Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The UAE’s focus on developing a local defense industry highlights its goals of becoming a global arms supplier for niche markets.
Gulf states are expanding the scope of their military education programs to build a new generation of decisionmakers capable of realizing their strategic ambitions.
Military expressions of national identity are helping Gulf countries boost loyalty to the state yet are likely to exacerbate regional polarization.
By mediating conflicts and combining their assets in the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are slowly cementing an arc of political influence across the region.
The UAE’s growing investment in Yemen’s energy and security infrastructure is increasingly the driving force behind its counterterrorism involvement.
Gulf economic aid has averted Jordan’s debt crisis for now, but further support may require concessions regarding the kingdom’s previously independent foreign policy.
Gulf states are increasingly turning to conscription to heighten nationalist identities and instill a spirit of sacrifice.
While countries in the Maghreb and the Gulf are increasing their security cooperation, they lack a long-term strategic understanding.
The UAE’s desire to counter Iran and maximize influence over Saudi domestic affairs is keeping it involved in Yemen, where its interests are not always in line with Saudi Arabia’s.
Free zones are a major contributor to the Dubai economy, but they could undermine the Emirate’s judicial and constitutional system.
The UAE’s focus on its defense industry indicates its aims to become a more credible military actor by enhancing use of equipment and exporting arms globally.
Tensions persist between Tunisia and its former ally the UAE, but Tunisia hopes renewed ties could balance out its current dependence on Qatar.
Sada launches its first eBook, a collection of essays that explores the region’s deep political changes since the Arab uprisings.
The responses of Gulf Cooperation Council countries to the 2011 uprisings only reinforce a culture of state dependency.
The recent crackdown on the UAE’s civil society highlights its heaviest police strategies—and shows no sign of softening.
Tunisia’s 217-member Constituent Assembly must now write a constitution. What are the next stages of institutional reform?
In the wake of the region’s political tremors, Gulf monarchies are claiming reform of their security sectors. But are the changes enough—and are they genuine?
The Emirates' efforts to improve higher education are impressive, but it is unclear how far they can go without improvements to basic education as well.
A survey of women's political status in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states shows that in some countries women have recently made considerable progress toward formal equality of political rights, but in others they have not. The governing elite in the GCC countries generally supports women's political rights, but strong social sentiment against women's participation in politics persists.
On December 16 the United Arab Emirates will take the first tentative step on the road to political reform. As promised a year ago by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, the country will hold indirect elections for half of the 40 seats in the Federal National Council, the first experience of its kind for the UAE.