalize the society’s demands and may cause the tendency to violence.