Once closely aligned on regional security, Saudi Arabia and the UAE now find themselves pursuing competing ambitions in Yemen, Sudan and beyond, testing the limits of their partnership.
If you want to understand the details of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, read it - a lot becomes clearer.
Personally, it reminded me of German dualism - the century-long rivalry between Prussia and Austria for leadership in Germany. But I do not believe there will be a direct war between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
At least not as long as the Islamic Republic exists.
Dear Helen,I am glad you enjoyed reading the article. What you mention is an interesting comparison, especially the question of regional leadership. I also think the rivalry is more likely to play out through competing alliances, economic ambitions and influence in neighbouring countries than through direct confrontation. Your point about Iran is interesting, but I wonder whether the rivalry would necessarily diminish if the Iranian threat disappeared, given how many of their disagreements are not necessarily strictly connected to Iran.
I really hope the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the UAE does not turn into a full-scale confrontation.
But I also take into account that autocratic countries are much more vulnerable to the weaknesses of their leaders than democratic countries with more independent institutions are.
Although judging by Trump, democracy is no guarantee either.
I agree that institutions make an important difference here; one of the concerns with the Saudi-UAE relationship is exactly, in my opinion, how much depends on the personal understanding between their leaders, rather than established mechanisms for dealing with disagreements. And as you also point out democratic institutions are not immune to these challenges either even if in theory they should be able to provide additional checks on individual decisions
Excellent article.
If you want to understand the details of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, read it - a lot becomes clearer.
Personally, it reminded me of German dualism - the century-long rivalry between Prussia and Austria for leadership in Germany. But I do not believe there will be a direct war between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
At least not as long as the Islamic Republic exists.
Dear Helen,I am glad you enjoyed reading the article. What you mention is an interesting comparison, especially the question of regional leadership. I also think the rivalry is more likely to play out through competing alliances, economic ambitions and influence in neighbouring countries than through direct confrontation. Your point about Iran is interesting, but I wonder whether the rivalry would necessarily diminish if the Iranian threat disappeared, given how many of their disagreements are not necessarily strictly connected to Iran.
Thank you for noticing my comment.
I really hope the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the UAE does not turn into a full-scale confrontation.
But I also take into account that autocratic countries are much more vulnerable to the weaknesses of their leaders than democratic countries with more independent institutions are.
Although judging by Trump, democracy is no guarantee either.
I agree that institutions make an important difference here; one of the concerns with the Saudi-UAE relationship is exactly, in my opinion, how much depends on the personal understanding between their leaders, rather than established mechanisms for dealing with disagreements. And as you also point out democratic institutions are not immune to these challenges either even if in theory they should be able to provide additional checks on individual decisions
I’m with you on that.