I recently spoke by phone with Kristian Ulrichsen, the author of “The United Arab Emirates: Power, Politics and Policy-Making” and a fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed what’s really behind the rift in this once strong alliance, what’s driving the U.A.E.’s catastrophic intervention in Sudan, and how the Trump Administration’s transactional approach to foreign policy may exacerbate the rivalry between the two countries.journey-inline-newsletterinline-newsletter