6 - Saudi Arabia
A Role Model of Autocratic Governance without Borders
Published online by Cambridge University Press: aN Invalid Date NaN
Summary
Autocratic governance in Saudi Arabia has undergone a significant transformation during the reign of King Salman since 2015 and the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman soon after. This evolution must be viewed through three lenses: first, the substantial re-configuration of the political order that breaks with traditional patterns of rule and power-sharing; second, the growing influence of Saudi Arabia in regional and global affairs and third, changes in the international order with new enabling conditions for autocratic protagonists. The transformation of Saudi politics under the Salmans is not only intended to consolidate the autocratic regime and to project a narrative of a prosperous future for Saudi citizens. It is also supposed to send a message to the populace that the outreach of the kingdom’s authorities may go well beyond its territorial boundaries. As a result, transnational repression has become an integral component of autocratic governance with massive investments in furthering its modes and scope. This contribution examines transnational repression across spatial and temporal dimensions, analyzing its motives, instruments and broader implications. It validates the assumption that transnational repression does not only correlate with the robustness of autocratic governance at home but also increases during domestic institutional crises and crackdowns.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Transnational RepressionA Comparative Perspective Across Autocracies and Democracies, pp. 103 - 117Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
References
Amnesty International UK (2024) Saudi Arabia: 29-Year-Old Fitness Instructor Facing Trial for Championing Women’s Rights. Available at: www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/saudi-arabia-29-year-old-fitness-instructor-facing-trial-championing-womens-rights (last accessed: March 10, 2025).Google Scholar
Amnesty International (2025) End Travel Bans on Activist in Saudi Arabia. Available at: www.amnesty.org/en/petition/end-travel-bans-on-activists-in-saudi-arabia/ (last accessed: March 11, 2025).Google Scholar
Anstis, Siena, and Deibert, Ronald (2025) Silenced by Surveillance: The Impacts of Digital Transnational Repression on Journalist, Human Rights Defenders, and Dissidents in Exile. Available at: www.knightcolumbia.org/content/silenced-by-surveillance-the-impacts-of-digital-transnational-repression (last accessed: March 12, 2025).Google Scholar
Callamard, Agnès (2024) Gaza and the End of the Rules-Based Order. Available at: www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/gaza-and-end-rules-based-order (last accessed: May 7, 2025).Google Scholar
Demmelhuber, Thomas (2019) Playing the Diversity Card: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Policy under the Salmans. The International Spectator 54(4), 109–124.10.1080/03932729.2019.1678862CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demmelhuber, Thomas, and Thies, Antonia (2023) Autocracies and the Temptation of Sentimentality: Repertoires of the Past and Contemporary Meaning-making in the Gulf Monarchies. Third World Quarterly 44(5), 1003–1020.10.1080/01436597.2023.2171392CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dukalskis, Alexander, Furstenberg, Saipira, Hellmeier, Sebastian, and Scales, Redmond (2024) The Long Arm and the Iron Fist: Authoritarian Crackdowns and Transnational Repression. Journal of Conflict Resolution 68(6), 1051–1079.10.1177/00220027231188896CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ECDHR – European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (2024) Saudi Arabia’s Repressive Measures Post-2011: A Critical Examination of the Kingdom’s Approach to Political Dissent. Available at: www.ecdhr.org/saudi-arabias-repressive-measures-post-2011-a-critical-examination-of-the-kingdoms-approach-to-political-dissent/ (last accessed: March 11, 2025).Google Scholar
European Parliament (2018) MEPs Demand End to EU Arms Exports to Saudi Arabia. Available at: www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20181018IPR16536/meps-demand-end-to-eu-arms-exports-to-saudi-arabia (last accessed: May 7, 2025).Google Scholar
Fatafta, Marwa (2021) Transnational or Cross-Border Digital Repression in the MENA Region. POMEPS Studies 43. Available at: www.pomeps.org/pomeps-studies-43-digital-activism-and-authoritarian-adaptation-in-the-middle-east (last accessed: March 12, 2025).Google Scholar
Freedom House (2021) Saudi Arabia: Transnational Repression Origin. Country Case Study. Available at: www.freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression/saudi-arabia (last accessed: March 12, 2025).Google Scholar
