Jackson School of International Studies Affiliate Professor and Baker Institute fellow for the Middle East, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, recently sat for an interview with Faisal Abdulhameed Al-Mudahka, Editor-In-Chief of the Gulf Times. They discussed US President Donald Trump’s recent calls for reconciliation in the gulf crisis and the challenge of mending divisions of trust between the Gulf States.
Ulrichsen emphasised that the US “would need to make it very clear to all the parties, including the quartet against Qatar, that it wants to see an end” to the Gulf crisis.
“But even that may not be enough,” he noted, citing how Trump “encouraged” a telephone call between His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman in September 2017.
See the full interview here.
Professor Coates Ulrichsen also recently wrote a memo for the Project on Middle East Political Science entitled “Endgames for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen.” In this memo, Coates Ulrichsen discusses the reconfigurations of power in Gulf politics in relation to the Saudi and UAE-led coalitions and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. He states:
The humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen and absence of a clear or credible exit strategy has the potential to sap international confidence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE just as they embark on a formal military and political partnership that likely will increase further their regional assertiveness.[12] While the mercurial nature of the Donald J. Trump presidency in the U.S. may dilute scrutiny of Saudi and Emirati policies, their management of the Yemen campaign casts significant doubt on the extent to which either country can hope to become a producer – rather than consumer – of regional security.
To see the full memo, click here.
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen is an affiliate faculty member of the Middle East Center and a frequent commentator on current events in the Middle East. To see more recent contributions by Professor Coates Ulrichsen, see the following links below.
Professor Ulrichen’s article written in Gulf State Analytics, 1/31/18: “Fire and fury in the Gulf”
Professor Ulrichsen quoted in the Washington Post, 1/26/18: “Why it won’t be easy to resolve Yemen’s many wars,” by Stacey Philbrick Yadav and Marc Lynch
Professor Ulrichsen quoted in the New York Times, 1/22/18: “Tiny, Wealthy Qatar Goes Its Own Way, and Pays for It,” by Declan Walsh