Comparing the Arab Revolts: Is Saudi Arabia Immune?

Issue Date October 2011
Volume 22
Issue 4
Page Numbers 48-59
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When protests started spreading throughout the Arab world in January 2011, numerous observers argued that Saudi Arabia’s turn would soon come. There was some truth to those expectations, as February and early March 2011 witnessed an unusual degree of protest activity by the Kingdom’s standards. And yet, by mid-March, the regime had regained complete control of the situation. Who were the activists who challenged the regime and what did they want? And how did the regime manage to silence their protests? Does this episode mean that revolution is impossible in Saudi Arabia?

About the Author

Stéphane Lacroix is assistant professor of political science at Sciences Po in Paris, and author of Awakening Islam: The Politics of Religious Dissent in Saudi Arabia (2011).

View all work by Stéphane Lacroix