Abstract:

Saudi Arabia, which has traditionally adopted a foreign and security policy of relying on external patrons to ensure the regime’s security and territorial integrity since its establishment, has sought new security options due to some developments in the post-2015 period. This is because the power and security gaps in the Middle East region and the rise of Shiism under the leadership of Iran during this period encouraged Saudi Shiites and provided significant support to their anti-regime political activism. After 2015, the diminishing US guarantees for the security and territorial integrity of the Saudi regime, the ineffectiveness of the Saudi-led “Sunni Consensus” in the Yemen and Syria crises, and Russia and China’s deepening relations with Iran have led the Riyadh administration to a policy of internal balancing. In this process, the Riyadh administration has tried to ensure that the Sunni Islamist opposition to the regime is united with the regime through its hardline sectarian anti-Shiite policy at home and abroad. This policy was also used to legitimize the Saudi-Israeli rapprochement in Saudi public opinion.

Keywords: