Why is...the Gulf so geopolitically important?

About this episode

The episode explores the geopolitical significance of the Gulf, featuring insights from Laleh Khalili on historical and contemporary issues.

In this episode, we tackle a question that cuts to the heart of today’s global power struggles: Why is the Gulf so geopolitically important? To unpack this question, we are joined by Laleh Khalili, Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter. In conversation with host Polly Pallister-Wilkins she discusses the escalating tensions surrounding the US and Israeli war on Iran, the strategic implications of a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the wider risks of oil price shocks and global economic disruption. Moving beyond headline geopolitics, the conversation situates these developments within broader histories of empire, extraction, and capitalist accumulation. Laleh Khalili explains how the Gulf has been shaped by long-standing imperial entanglements and what this means for how we should understand its international relations and political economy today. Laleh Khalili’s work has been central to analysing the infrastructures and logics of contemporary capitalism and war. Amongst other works, she is the author of Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula and Extractive Capitalism: How Commodities and Cronyism Drive the Global…

People in this episode

Host: Polly Pallister-Wilkins

Guest: Laleh Khalili

Topics covered

• geopolitics
• Gulf Studies
• US-Iran relations
• oil price shocks
• empire
• capitalism

Keywords

• Gulf
• geopolitics
• Iran
• oil
• empire
• capitalism
• Strait of Hormuz
• economic disruption

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Exeter

Books & works: Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula, Extractive Capitalism: How Commodities and Cronyism Drive the Global Economy

Places: Gulf, Iran, Strait of Hormuz

More episodes of Voices: The EISA Podcast

• Why is...US Dollar Hegemony under Threat? · April 10, 2026 · 44 min
• Why is...Denmark unwelcoming to Refugees? · March 13, 2026 · 38 min
• What is...Green Militarism? · February 13, 2026 · 46 min
• What is...the Arms Trade? · January 9, 2026 · 1h 6m
• In Conversation with Daniel Quiroga-Villamarín · December 12, 2025 · 39 min
• Why is…the Recognition of Palestinian Statehood Causing Debate? · November 14, 2025 · 58 min