Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen 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.

Donald Trump

Israeli Strike in Doha crosses a new Line from which Relations with Gulf may not Recover

By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University (The Conversation) – The Israeli airstrike targeting senior Hamas political leaders in Qatar on Sept. 9, 2025, represents the crossing of a number of lines. Resulting in the deaths of six people but seemingly failing to kill any members of Hamas’ leadership, the strike was the first serious attack […]

Donald Trump

Saudi Arabia, Rehabilitated, is Mediator in Ukraine War, and maybe with Iran

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University (The Conversation) – Saudi Arabia is 2,000 miles from Ukraine and even more politically distant, so at first glance it might seem like it has nothing to do with the ongoing war there. But the Gulf state has emerged as a key intermediary in the most serious ceasefire negotiations […]