This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler21 Feb 2024

New Power in the Gulf – The rise of “MBZ”

From Cop28 to Manchester City to the attempted purchase of the Telegraph newspaper, the United Arab Emirates are suddenly flexing power and prestige across the Gulf. Behind it all is Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, known as MBZ, who mixes a show of modernisation with an iron will, especially regarding human rights. Who is MBZ? How has his tiny state become such a global player? And are the UAE a friend or a foe of democracies? Emma Beals talks to Dr Andreas Krieg, fellow at the Institute of Middle East Studies at King’s College London, and Middle East expert Dr Talal Mohammad to find out how MBZ is buying his way to power. • “9/11 was a formative moment for him. He saw how powerful these Islamist networks could be in his own country… it brought about a perception of ‘If you’re not with us, you’re against us’.” – Dr Andreas Krieg • “As long as the major world powers are divided, then the UAE, Saudi and the others will try to exploit that situation.” – Dr Talal Mohammad • “Everyone who knows him from Sandhurst says he’s not one of these spoilt princes. He is highly disciplined and he has a vision of what he wants for the UAE.” – Dr Andreas Krieg Gavin Esler returns next week. Support This Is Not A Drill on Patreon to get early episodes, merchandise and more. Written and presented by Emma Beals. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(248)

Russia’s Drone War on Europe has begun

On August 4th a drone strapped with explosives failed to detonate when it struck a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig Airport. German security services investigating the device pointed the blame at Russia’s G...

8 Okt 26min

The Middle East’s new choke point – How the Houthis could spark a fresh oil crisis

A surge in violence in Yemen has seen Houthi forces seize land on the Red Sea coast – reigniting a war with Saudi Arabia and threatening a further global energy shock. The Iranian-aligned group has i...

1 Okt 30min

Chaos, rare earths and ethnic cleansing – The major conflict you know nothing about

The civil war in Myanmar is Asia’s deadliest ongoing conflict – yet despite violence which has killed more than 100,000 people it rarely dominates international headlines. In today’s episode Oz Kater...

24 Sep 34min

New Weapons for New Wars – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE goes to war

Completing the four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Warfare is evolving faster than ever in this dangerous world. Gavin Esler explores a new generation of weapons and how they’ll fight – or prev...

17 Sep 45min

New Weapons for New Wars – DEFENCE SYSTEMS get smart

A four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Warfare is evolving faster than ever in this dangerous world. Gavin Esler explores a new generation of weapons and how they’ll fight – or prevent – the nex...

10 Sep 40min

New Weapons for New Wars – MISSILES: The next generation

A new four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Warfare is evolving faster than ever in this dangerous world. Gavin Esler explores a new generation of weapons and how they’ll fight – or prevent – the...

3 Sep 35min

New Weapons for New Wars – How DRONES change everything

A new four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Putin thought he could conquer Ukraine with a tank, air and infantry-led attack straight out of the Second World War. Instead Kyiv turned the tables on...

27 Aug 45min

New Weapons for New Wars - trailer

Is everything we knew about warfare changing right before our eyes? The war in Ukraine began with tanks and infantry...and now drones dominate in the battle for dominance. In a brand new four-part ...

25 Aug 3min