How the Turkey-UAE Rivalry is remaking the Middle East

How can the EU prevent the Turkey-UAE rivalry from destabilising European security and foreign policy?

To load the audio player provided by Soundcloud, click the button below. This means Soundcloud will receive technical data about your device or browser, as well as information about your visit on this page. Soundcloud may use cookies and may transfer your data to servers outside the EU, where the level of data protection may not be equivalent to that in the EU. For more information visit our privacy policy.

Load player

PGlmcmFtZSB0aXRsZT0iSG93IHRoZSBUdXJrZXktVUFFIFJpdmFscnkgaXMgcmVtYWtpbmcgdGhlIE1pZGRsZSBFYXN0IGJ5IE1hcmsgTGVvbmFyZCYjMDM5O3MgV29ybGQgaW4gMzAgTWludXRlcyIgd2lkdGg9IjY0MCIgaGVpZ2h0PSIzOTAiIHNjcm9sbGluZz0ibm8iIGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyPSJubyIgc3JjPSJodHRwczovL3cuc291bmRjbG91ZC5jb20vcGxheWVyLz92aXN1YWw9dHJ1ZSZ1cmw9aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZhcGkuc291bmRjbG91ZC5jb20lMkZ0cmFja3MlMkYxMDIwMTk2NzgwJnNob3dfYXJ0d29yaz10cnVlJm1heGhlaWdodD0zOTAmbWF4d2lkdGg9NjQwIj48L2lmcmFtZT4=

Despite the asymmetry in their size, population, and military prowess, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been engaged in a decade-long rivalry. This confrontation is not only feeding regional instability but is also deepening Europe’s divisions, making it more difficult for the European Union and its member states to develop a cohesive policy on the Mediterranean. This week, host Mark Leonard talks to Asli Aydıntaşbaş, ECFR´s Turkey expert, Cinzia Bianco, visiting fellow working on the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf region, as well as Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at ECFR. Together, they examine the origins of the rivalry, its impacts on the EU, as well as the arenas in which the rivalry outplays. Finally, they try to answer a most critical question: How can the EU prevent the Turkey-UAE rivalry from destabilising European security and foreign policy?

This podcast was recorded on 31 March 2021. 

Further reading: 

Bookshelf: 

Cover image:
Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is welcomed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he arrives for a meeting in Ankara in 2012
Image by REUTERS/Umit Bektas
©

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

We will store your email address and gather analytics on how you interact with our mailings. You can unsubscribe or opt-out at any time. Find out more in our privacy notice.