Foreign Policy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE): Continuity and Change

Abstract

This paper analyzes how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign policy was built, developed, and evolved by exploring the state’s foreign policy tools throughout two major periods of time; the Zayed era (1971–2004) and the post-Zayed era (2004–today). It utilizes various theoretical methods, concepts, and frameworks of international relations such as ‘small states’ and ‘soft power.’ The paper examines the role of changing leadership, and the effects of regional and international events—such as the Arab Spring—and globalization on the UAE foreign policy in the post-Zayed era. By comparing different aspects of continuity and change in the state’s foreign policy tools across the Zayed and post-Zayed eras, the paper concludes that UAE’s foreign policy in the post-Zayed is a dynamic period that did not pivot away from the original foreign policy goals and principle of the Zayed era. The paper finds that the UAE foreign policy in the post-Zayed era is a mere progressive continuation of the Zayed FP goals and principles.