The last time, and luckily this hasn't really happened since 1990, there was minimal resistance from the Kuwaiti and the Saudi forces. So, this obviously is 30 years ago, but there is little reason to believe that in spite of the hundreds of billions of dollars that is spent on armaments, this state of affairs has changed. Let me just put it this way. Nobody in Tehran is losing any sleep over the prowess of any of the Gulf militaries.

Zoltan Barany

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Armies of Arabia: Military Politics and Effectiveness in the Gulf here.

Zoltan Barany is the Frank C. Erwin, Jr. Centennial Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Armies of Arabia: Military Politics and Effectiveness in the Gulf.

Key Highlights

• What should be expected of the militaries of the Gulf countries?
• Would the Gulf countries be threatened without the American security guarantee?
• What types of military investments do the Gulf countries make?
• What has the Yemeni War taught us about armies of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries?
• How does the leadership of MBS differ from MBZ?

Key Links

Armies of Arabia: Military Politics and Effectiveness in the Gulf by Zoltan Barany

Robert Strauss Center For International Security and Law

Center for Strategic & International Studies

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