A visual reading of the heritage and worldviews of new states through postage stamps: United Arab Emirates (1972–2023)

Reading a state’s history on the world political map can be accomplished through words, which is the norm, or through visual images, which are becoming more important in the contemporary world. Those images can be conveyed through holiday events, museums, historical excursions, internet providers, and stamps, all which merit more attention in an increasingly visual-oriented world. Stamps are products of the state and reveal images about people, places, and events for those living within and beyond its borders. Reading stamps provides the casual and focused viewer with what a state wishes to share visually about its past and present. In our examination of the stamps of the UAE, a relatively new state on the world map, we examine the National Postal Authority’s role in the nearly 1500 stamps issued to date. Four distinct themes emerge in its country’s stamp history: an early focus on forming and presenting its own identity; uniting with other nearby Arab countries in the Middle East/Southwest Asia on common cultural and economic interests; its emergence into a global economic arena with many international stamps in the 1980s and 1990s that focused on international banking, sporting events and consumption; and, most recently, themes related to regional diplomacy, nature/environment, and caring. Recent stamps illustrate how an oil-rich and wealthy consumer-oriented state wishes to be viewed regionally and across the globe as an emerging power through its stamp topics and colorful images.