Glasius, Marlies (2018) Extraterritorial Authoritarian Practices: A Framework. Globalizations 15(2), 179–197.10.1080/14747731.2017.1403781CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grand, Stephen, and Wolff, Katherine (2020) Assessing Saudi Vision 2030. A 2020 Review. Atlantic Council. Available at: www.jstor.org/stable/resrep29468 (last accessed: March 12, 2025).Google Scholar
Herb, Michael (1999) All in the Family. Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies. New York: Suny.Google Scholar
Human Rights Watch (2014) Jordan: Terrorism Amendments Threaten Rights. Available at: www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/17/jordan-terrorism-amendments-threaten-rights#:~:text=Amendments%20to%20the%20State%20Security,state”%20from%20the%20court’s%20purview (last accessed: March 13, 2025).Google Scholar
Human Rights Watch (2024) ‘We Will Find You’. A Global Look at How Governments Repress Nationals Abroad. Available at: www.hrw.org/report/2024/02/22/we-will-find-you/global-look-how-governments-repress-nationals-abroad (last accessed: March 11, 2025).Google Scholar
Kneuer, Marianne, and Demmelhuber, Thomas (eds.) (2021) Authoritarian Gravity Centers. A Cross-Regional Study of Authoritarian Promotion and Diffusion. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Marczak, Bill, Scott-Railton, John, and Deibert, Ron (2018) NSO Group Infrastructure Linke to Targeting of Amnesty International and Saudi Dissident. Available at: www.citizenlab.ca/2018/07/nso-spyware-targeting-amnesty-international/#:~:text=Amnesty%20International%20reports%20that%20one,with%20NSO%20Group's%20Pegasus%20spyware (last accessed: March 10, 2025).Google Scholar
MENA Rights Group (2025) The AIMC must end its role in transnational repression, say NGOs. Available at: www.menarights.org/en/articles/aimc-must-end-its-role-transnational-repression-say-ngos (last accessed: March 11, 2025).Google Scholar
Ministry of Economy and Planning (2025) Data Saudi – Hajj. Available at: www.datasaudi.sa/en/sector/hajj (last accessed: March 13, 2025).Google Scholar
Michaelsen, Marcus, and Ruijgrok, Kris (2024) Autocracy’s Long Reach: Explaining Host Country Influences on Transnational Repression. Democratization 31(2), 290–314.10.1080/13510347.2023.2267448CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgenbesser, Lee (2020) The Menu of Autocratic Innovation. Democratization 27(6), 1053–1072.10.1080/13510347.2020.1746275CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reuters (2024) Germany to Resume Arms Deliveries to Saudi Arabia with IRIS-T Missiles. Available at: www.reuters.com/world/germany-resume-arms-deliveries-saudi-arabia-with-iris-t-missiles-2024-01-10/ (last accessed: March 10, 2025).Google Scholar
Schenkkan, Nate, and Linzer, Isabel (2021) Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach. Freedom House Report. Available at: www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/Complete_FH_TransnationalRepressionReport2021_rev020221.pdf (last accessed: March 11, 2025).Google Scholar
Thompson, Mark C. (2019) Being Young, Male and Saudi. Identity and Politics in a Globalized Kingdom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/9781316882801CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations (2019) Annex to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions: Investigations into the Unlawful Death of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. Human Rights Council, 24 June–12 July 2019, A/HRC/41/CRP.1. Available at: www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2019/06/khashoggi-killing-un-human-rights-expert-says-saudi-arabia-responsible (last accessed: February 14, 2025).Google Scholar
Zumbrägel, Tobias, and Demmelhuber, Thomas (2020) Temptations of Autocracy: How Saudi Arabia Influences and Attracts Its Neighbourhood. Journal of Arabian Studies 10(1), 51–71.10.1080/21534764.2020.1788785CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.2 AAA
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
The HTML of this chapter complies with version 2.2 of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), offering more comprehensive accessibility measures for a broad range
of users and attains the highest
(AAA)
level of WCAG compliance, optimising the user experience by meeting the most extensive
accessibility guidelines.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Reading Order & Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
Full alternative textual descriptions
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.
Visualised data also available as non-graphical data
You can access graphs or charts in a text or tabular format, so you are not excluded if you cannot process visual displays.
You can access graphs or charts in a text or tabular format, so you are not excluded if you cannot process visual displays.
Visual Accessibility
Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
Use of high contrast between text and background colour
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.