Ryan Bohl GCC, ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, Persian/Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Strategy

Why the Islamic State Must Provoke a Civil War In Saudi Arabia

To secure itself, the Islamic State must destroy its nearest Sunni Arab rivals, and Saudi Arabia is a tempting target.

Ryan Bohl Geopolitics, Middle East, Politics

Saudi Arabia’s Power Play (Or, the Childishness of Kings)

I've let my contempt for Saudi Arabia's current governing system be known - several times.  This is because it's a personality-centric system driven by personalities that most of you wouldn't want to invite to dinner.  In such systems, psychology matters when understanding certain events.  Let's take a walk through, shall we, and understand Saudi state … Continue reading Saudi Arabia’s Power Play (Or, the Childishness of Kings)

Ryan Bohl Middle East, Saudi Arabia

Riyadh’s Riots: It’s Getting Hot In Here

"It's getting hot in here/So take off all your thobes/I am getting so hot/I'm gonna riot and then throw oil markets into chaos." Seven months ago, Saudi Arabia began an amnesty to allow illegal workers to leave the kingdom without fine or punishment.  The result has been up to one million people fleeing the country … Continue reading Riyadh’s Riots: It’s Getting Hot In Here

Ryan Bohl Middle East

Saudi Arabia’s Panic Is Geopolitically Sound

If you've lived in the Persian Gulf for a while, seeing one of its countries throw a shit-fit on an international stage won't surprise you all that much.  You get used to that kind of ridiculous chaos; you see one dumb, doomed project connected to a badly-planned roundabout removal scheme merging into a seemingly nonsensical … Continue reading Saudi Arabia’s Panic Is Geopolitically Sound

Ryan Bohl Geopolitics, Middle East

Saudi Arabia is Primed to Blow Up (And the good news is, the world can let it)

I've already written about Saudi's totally screwed future, but it's nice to hear others saying as much.  If you're not about to click that old link and read that rather long piece, I'll quickly summarize the Bad Things going against Saudi. 1). It's not a nation-state Saudi's still a kingdom; kingdoms are essentially giant mafia … Continue reading Saudi Arabia is Primed to Blow Up (And the good news is, the world can let it)