Temptations of Autocracy: How Saudi Arabia Influences and Attracts Its Neighbourhood

Abstract In 2011 mass protests began to rapidly spread across the Middle East and scholarly attention shifted to the Gulf region, which not only remained resilient but rather asserted its authoritarian rule. We argue that such a development is considerably shaped by an individual protagonist country, we call an “authoritarian gravity centre” (AGC). We understand an AGC as an autocratic regime that has the willingness and the capacity (in terms of material and immaterial means) to apply pressure, to disseminate autocratic ideas, norms, values, and techniques, and to constitute a role model for other countries in the AGC’s geopolitical proximity. This study, which covers the period between 2001 and 2015, provides an empirical analysis of Saudi Arabia acting as an AGC in the Gulf. The qualitative research is based on fieldwork conducted in Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait City, and Manama. Using the approach of the AGC, we offer a conceptualization of the phenomenon of autocratization in the Gulf region.