Biography
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Ph.D., is a fellow for the Middle East at the Baker Institute and co-director of the Middle East Energy Roundtable. His research examines the changing position of Persian Gulf states in the global order, as well as the emergence of longer-term, nonmilitary challenges to regional security. Previously, he worked as senior Gulf analyst at the Gulf Center for Strategic Studies and as co-director of the Kuwait Program on Development, Governance and Globalization in the Gulf States at the London School of Economics.
Coates Ulrichsen has published extensively on the Gulf. His books include “Insecure Gulf: The End of Certainty and the Transition to the Post-Oil Era” (Hurst & Co., 2011), “The Gulf States in International Political Economy” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), “The United Arab Emirates: Power, Politics, and Policymaking” (Routledge, 2016), and “Qatar and the Gulf Crisis” (Oxford University Press, 2020), and, most recently, “Centers of Power in the Arab Gulf States” (Hurst & Co., 2023). Coates Ulrichsen’s articles have appeared in numerous academic journals, including Global Policy and the Journal of Arabian Studies, and Third World Quarterly and he consults regularly on Gulf issues for government and private sector agencies around the world. Coates Ulrichsen holds a doctorate in history from the University of Cambridge.
Contact at [email protected] or 206-915-8028.
Recent Publications
In Hamodia: Risky Business in Yemen
On the Houthis in Yemen and their recent attacks on American and Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea, Coates Ulrichsen said: “Until there’s a path towards a stop to the war in Gaza or at least the current phase of the military operation there, it’s hard to see what would get the Houthis to stop these attacks.”
In Business Insider: Gulf Nations Eye Dubai's Success
Saudi Arabia’s plans include making international travel a priority and building Neom, a $500B futuristic city. “The scale of the plans from Saudi Arabia, if they succeed, would really dwarf anything Dubai has ever done,” said Coates Ulrichsen.
In Chatham House: The Gulf States Have the Power to Revive Two-state Solution
“Clearly, the Saudis are now going to demand a very high price in terms of meaningful concessions towards Palestinians. Netanyahu is not going to want to do that at all,” said Coates Ulrichsen. “But there is an opportunity for [Saudi Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Salman to position himself as the man who got the Palestinians their state – if he can do it. He knows that the Israelis and the US, especially the US, really want normalization to happen, regardless of whether it is Biden or Trump again.”