การต่างประเทศของซาอุดิอาระเบีย ในรัชสมัยของกษัตริย์ ซัลมาน อิบนุ อับดุล อะซีส: มุมมองระดับภูมิภาค

Abstract

This research article aims to consider the change and continuity of Saudi Arabia’s foreign affairs in the reign of King Salman bin Abdulaziz. The article uses Regional Hegemony and Linkage Politics as theoretical frameworks to explore the role of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East region. The research results can be summarized as follow. Although the foreign policy process has been increasingly centralized in Muhammad bin Salman’s hands, time cannot changes the ageless goals, which are the results of a combination of domestic and international dimensions: the maintenance of status quo, i.e. maintaining Saudi Arabia’s status as a regional hegemon and the security guarantee for the throne. Change has only occurred in the means and tactics used for achieving those goals. Moreover, the article finds that Iran’s influence in the region is always a significant factor for Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy calculation. Thus, the article concludes that there are two main patterns of Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy approaches in the present era, namely the interventionist and hegemonic foreign policy and Pragmatism.