After decades of empty talk, reforms in Gulf states are real—but risky

Latin is rare in Riyadh, but the phrase (“bread and circuses”) was the best way one Saudi writer knew to express his misgivings about the state of his country. , the writer explained, had put his own spin on an ancient idea. The crown prince was taking away the bread, . Meanwhile he had made the circuses themselves a civic duty: go forth and have fun to help build a new Saudi Arabia.It seemed to be working. The prince was popular, particularly among young people. Yet the writer sensed a contradiction. The kingdom was throwing billions of dollars at diversions, from a dubious new golf tour to a colossal contract for Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese footballer, even as it insisted it could no longer lavish benefits on citizens. But how long could Saudis live on circuses alone?