Treffer: Elite Resilience: Saudi Arabia's Reformist Authoritarianism and the Counter-Revolution.

The 2011 'Arab Spring' proved to be a catalytic, region-wide phenomenon whose reverberations were felt across, far and near. While responses to this series of political uprisings were varied, questions pertaining to why some regimes perished while others stood strong remain heavily contested. Of those authoritarian regimes that emerged triumphant, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's twin-policy of containing potentially revolutionary activity in the State, coupled with accommodation for more 'progressive' political demands saw the rise of a 'reformist authoritarianism' in the post-Arab Spring political landscape. Such a recalibrated framework sought to demonstrate an openness for pragmatic considerations that go hand-in hand with a more active and security-centric policy shift, a comprehensive process that Steven Heydemann refers to as 'authoritarian upgrading.' Taking this strategic outlook into consideration, this paper seeks to critically explore how 'authoritarian upgrading' can account for Saudi Arabia's containment of the pro-democratic reform, anti-government protests that began in late January 2011. Moreover, the lessons from the 'Arab Spring' which were incorporated into the Kingdom's wider 'modernization' vision will be traced vis-à-vis incumbent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's (MBS) key economic, societal and security-based reforms. In addition, the trajectory which shaped a more comprehensive 'counter-revolutionary' foreign policy during and after the 2011 Arab Spring will be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]