Editorial - August/September 2023

A recurring theme emerges in this edition: the all-pervading influence of the Middle East’s oil-rich states, from international relations to the climate crisis, and even football. When states as rich and powerful as Saudi Arabia are involved, normal rules cease to apply – whether that’s silencing critics, as was the case when the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered in Saudi’s Istanbul consulate in 2018, undertaking a devastating war killing tens of thousands of civilians in Yemen or applying political pressure to halt a British corruption investigation into a multi-billion-pound arms deal. The unsettling activities of Saudi Arabia are prominent among the major challenges facing those who place their faith in international rule of law.

In one of our features, ‘Not just a game’, we explore the remarkable impact on the beautiful game, and other sports, as Saudi Arabia spends billions attempting to whitewash its reputation. Our cover feature, ‘Turkey’s future’, highlights how Recep Erdogan – fresh from sealing a third term as President after a hotly contested election – is being swayed by his newly cordial relationship with the rulers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This is unsurprising given the signing of enormous business deals at a time when Turkey’s beleaguered economy is in desperate need. One deal with UAE is reported to be worth $40bn over five years. Lo and behold, following Erdogan’s inauguration on 3 June, UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan became the first head of state to be received by the President in Ankara.

Relations with Saudi Arabia had been strained since the Arab Spring, but even more so following Khashoggi’s murder in Turkey. But business continued to flow, and in March Saudi Arabia deposited $5bn into Turkey’s central bank. Erdogan spent a significant amount of time in July on a three-stop Gulf tour, which kicked off with him visiting Saudi Arabia in an attempt to add to the $20bn that has flowed over the past 20 years. Anne Ramberg, Co-Chair of the IBA’s Human Rights Institute, puts it succinctly: ‘Autocrats without principles do deals of self-interest and money talks’.