Politics of the United Arab Emirates

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Politics of the United Arab Emirates take place in a framework of a federal presidential elective constitutional monarchy[1] (a federation of absolute monarchies).[2] The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven constituent monarchies: the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain.

According to convention, the ruler of Abu Dhabi (Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan) is the president of the United Arab Emirates (despite holding the title of president, the country is not governed as a presidential republic) and the head of state, and the ruler of Dubai is the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, the head of the government. Within the UAE, emirates have considerable administrative autonomy within themselves.[3][4]

The UAE is an authoritarian state.[3][5][6][7] The UAE has been described as a "tribal autocracy" where the seven constituent monarchies are led by tribal rulers in an autocratic fashion.[8] There are no democratically elected institutions, and there is no formal commitment to free speech.[9]

The discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi in 1958 and the country's subsequent oil wealth has defined its politics and economy, as well as shaped its foreign policy behavior.[10]

  1. ^ "United Arab Emirates Constitution". UAE Ministry of Justice. Archived from the original on 2022-06-14. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Vatican to Emirates, monarchs keep the reins in modern world". The Times of India. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Herb, Michael (2009). "A Nation of Bureaucrats: Political Participation and Economic Diversification in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 41 (3): 375–395. doi:10.1017/S0020743809091119. ISSN 1471-6380. JSTOR 40389253. S2CID 154366494. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  4. ^ Macintyre, Ben. "High court battle lifts lid on sheikh's secret kingdom". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  5. ^ Ledstrup, Martin (2019). Nationalism and Nationhood in the United Arab Emirates. Palgrave. p. 10. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-91653-8. ISBN 978-3-319-91652-1. S2CID 158959849. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  6. ^ "Hypocrisy of Dubai's World Tolerance Summit". Human Rights Watch. 2018-11-14. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  7. ^ "United Arab Emirates says it will offer citizenship to some". Associated Press. 2021-01-30. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  8. ^ Krane, Jim (2009-09-15). City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-4299-1899-2. Archived from the original on 2023-02-19. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  9. ^ Stack, Liam (2017-04-30). "Dubai Introduces Its Own Font, Lauding Free Expression It Does Not Permit". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  10. ^ Krane, Jim (2019). Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-17930-0. Archived from the original on 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2021-07-02.