REVISITING THE NATURE OF IRANIAN THREAT TO SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

Abstract
The Saudi-Iran rivalry - much debated in International Relations and Security Studies discourses – is interestingly one where the state with superior material capabilities i.e. Saudi Arabia perceives a greater threat from the one falling lower on this scale i.e. Iran, rather than vice versa. Taking lead from the Balance of Threat theory, it has been assumed that the Iranian pro-revolution ideals are perceived as a threat by the Saudi regime. Methodologically, this study empirically evaluates the material power differential between Iran and Saudi Arabia, showing that a mere Balance of Power logic fails to explain the Saudi threat perception vis-à-vis Iran. Instead, the Saudi regime’s construction of this threat is driven by a mix of societal-level insecurity and the weak state society relationship within Saudi Arabia offering Iranian asymmetric power a fifth column to be exploited for destabilizing the Saudi polity. To tackle the threat, Saudi Arabia needs to provide its masses basic freedoms to revamp its state-society equation; an ad-hoc carrot and stick approach is not a long-term remedy in the given case.