Saudi Arabia’s transition from King Abdullah’s rule has a high probability of being stable, although painful and slow.
![Under Saudi Arabia's 'pyramid of power', the security forces are at the top [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/201412723341182580_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
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Saudis see Iran’s meddling and unresolved Syrian crisis as main contributors to the turmoil in Iraq.
![Iraq's multi-ethnic, multi-religious society cannot rely on a goverment that exclusively represents the interests of one component over all others, writes Albogami [AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/201478103950779580_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
To resolve the ongoing diplomatic crisis, Gulf countries have to institutionalise their foreign policy.
![On March 5, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/2014415132637442734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Despite diverging views on the Arab revolutions, the GCC remained unified due to common security concerns.
![The countries of the GCC reacted to the Arab Spring according to their own individual interests [EPA]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20131225123438158734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The Saudis, in a pique over US policy on Syria and Egypt, finally snapped at a potential thaw with Iran.
![The Saudis are feeling threatened by a US-Iran rapprochement [Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/20131113133857244734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)