[The Baking Typewriter] Bin Salman Crown Prince, a Leader Dreaming of the Middle East's 'Wakanda'

There is one name that consistently ranks high alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent international news: "Muhammad bin Salman." He is currently the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. While Saudi leaders have typically appeared sporadically in international energy news related to oil, he is now receiving more global attention than any Saudi leader before him.

The book titled "Muhammad bin Salman" delves deeply into the Crown Prince who is currently in the spotlight. Ben Hubbard, the Istanbul bureau chief of The New York Times (NYT), introduces various fragments of information about Crown Prince bin Salman that he uncovered during his reporting.

The Muhammad bin Salman portrayed by Hubbard is a highly complex figure. He is a ruthless power player who eliminated numerous rival princes to ascend the throne, yet also a reformer who first introduced Saudi Arabia’s future vision symbolized by the "NEOM City," and a skilled diplomat adept at handling foreign powers. The author presents these facts without personal opinions or analysis, calmly depicting the many facets of bin Salman.

Tracing the Crown Prince’s upbringing marked by an extraordinary obsession with wealth and power, the author shows how various accumulated internal problems in Saudi Arabia shaped him into a ruthless ruler. Saudi Arabia faced endless internal and external crises, including an economy heavily dependent on oil resources, diplomatic isolation despite being the Sunni leader in the Middle East with enemies all around, and continuous defeats in the war against the Yemeni Houthi rebels.

Internally, although a strong absolute monarchy appeared to reign on the surface, in reality, there were countless political power struggles among royal family members over succession rights, and ongoing factional conflicts between reform-minded young bureaucrats and orthodox clergy deeply rooted in Islamic fundamentalism. The author explains in detail the chaotic state of Saudi Arabia that led bin Salman?perceived by the Western world as a brutal murderer after the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post (WP) columnist?to adopt such iron-fisted rule.

Despite his harsh authoritarian traits, bin Salman’s national vision is surprisingly open. Having studied in the United States for a long time, he is fluent in English and familiar with Western culture. He is making every effort to change a country where women, bound by Islamic fundamentalism, cannot even shop alone.

The massive future city, NEOM City, planned to be built in the desert overlooking the Red Sea, embodies not only an economic transformation to reduce oil dependency but also various future visions held by politician bin Salman. Facing the Red Sea and key Middle Eastern conflict zones such as Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine, this cutting-edge city invites all people in the Middle East to lay down their arms and come to NEOM City, a land of opportunity.

The author emphasizes bin Salman’s bold plan to break the cycle of conflict caused by limited resources and poverty and to bring the entire Middle East under the rule of the Saudi dynasty through overwhelming capital and technological power. The West must never forget that what bin Salman desires is not merely to be the head of a traditional Sunni Islamic monarchy like previous Saudi leaders, but to realize in the Middle East the Wakanda kingdom from the Hollywood movie "Black Panther."

This book is recommended for those who want to see the relatively veiled aspects of Crown Prince bin Salman and understand his flagship project NEOM City and policies.

Written by Ben Hubbard ｜ Translated by Park In-sik ｜ Medici Media ｜ 448 pages ｜ 29,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.