Beyond rentierism: the United Arab Emirates’ exceptionalism in a turbulent region

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    4 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The Arab-Muslim world is often described negatively as undemocratic, intolerant and economically backward. Rare positive commentary about the region is usually reserved for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states based on the belief that their status as rentier states coupled with immense energy resources has enabled them to escape the failures of the larger region. However, this research posits a United Arab Emirates (UAE) exceptionalism attributed to its internalization of key political, economic and social norms, and the promotion of such norms as a norm entrepreneur. The attractiveness of the UAE’s accomplishments in the region has made it worthy of emulation and, thus, a soft power.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)522-536
    Number of pages15
    JournalContemporary Arab Affairs
    Volume10
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Oct 2 2017

    Keywords

    • constructivism
    • diversification
    • Dutch disease
    • exceptionalism
    • Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
    • norm cycle
    • norm entrepreneur
    • philanthropy
    • rentierism
    • resource curse
    • soft power
    • United Arab Emirates (UAE)

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Cultural Studies
    • Political Science and International Relations

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