Radio War Nerd EP #564 — The UAE Empire, feat. Andreas Krieg + Iraq Elections, feat. Cyrus (Patreon)

Guests: Andreas Krieg + "Cyrus"Recorded: November 20, 2025

Since we launched RWN, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly appeared as a quietly malign player in wars from Libya to the Horn of Africa to the Arabian peninsula, leading to comparisons to the Venetian Republic. This episode we talk to Dr Andreas Krieg about the UAE's rise to regional power, global statecraft and imperial strategies. Friend-o'-the-show Cyrus joins us from Baghdad as guest co-host of this episode, and to fill us in on the results of Iraq's recent elections.

First - Cyrus reports on Iraq's elections and the state of its democracyAt 33:50 - Music interlude by Brendon Anderegg. Check out music from his group Mountains hereAt 35:50 - Our interview with Andreas Krieg on the UAE

Read Andreas' article "Security assistance to surrogates – how the UAE secures its regional objectives" (Mediterranean Politics, 2023) which we discuss. Follow Andreas on Twitter.

Total time: 1:39:06Direct link to this episode's mp3 here

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Sound production by Telescope Audio