This study seeks to explain the rationale and mechanisms underlying Saudi Arabia’s strategic shift toward a policy of “active balancing” between the East and the West. The central research question examines how, and through which mechanisms, Riyadh pursues a strategy of diversifying its international partnerships and balancing among major powers. The study hypothesizes that Saudi Arabia, under the simultaneous influence of structural transformations in the international system and domestic developmental imperatives, has adopted a multidimensional strategy encompassing political, economic, and security domains in order to reduce its exclusive dependence on the West and enhance its strategic autonomy within an evolving global order.

The findings indicate that Saudi Arabia, particularly during the era of Mohammed bin Salman and within the framework of Vision 2030, has gradually redirected its foreign policy from the traditional model of conservative pro-Western alignment toward a strategy of active balancing among global powers. The expansion of cooperation with China in the fields of energy, technology, and investment, collaboration with Russia through the OPEC+ framework, and the simultaneous preservation of security ties with the United States collectively reflect Riyadh’s efforts to position itself as a “pivot state” within the emerging multipolar order. Furthermore, security developments in West Asia in 2026 demonstrated Saudi Arabia’s determination to reduce regional tensions while managing relations with competing powers in parallel, with the aim of safeguarding domestic stability and advancing its national objectives. The study is theoretically grounded in Randall Schweller’s Balance of Interests theory and employs a descriptive-analytical research methodology.