By Mohamed Zayed, iNews Cayman special correspondent

A great number of changes have invaded most of the world, not only in the Arab Spring, but also in China and Burma and other autocratic regimes across the world. It is scheduled that once-a decade power transition will take place this month in the Chinese one- party rule. Burma that had been for five decades under the military rule has witnessed much positive transformations, a great deal of political prisoners have been released including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Censorship has been eased in the fledgling democracy. Back to the Middle East, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, though they face some obstacles, have surprised the developed democracies and their Arab fellow countries. But Saudi Arabia responded to the Arab Spring with injecting $130 billion in the social spending programs to shield itself from the change storm.

Added to the Arab Spring, the Kingdom rulers seem that they have some problems with aging and health. In one year, two Crown Princes Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and Sultan bin Abdulaziz. Even the Saudi King Abdullah, 89, suffers from health problems; he had undergone three back surgeries in 12 months. In his latest Islamic Conference meeting in Mecca, he appeared sick and frail, even he was addressing the conference hardly. The current crown prince Salman is not well enough to lead the Royal dynasty, he had undergone a spine surgery in US in 2010, he also had many strokes and partially lost control of one of his arms. “He is more of a modernizer than a reformer, and his views on minorities, women and political openness are not well known,” said Emile Hokayem, senior fellow for regional security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, based in Manama, Bahrain.

All the sons of King Adelaziz bin Saud are between 70 – 90. That has created a sense of unpredictability in the Persian Gulf states as the latter’s stability depends heavily on the Saudi Kingdom. Additionally, as the biggest oil exporter in the world, stability of the country would have a great impact on the already fragile world economy. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal have been absent for months for medical treatment in US, he is considered as one of the veteran royals who shapes the KSA’s foreign policy especially related to Iran and Gulf states.

There are some disagreement with the ruling family over who would take the reigns of the country, Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz, an influential senior prince, resigned from the council that King Abdulla set up to select the King and the crown prince last autumn when Prince Nayef was selected as crown prince, in what was interpreted as an unusual gesture of dissent. “There are all sorts of family lines who think they should be advantaged,” said F. Gregory Gause, a Gulf specialist at the University of Vermont. “Some will be advantaged, but a large number will be cut out.”

Most of the Saudi royal members got their education abroad especially England and US. Many analysts think that they would break stagnation installed in the Kingdom for about two decades. So there is a great need that the third generation of the Saud dynasty, aged between 50-60 years. There are many rising stars on the Saudi front: Khalid al-Faisal, governor of Mecca, Khalid bin Sultan, deputy defense minister, Mohammed bin Nayef, the son of the late crown prince. As an interior ministry official, Prince Mohammed was credited with bringing under control the Islamic extremist insurgency that plagued the kingdom after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

So it is clear that the kingdom is rich in potential leaders that would take the responsibility to draw up a new vision based on diversifying the GDP sources as the country relies heavily on oil, and that would make the economy vulnerable to oil price instability in the world market. The new generation should deal with the Arab Spring countries as a threat to the regime ‘s existence through easing the restrictions on human rights and freedoms without   breaking the basic rules of Islamic values across the country. And finally, the most crucial issue represents the relations with Shia Islamic Republic of Iran; there should be a balanced policy to contain the Iranian Ayatollahs by working seriously with regional powers Egypt and Turkey.