ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the motives driving Saudi policies against Bashar al-Asad’s regime in the Syria crisis. Amid the transformation of the Syrian Uprising into a civil war in the post-2011 period, the Saudi kingdom’s policies towards the Syria crisis have not been static. Whereas the kingdom initially adopted a policy of accommodation that would ensure the survival of Bashar al-Asad through reforms, it later adopted policies with the intent of overthrowing the Syrian regime. From August 2011, the Saudi kingdom was determined to depose al-Asad while actively supporting several opposition groups in Syria through diplomatic, military, and financial means. Often portrayed as either driven by sectarian factors or traditional strategic concerns, the dynamics of the Saudi involvement in Syria can be instead explained as part of a larger bid for regional leadership, fusing ideational and material elements.
