Sadly, the trajectory of Saudi Arabia in the 1980s and the 1990s
suggests that Saudi Arabia indeed altered its course to accommodate its
most conservative elements. As the leading Saudi experts
Afshin Molavi
and Jean-Francois Seznec wrote, the terms of the bargain were too
favourable to those who opposed genuine modernisation: “While the king
and the civil service would still control the hardware – defence,
finance, oil, and foreign policy – he essentially handed over the
software – the education system and the courts – to conservative
forces.” Saudi leaders would come to regret this compromise.
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