Since assuming the throne on January 23, 2015 following the death of King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia’s new monarch, King Salman, seems to have set about the task of shaking up the ultraconservative kingdom. The punishment or pardoning of Raef Badawi became the litmus test of the new Saudi monarch’s reign as the blogger’s sentence coincided with the last days of the ailing King Abdullah and King Salman was compelled to face his personal past as promoter of Islamic fundamentalism abroad.
Saudi Arabia’s Yemen Conundrum: No End in Sight
Riyadh’s military intervention has neither forced the Houthis to the negotiating table nor has it restored the Hadi government in Sa’naa.