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Saudi Arabia proved it's still the key player in the Gulf
GZERO World Clips

Saudi Arabia proved it's still the key player in the Gulf

Joe Biden's pledges to prevent Iran from getting the bomb and to defend Saudi Arabia from an attack were "music to Saudi Arabia's ears," Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and confidante of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

Iran: lynchpin in the Saudi-Israeli relationship
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Iran: lynchpin in the Saudi-Israeli relationship

US President Joe Biden didn't get much from his recent trip to Saudi Arabia — other than some symbolic progress on Saudi ties with Israel. Indeed, Biden's plane flew directly to the country from Israel, and now Israeli airlines will be allowed to overfly Saudi airspace. But is this really a big deal? "I would describe it as [...] giving crumbs to Biden," Bernard Haykel, a Princeton University professor and expert on Saudi Arabia, tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

Oil, entitlement, & how MBS is changing Saudi Arabia
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Oil, entitlement, & how MBS is changing Saudi Arabia

What is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman really doing to modernize Saudi Arabia? On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer asks Princeton University's Bernard Hayel. MBS, as he's known in the West, is "basically banking on the bulk of the population that's under 30, [who think] he's a rock star because of the things he's doing."

Blowback on MBS from Khashoggi murder saved many other journalists, says expert
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Blowback on MBS from Khashoggi murder saved many other journalists, says expert

US-Saudi relations were strained after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA says was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MBS. And he knows it was a risky move. "I don't think that they will ever do anything like that again," says Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and MBS insider. Still, he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, the regime will continue to be very repressive and authoritarian, doing things like mass executions of convicted terrorists from al-Qaeda and the Islamic State but also dissident Shiites.

How MBS consolidated power in Saudi Arabia
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How MBS consolidated power in Saudi Arabia

What sets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, better known as MBS, apart from other autocrats who've risen to power in recent years? He's consolidated power by "emasculating" his own family, including America's pick to succeed his dad, says Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and MBS confidante. The effort "was extremely brutal and messy at times," he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

Saudi Arabia’s repressive power politics
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Saudi Arabia’s repressive power politics

US President Joe Biden famously said he would treat Saudi Arabia as a "pariah" for ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But with oil prices near record highs and Iran seen as a growing menace, he felt he had no choice but to go there to revive the US-Saudi relationship. Biden didn't get much out of his trip, which Princeton University professor and MBS confidante Bernard Haykel says was a "big win" for the Saudis and the crown prince himself. On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to Haykel, a Saudi expert, who discusses how MBS consolidated power, why the targeting of other journalists is unlikely, the kingdom's strategic value to the US, MBS's strategy to modernize his country, and the prospects for future warmer ties with Israel.

Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman: GZERO World with Ian Bremmer podcast
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast

Podcast: Crown Prince MBS’s power & Saudi Arabia’s contradictions

Listen: US President Joe Biden didn't get much out of his recent controversial trip to Saudi Arabia, says Princeton University professor Bernard Haykel, who frames it as a "big win" for the Saudis and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself. On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks with Haykel, an expert on all things Saudi and an MBS confidante.

Biden-MBS meeting was "total win" for Saudis, says expert
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Biden-MBS meeting was "total win" for Saudis, says expert

US President Joe Biden didn't get much out of his recent — and very controversial — trip to Saudi Arabia. Why? His team didn't do their homework by getting the Saudis to agree on stuff in advance, says Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and confidante of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. "This was a total win for the Saudis," Haykel tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.