The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by regime operatives shocked the international community and tarnished the reputation of the young, reformist Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. This book situates the murder in the context of the duality of reform and repression and challenges common wisdom about the inevitability of the latter. The author dismisses defunct views about the inescapable 'Oriental Despotism' as the only pathway to genuine reform in the country. Focusing on the prince's divisive domestic, social and economic reforms, the author argues that the current wave of unprecedented repression is a function of the prince consolidating his power outside of the traditional consensus of royal family members and influential Saudi groups.