How the Iran war broke the ambitions of 'Little Sparta'

How the Iran war broke the ambitions of 'Little Sparta' Submitted by Andreas Krieg on Tue, 05/19/2026 - 20:04 The UAE must abandon the illusion of strategic exceptionalism, and rebuild its autonomy through a collective Gulf security order UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed is pictured in Moscow on 29 January 2026 (Maxim Shipenkov/AFP) On The United Arab Emirates has spent two decades trying to escape the ordinary fate of small states through the network power of hyper-connectivity. It built ports, bought influence, cultivated militias, courted Washington, hedged with Moscow and Beijing, and projected the image of a country too nimble, too wealthy and too useful to be cornered by geography. The “ Little Sparta ” brand sounded less like a nickname than a doctrine: a small federation with middle-power ambitions, relative military excellence and enough networked leverage to shape its strategic environment on its own terms.