Saudi Arabia: a populist dictatorship

The wealth has been more widely shared in Saudi Arabia than in most oil-rich countries, and for the non-political majority life is still pretty good. Even for women, things are very gradually getting better: 60 per cent of Saudi university graduates are female, and now they can drive too. But the country is now being run by an erratic and over-confident dictator.
Letting women drive is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s project to win popular support by modernizing some aspects of daily life, writes Gwynne Dyer.

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