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Abstract

STABLE AUTOCRACY IN SAUDI ARABIA: THE FAILURE OF ARAB SPRING DEMOCRATISATION

Adhi Cahya Fahadayna

Universitas Brawijaya

Email: a.fahadayna@ub.ac.id

Submitted: 7 October 2023; Accepted: 10 July 2024

ABSTRAK

Arab Saudi mempertahankan stabilitas sistem autokrasi sebagai landasan fundamental dalam sistem politik dan sistem pemerintah. Arab Saudi memiliki cadangan minyak bumi yang tinggi. Selain itu, Arab Saudi dipandang sebagai sekutu yang memiliki kedekatan dengan Amerika Serikat. Secara historis, Arab Saudi dikenal sebagai pusat peradaban agama Islam. Namun, pun ketika gelombang demokratisasi di Timur Tengah semakin menguat, Arab Saudi tetap mempertahankan eksistensi monarki absolut sebagai sumber utama stabilitas politik dan ekonomi negara. Hal tersebut tidak dapat dipisahkan dari penerapan Islam sebagai sumber stabilitas sistem autokrasi, dengan melakukan konfigurasi kekuatan politik kepada Keluarga Ibnu Saud dan Al ash-Sheikh, stabilitas yang berdampak pada kokohnya dan konsistensi sistem autokrasi di Arab Saudi. Perkembangan institusi demokrasi dan reformasi pendidikan agama secara efektif bisa dibendung dengan penerapan hukum Islam dengan ketat oleh lembaga-lembaga penegak hukum yang dikendalikan penuh oleh kerajaan. Selain itu, perkembangan aktivisme media sosial juga tidak memberikan dampak yang signifikan terhadap proses demokratisasi di Arab Saudi. Penelitian ini akan menggunakan pendekatan historis dalam menganalisis sumber stabilitas sistem autokrasi Arab Saudi. Peneliti akan menjelaskan dominasi kerajaan dalam aspek agama, politik, dan hukum sebagai faktor yang berpengaruh dalam stabilitas sistem autokrasi dan penggunaan sumber daya minyak sebagai posisi tawar untuk menghambat agenda demokratisasi Barat.

Kata kunci: Arab Saudi, Stabilitas Autokrasi, Monarki, Wahhabisme, Arab Spring

ABSTRACT

Saudi Arabia maintains a stable autocracy as the fundamental politics of the state and government system. Saudi Arabia has high petroleum reserves and has always been considered a close ally of the United States. Historically, Saudi Arabia has also been known as the centre of Islamic civilisation and the Islamic religion. As the wave of democratisation in the Middle East strengthened, Saudi Arabia preserved the autocratic government style as the state’s central source of political and economic stability, which cannot be separated from Islam as the source of stable autocracy. By configuring its political power to the Ibn Saud Family and Al ash-Sheikh Family, the stability to preserve autocracy is undeniably robust and unchanging. The development of democratic institutions and reformation of religious education was effectively hindered by enforcing Islamic law through various law enforcement agencies controlled by the monarch. The significant impact of social media during the Arab Spring did not have substantial implications for the democratisation process. This research will use historical analysis to unpack the source of stable autocracy in Saudi Arabia by using the monarch's domination toward religion, politics, and law as the bargaining power of stability resources for hindering West democratisation.

Bahasa Abstract

Arab Saudi mempertahankan stabilitas sistem autokrasi sebagai landasan fundamental dalam sistem politik dan sistem pemerintah. Arab Saudi memiliki cadangan minyak bumi yang tinggi. Selain itu, Arab Saudi dipandang sebagai sekutu yang memiliki kedekatan dengan Amerika Serikat. Secara historis, Arab Saudi dikenal sebagai pusat peradaban agama Islam. Namun, pun ketika gelombang demokratisasi di Timur Tengah semakin menguat, Arab Saudi tetap mempertahankan eksistensi monarki absolut sebagai sumber utama stabilitas politik dan ekonomi negara. Hal tersebut tidak dapat dipisahkan dari penerapan Islam sebagai sumber stabilitas sistem autokrasi, dengan melakukan konfigurasi kekuatan politik kepada Keluarga Ibnu Saud dan Al ash-Sheikh, stabilitas yang berdampak pada kokohnya dan konsistensi sistem autokrasi di Arab Saudi. Perkembangan institusi demokrasi dan reformasi pendidikan agama secara efektif bisa dibendung dengan penerapan hukum Islam dengan ketat oleh lembaga-lembaga penegak hukum yang dikendalikan penuh oleh kerajaan. Selain itu, perkembangan aktivisme media sosial juga tidak memberikan dampak yang signifikan terhadap proses demokratisasi di Arab Saudi. Penelitian ini akan menggunakan pendekatan historis dalam menganalisis sumber stabilitas sistem autokrasi Arab Saudi. Peneliti akan menjelaskan dominasi kerajaan dalam aspek agama, politik, dan hukum sebagai faktor yang berpengaruh dalam stabilitas sistem autokrasi dan penggunaan sumber daya minyak sebagai posisi tawar untuk menghambat agenda demokratisasi Barat.

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