The appointment of Prince Muqrin to what is described as the "key" post of Second Deputy Prime Minister in Saudi Arabia has caused a flurry of excitement among riyadologists.

Writing for Al-Monitor, Thomas Lippman notes that Prince Muqrin is "relatively youthful". In fact he's 67 but in Saudi Arabia such things are always relative.

While it may be useful for diplomats and the like to know who stands where in the princely pecking order, the trouble with riyadology* is that it tends to over-emphasise the significance of minute twitches in what is fundamentally a rotten and unreformable system.

For example, in an article for Open Democracy under the sub-heading "Meritocratic moves", Michael Stephens describes "a very meaningful shift away from traditionalism towards a system based more on meritocracy". 

Stephens is actually talking about a blatant case of nepotism – the appointment of Prince Muhammad bin Nayef as interior minister. Prince Muhammad, of course, is the eldest son of the late Prince Nayef who spent 37 years as the kingdom's interior minister.

If you're wondering how that could be meritocratic, the answer is that Prince Muhammad was promoted to the job "ahead of the incumbent Prince Ahmed, his uncle and senior by some 20 years".

Meanwhile, Stephens hails the rise of Prince Muqrin as a sign that the kingdom's monarchical rule is becoming "more consultative andhierarchically horizontal". 

* Riyadology: the study of royal politics in Saudi Arabia.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 5 February 2013.