The Saudi Story

Following the toppling of dictators in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya and the continued struggles of the Assad regime in Syria, a myth is taking hold that the whole Arab region has become consumed by a desire for Western democracy. BBC security correspondent and fluent Arabic speaker Frank Gardner travels to Saudi Arabia to challenge this common misconception and examine what the future now holds for the Gulf's most powerful monarchy. Travelling from the opulent palaces of Riyadh through to the bustling backstreets of Jeddah, Gardner meets members of the monarchy as well as women's rights activists, writers and journalists and shares his own knowledge of a famously closed region in light of the rapidly changing Arab world.