Africa & Middle East

Saudi Arabia

Political journey

Founded in 1932 by Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, the guardian of Islam’s holiest sites and the world’s top oil exporter. Since 2017 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has loosened social restrictions and diversified the economy under Vision 2030, while cracking down harder on dissent.

Saudi Arabia today

Its current leader’s position on the ten Caucus dimensions.

💰EconomySlightly state-led
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureSlightly traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationStrongly nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentLeaning growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyStrongly tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceStrongly strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsSlightly institutional
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionStrongly religious
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismLeaning interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

Who leads Saudi Arabia today

Portrait of Mohammed bin Salman

Mohammed bin Salman

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, 2017 to present

Launched Vision 2030 to diversify the oil economy and eased some social rules, including letting women drive, while jailing critics. US intelligence concluded he approved the operation that led to the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal…

Mohammed bin Salman sits in the left-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: slightly state-led and strongly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly authoritarian on liberty and authority, strongly tech-optimist on technology and strongly nationalist on nation.

Full profile of Mohammed bin Salman →

Political views closest to Saudi Arabia’s leadership

GaullismA French tradition of national independence, a strong presidency and a leading role for…97%MilitarismTreats military strength and martial values as central to national life.96%BonapartismAuthoritarian rule by a popular leader who claims to embody the nation, with plebiscites…94%CorporatismOrganizes society into industry and professional bodies that bargain with the state, an…93%

Countries with similar leadership

Ranked by how close their current leaders are on the ten dimensions.

EgyptAfrica & Middle East98%United Arab EmiratesAfrica & Middle East97%RwandaAfrica & Middle East96%GuineaAfrica & Middle East95%

Country histories are short summaries. Positions are simplified estimates of the leaders included in Caucus as of October 2026, and percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions.