Why Saudi Arabia and the UAE are rivals | The Economist

If you look at Saudi Arabia. and the United Arab Emirates, and the United Arab Emirates, they are two countries. with enormous. natural resources and wealth. that derives from that. They're both. ruled by monarchs. They're both. Muslim countries. They have an awful. lot in common. They have a lot of. common interests. And they are ruled. by two men, Muhammad bin Salman. in Saudi Arabia. and Muhammad bin Zayed. in the UAE, who also have. quite a lot in common. They were both younger. brothers who were not always.

intended to be. the rulers. They had a relationship. in which MBZ. in the UAE. was a mentor to MBS. They worked together. in certain. foreign-policy areas. They went into Yemen together. in 2015. They united against. Qatar together. So historically. these two countries, which are geographically. very close. and in many ways. very similar, had really quite. a close relationship. But recently.

that has begun to sour. So Gregg, what went wrong? I think we'll never. know the full story. of what changed. because the royal courts. in this region. are very, very opaque. But I think. broadly two things: one is. you had some. personal animosity. that set in. between these two rulers. MBS in Saudi Arabia. sees himself as the head of. the biggest Gulf country, the biggest Gulf economy, what he considers to be. the natural leader. of this region. And so he wanted to.

call the shots. He wanted to. set the direction. not only for Saudi. foreign policy. but for Gulf foreign policy. more broadly. And I think MBZ in. the UAE came to resent that. He sees his own country. as being more dynamic, as being a significant. middle power, and he resents taking orders. from the younger crown prince. who runs Saudi Arabia. So that's one piece of it. But then these are also. just countries. that see foreign policy. and security. in very different ways. The Saudis are very.

much a part. of the Arab world, the Muslim world. They want to be a leader. in that region. And they have a very. traditional conception. of foreign policy. where, for them, state sovereignty is paramount. It’s the most important thing. The UAE doesn't see it. that way. It is happy to make deals. with countries. outside the region. In fact, very often. it wants to look beyond. the Arab and Muslim world. It is very happy to work. with non-state actors. and breakaway republics. and things.

that are not. traditional states. And it sees itself. as being a hub. for finance. and travel and trade. And that is the root of its. foreign policy. Whereas Saudis. have a much more. traditionalist view. of the world.