Kristian Ulrichsen

🙏

Iran’s targeting of airport, ports and hotels in reaction to US strikes has forced Gulf nations onto front lines of a war they want no part in Qatar, the UAE and other Gulf nations have spent years cultivating an image of being an oasis of stability in the Mideast. The current war risks undoing all that work.

Helpful analysis from @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social for @theconversation.com

Iran’s targeting of airport, ports and hotels in reaction to US strikes has forced Gulf nations onto front lines of a war they want no part in
theconversation.com/irans-target...

Very kind, thank you for reading!

@kristianulrichsen.bsky.social has managed not to disgrace himself before @ichotiner.bsky.social which surely must merit an award

Grateful to Danyel for taking the time to read and review Kingdom of Football, and for raising excellent suggestions for further research.

Kingdom of Football: Saudi Arabia and the Remaking of World Soccer My review of the book 'Kingdom of Football: Saudi Arabia and the Remaking of World Soccer,' by Kristian Coates Ulrichsen. London, UK: Hurst, 2025. 264 pages.

I tremendously enjoyed reading and reviewing @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social book "Kingdom of Football: Saudi Arabia and the Remaking of World Soccer" for the Middle East Journal.
www.academia.edu/164648054/Ki...

World Cup Waitlist — RESISTANCE STUDIES SERIES

Friends!

The New School has cancelled one of its most popular graduate courses, Global Soccer and World Politics.

We want to host this course for @resistanceschool.bsky.social ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Interested? Fill the interest form here!

www.resistancestudiesseries.com/worldcupwait...

Man who moved abroad to avoid hundreds of millions of pounds of tax and whose business have benefited from hundreds of millions of pounds of public funds believes that, 'Britain has been "colonised" by immigrants, who are draining resources from the state.'

Back in Oxford for the first time in 13 years. Will be speaking about my book, Kingdom of Football, at St Antony’s College tomorrow.

Anyone book reviews editors want a review of @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social’s kingdom of football from me?

Extraordinary detail from 2017 (a year before Jamal Khashoggi’s murder). Wonder if the human rights community in Norway is aware of this entity and individual

Gulf States on the Frontline of U.S.-Iran Volatility - AGSI From a Gulf perspective, red lines keep being crossed, and the guardrails for avoiding entanglement in conflict prove unsatisfactory.

Webs of positive interconnectivity present win-win solutions for the United States and Gulf states but need a predictable and reliable decision-making landscape if they are to maximize results. @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social

Gulf States on the Frontline of U.S.-Iran Volatility - AGSI From a Gulf perspective, red lines keep being crossed, and the guardrails for avoiding entanglement in conflict prove unsatisfactory.

Mixed messaging from the Trump administration after the removal of Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela may only have amplified feelings of unease that U.S. policymakers lack a “day after” plan. @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social

Gulf States on the Frontline of U.S.-Iran Volatility - AGSI From a Gulf perspective, red lines keep being crossed, and the guardrails for avoiding entanglement in conflict prove unsatisfactory.

While there is little affinity in Gulf capitals for the regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran, there is also a risk that leadership with its back to the wall might engage in a desperate last stand by abandoning all restraint. @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social

Gulf States on the Frontline of U.S.-Iran Volatility - AGSI From a Gulf perspective, red lines keep being crossed, and the guardrails for avoiding entanglement in conflict prove unsatisfactory.

Multiple dilemmas are metastasizing in U.S.-Gulf relations as the White House has grown increasingly unpredictable and, post-Venezuela intervention, arguably more cavalier in its conduct of foreign policy. @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social

Gulf States on the Frontline of U.S.-Iran Volatility - AGSI From a Gulf perspective, red lines keep being crossed, and the guardrails for avoiding entanglement in conflict prove unsatisfactory.

U.S.-Iranian tensions rose sharply when President Donald J. Trump pledged to help Iranian citizens in the face of violent suppression of mass protests that erupted across the country in late-December 2025. @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social

As news comes in that the Asian Winter Games will not take place in Saudi Arabia in 2029, this is my penultimate paragraph in Kingdom of Football, published in 2025

Gulf States on the Frontline of U.S.-Iran Volatility - AGSI From a Gulf perspective, red lines keep being crossed, and the guardrails for avoiding entanglement in conflict prove unsatisfactory.

My latest analysis of regional developments

agsi.org/analysis/gul...

Saudi-UAE bust-up over Yemen was only a matter of time − and reflects wider rift over vision for the region Initially, the two gulf states were in alignment over Yemen’s civil war. But the Arab coalition’s unity has long since gone.

Good backgrounder on Saudi-UAE conflict and its implications for regional security. By @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social

theconversation.com/saudi-uae-bu...

The Saudi-UAE Rivalry Will Continue to Destabilize the Middle East The erstwhile allies find themselves increasingly at odds over their conflicting visions of regional order.

Once allies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE now find themselves increasingly at odds over conflicting visions of the regional order, @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social writes.

Thank you so much for reviewing my book 🙏

Very defensive unfortunately

Unlike the previous case in August, which I caught in peer review, this latest one is in an already-published volume.

And when I googled the 'article' to see what came up, I received an 'AI Overview' of 'Key themes likely covered in this article.'

Where are we going with this?

Sigh. Just came across another case of an AI-generated hallucinated reference to an interesting yet completely fictitious article I supposedly wrote. (Ulrichsen, K. C. (2018). Qatar and the Gulf crisis: Negotiating unity, resilience, and security. International Affairs, 94(5).)

This 💯

If an academic depends on a LLM hallucinated study in their work, it's embarrassing and could mean wasted time and lost prestige.

If an attorney depends on a LLM hallucinated precedent or law, it's potentially career ending and already has been for some. I like my license to practice, thanks.

Speaking at the Doha Forum today, @marcowenjones.bsky.social highlights that "almost every disinformation campaign now uses AI" and observes that "it's a force multiplier."

Kudos to @rusi.bsky.social for organizing and leading an excellent discussion about cyber statecraft in the Middle East.

Who is Amjad Taha?

From Bahrain-era provocateur to “Emirati expert,” from front organisations to UK court rulings, this is a deep dive and long read into one of the most consistently platformed disinfluencers in Western media.

#Dysinfluence

marcowenjones.substack.com/p/who-is-amj...

Such a fascinating pair of episodes.

I did not have the Regius Professor of History at Cambridge doing such uncanny impersonations of Donald Trump on my 2025 bingo card.