This week’s big announcement caused a stir in professional golf around the world. It would have no place in geopolitical history were it not for the role played by… Saudi Arabia. Three of the world’s competing circuits have indeed announced their merger, ending the “civil war” in the world of pro golf.

The president of the new entity is called: Yassir Al-Rumayan, President of the Saudi Public Investment Fund. If we add that one of the greats in the world of golf named … Donald Trump, -three of the biggest tournaments take place on his golf courses-, we immediately understand the stakes.

In the same week, we learned that two French football greats, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, would be joining Saudi club Al-Ittihad, property, again, of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. The transfer amount is unknown, but it must be large. They will be joined by other football stars such as Christiano Ronaldo.

So what happened? Simply put, Saudi Arabia, and in particular its crown prince, Mohamed Bin Salman, has decided to invest heavily in the sports, entertainment, culture and creative industries. And he has pockets full.

There are two reasons for this choice. The first is internal. The crown prince has chosen to open the floodgates of a deeply conservative society, but one in which two thirds of the population are under 35. Electro music festivals with DJ David Guetta, doubling of artistic events, creation of new museums… The Wahhabi empire now offers its population programs that were unthinkable just a few years ago.

This was an authoritarian modernization option, as the loosening of the social yoke did not come with any questioning of the feudal political system: zero tolerance of any kind of strife remained the norm. This is similar to the Chinese version of the Saudi model, a permissive social contract, provided that it does not cross political red lines.

The second reason is international: MBS, as the crown prince is called, is playing the “soft power” card, soft influence, to restore his image still marked by the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

For some time now, Saudi Arabia has been in the headlines more for its investments in sports or entertainment than for its violations of human rights, that’s the point! A kind of “sport-washing”… It also stands out for its growing, and increasingly autonomous, role in regional and global diplomacy.

This is a sign of a period of questioning the global balance: countries like Saudi Arabia breaking free from bloc alliances. It is in Beijing that Riyadh reconnected with Iran, the Iranian Embassy reopening its doors this week; and Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, are currently in an eggshell walking empire, not in conquered territory as before.

The crown prince’s all-out strategy had the advantage of changing the kingdom’s image. But it also looks like a balancing act both in its internal transformation and in its international role. Changing everything so nothing changes doesn’t always work.