If the ruling Al-Sa'ud family of Saudi Arabia didn't already know how important the country is in world geopolitics, the wall to wall coverage of the passing of King 'Abdallah and his replacement by half-brother Salman should provide them the answer. The coverage is split, some praising 'Abdallah as a reformer, and fervently hoping that Salman is a "moderate", others concentrating on conservatism of his rule, the beheadings, the whippings and the servility of women in this obscured oil kingdom. Whatever the truth, Saudi Arabia is a country that excites passion, often directed at its staggering, ostentatious wealth, obscurantist conservatism or lamentable human rights record. The reality is that it is a country easy to judge, but much harder to understand; a reflection on the reign of 'Abdallah and the early actions of Salman provides just such an opportunity to understand. What is clear in the smooth transition to Salman is that the core tenets of Saudi Arabia and the Al-Sa'ud – stability and continuity – will remain. There is to be no radical rupture with the past leading to instantaneous reform, but no return to the past either.

Like the state he ruled, 'Abdallah was often seen at odds with the modern world around him; a nonagerian ruler with a stammer ruling a country where 60% of the population is under 30, and twitter usage is the highest in the world. 'Abdallah was a man of his country, and the tribal traditions he emerged from, a deep conservative unwilling to challenge the fundamental status quo of religiosity and patriachy, says Charlie Pratt..