The Fresh Crown Prince of Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, 2016

CRISIS COMMITTEE

Wealth, mystery, and improbability are all words that have been assigned to the Saudi Arabian government. Amid war in the Middle East, increasing internal defiance, one of the largest sovereign funds, and a new, already notorious young Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia must decide where it wants to go and, more importantly, who it wants to be. 2016 was a time of immense political, economic and social change for Saudi Arabia. The transition to Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS) saw a hungry, young leader who sought to change Saudi Arabia as we know it. Internationally, the country’s coalition in Yemen has just been blacklisted by the United Nations, greatly weakening its ability to fight off the Houthi Rebels and boost its hegemony in the Middle East. Iran, simultaneously, has attacked Saudi missions, while foreign actors, such as Russia and the United States, have entered the playing field and are taking sides. Internally, with oil prices crashing for the past three years, the biggest Saudi asset, both financially and powerwise, is in peril. Formed by ministers and characters from various Saudi sectors, the Council of Ministers advises policy formulation and directs the bureaucracy under the King. As the nation approaches the brink of chaos, the Council of Ministers must take this crucial time to create multi-pronged approaches that preserve the external and internal future of the nation.