Die wachsende Kluft zwischen Saudi-Arabien und den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten

In the years after he was named the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia, in 2015, Mohammed bin Salman—known informally as M.B.S.—has accumulated remarkable power in the country. Saudi Arabia, under his de-facto leadership, embarked on a military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, temporarily kidnapped the Prime Minister of Lebanon, and blockaded Qatar. Many of these actions were part of a campaign to isolate Iran, whose Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, M.B.S. referred to in 2017 as “the new Hitler.” While conducting his aggressive foreign policy, M.B.S. had a close ally: Mohamed bin Zayed, the President of the United Arab Emirates. “M.B.Z. saw M.B.S. as a younger version of himself: smart, energetic, and eager to confront enemies,” Dexter Filkins reported for this magazine in 2018.

In the past few months, however, things have changed. The alliance that promised to reshape the Middle East has collapsed into acrimony, with Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. on different sides of violent conflicts in Yemen and in Sudan. The two countries are increasingly competing for economic opportunities in the region, while Saudi Arabia sees the U.A.E. as too willing to ally with Israel, and the U.A.E. seems resentful of Saudi Arabia’s power.

Isaac Chotiner recently spoke with Kristian Ulrichsen, the author of “The United Arab Emirates: Power, Politics and Policy-Making.” During their conversation, they discussed what’s really behind the rift in this once strong alliance, what’s driving the U.A.E.’s catastrophic intervention in Sudan, and how the Trump Administration’s transactional approach to foreign policy may exacerbate the rivalry between the two countries. Read more: [https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-growing-rift-between-saudi-arabia-and-the-uae](https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-growing-rift-between-saudi-arabia-and-the-uae)