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A review by iffer
Mbs: The Rise to Power of Mohammed Bin Salman by Ben Hubbard
3.0
I found this to be an interesting read, though it took me a little longer than expected for a short book due to the fact that my knowledge of Middle East/West Asia politics are sorely lacking. I was curious to learn more about MBS after all of the news about the Jamal Khashoggi murder. The book is a bit sparse on the biographical details of MBS, though I am sympathetic to the author, because I believe him when he states that there is not much information available (classified, destroyed, nonexistent, etc) and few people are willing to go on the record to make comments about MBS due to legitimate fears of having their lives, families, and livelihoods ruined.
That said, I do feel like I learned a significant amount about Saudia Arabia and the geopolitical situation of the region. Like the author, I find the contradictions of MBS, his rule, and his future plans for Saudia Arabia to be simultaneously horrifying and hopeful. On one hand MBS has shown a strong commitment, backed by action, to giving women in Saudia Arabia more daily freedoms (driving, access to education, etc) and to developing jobs and entertainment for younger generations. On the other hand, MBS is an open proponent of having a surveillance state in order to rule his people, and he has repeatedly taken overt, violent action against those who he deems his enemies, whether they are corrupt royal family or mild-mannered critics like Khashoggi. It was also interesting to read about the relationships between MBS and Trump, and MBS and Jared Kushner. It makes sense that the Saudi people were more willing to work with the Trump administration, and less put off by the way in which Trump's daughter and son-in-law were wielding political power, because it was more similar to the way in which Saudi's monarchy and clan politics work. It is also an important observation that MBS, despite having different political and economic goals than the US, UK, and other countries, has also ridden the wave of populism to power.
In this book, Ben Hubbard makes his point that, unless something drastically changes, it is a hindrance that there is so little information about MBS, his rise to power, and his operations, because MBS will be one of the most powerful people in a volatile region that also impacts the rest of the globe.
That said, I do feel like I learned a significant amount about Saudia Arabia and the geopolitical situation of the region. Like the author, I find the contradictions of MBS, his rule, and his future plans for Saudia Arabia to be simultaneously horrifying and hopeful. On one hand MBS has shown a strong commitment, backed by action, to giving women in Saudia Arabia more daily freedoms (driving, access to education, etc) and to developing jobs and entertainment for younger generations. On the other hand, MBS is an open proponent of having a surveillance state in order to rule his people, and he has repeatedly taken overt, violent action against those who he deems his enemies, whether they are corrupt royal family or mild-mannered critics like Khashoggi. It was also interesting to read about the relationships between MBS and Trump, and MBS and Jared Kushner. It makes sense that the Saudi people were more willing to work with the Trump administration, and less put off by the way in which Trump's daughter and son-in-law were wielding political power, because it was more similar to the way in which Saudi's monarchy and clan politics work. It is also an important observation that MBS, despite having different political and economic goals than the US, UK, and other countries, has also ridden the wave of populism to power.
In this book, Ben Hubbard makes his point that, unless something drastically changes, it is a hindrance that there is so little information about MBS, his rise to power, and his operations, because MBS will be one of the most powerful people in a volatile region that also impacts the rest of the globe.