United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a union of seven small emirates along the eastern Persian Gulf coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The city of Abu Dhabi was selected as the nation's capital when the union was created in 1971 and takes up nearly ninety percent of the nation's entire area. The six other emirates include Dubayy (Dubai), 'Ajman, Ash-Shariqah (Sharjah), Umm al-Qaywayn, and Ra's al-Khaymah, and Al- Fujayrah. Political power is divided between the central federal and emirate governments; the head of state is UAE president who is chosen by the Supreme Council of the Union made up of the rulers of the seven emirates. There are no political parties and most political power rests in the hands of the emirs and their families. Oil was discovered in UAE in 1958 and oil production began in 1969. The economy is now dominated by the petroleum industry, reserves concentrated in the Abu Dhabi and Dubayy emirates, and the government owns a controlling interest in all oil-producing companies in the country. British, French and Japanese interests also own parts of those companies. UAE also holds a significant portion of the world's natural gas reserves.
Like most countries within the Persian Gulf region, UAE is a tribal society with family and clan connections underlying both politics and economics. UAE does not grant citizenship freely, partly out of reluctance to share wealth with new citizens, but also out of desire to maintain the tribal rule and societal structure. The reluctance to grant citizenship often becomes problematic as the Arab-Israeli conflict continues in the Middle East and the call for a single Arab nation becomes stronger. While Arab nationalism calls for unity based not on religion (Islam), but on common ethnicity, history, language and interests, the movement still has its roots in the deeply religious Arab-Israeli conflict. Specifically, both Jews and Arabs lay claim to the small strip of land in the Middle East called Palestine, a region that includes the Holy Land sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. In 1947, the United Kingdom appealed to the United Nations to resolve the conflict, resulting in the division of Palestine, giving approximately half to the Jews and half to the Arabs. The city of Jerusalem, the holy city of all three religions, was designated to become an international city administered by a UN council. However, because many Arabs lived in the section given to the Jews, among other reasons, many Arabs opposed the UN's decision, tensions often escalating to violence. The declaration of Israel as an independent nation in 1948 sparked a series of wars and continuing conflict between Zionists and Arabs. Major wars were fought in 1948 to 1949, 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982, during which the map of the Middle East was redrawn numerous times. The conflict continues into the twenty-first century with numerous uprisings and violent clashes between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
While UAE has been spared much involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict since it does not lie within Palestine (most of its problems with foreign relations have been related to difficulties with neighboring Iran and Iraq), it is still affected by the conflict as an Arab and Islamic state and as a Middle Eastern country in general. Because of the conflict, many Arabs leave Palestine and search for homes in surrounding countries like UAE. Today, the tendency in modern Arab politics is the need for a single Arab nation of which all Arabs could be citizens. Proponents argue that these Arabs should be granted citizenship freely in these surrounding countries because of their ethnicity, coinciding with the idea of the single Arab nation. UAE is an Islamic Arab state -- the nation's constitution designates sharia (Islamic law) as the basis for all legislation and the majority of its citizens is ethnically Arab and Sunni Muslim. However, an influx of Arabs from Palestine as well as other surrounding areas could challenge the way of life and national identity of UAE. A large number of non-tribal Arabs as new citizens could try to change the current state of tribal rule within UAE.
Additionally, the discovery of oil has also introduced new challenges to the way of life and national identity of UAE. The growing economy, resulting movement of foreign workers into the country and increased contact with the West has increasingly influenced culture and society within UAE. First, the prevalence of foreigners in UAE has increased dramatically since 1968. A large number of migrant workers began to move into the country as a result of the growing oil industry. In fact, less than one-fifth of the country's population today are citizens. Most people living in UAE are foreign workers and their dependents,...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now