Allies at Odds: Tracking the Rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

Abstract:

This thesis addresses the emerging rivalry between two allies: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It tracks differences in how they have handled three civil wars in their region (Yemen, Sudan, and Syria), funding competing proxies and working toward different goals. Using historical and interview data on the two countries' increasingly divergent foreign policies, I test how well core theories from the alliance cohesion literature explain Emirati and Saudi foreign policy behavior, particularly the emerging rift between the two.