The Contemporary United Arab Emirates

The Contemporary United Arab Emirates

From Surviving State to Assertive Power

This book is the fourth book in the Contemporary  Gulf state  series, and seeks to define the era of contemporary history in the Arab Gulf region. This book tracks the evolution of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from a surviving state to an assertive power, since early 1990s, providing a holistic and an integrated account of the contemporary UAE from an interdisciplinary perspective. To date, most accounts of the UAE in existing literature focus on one particular aspect of the UAE. This book stands apart in its multifaceted approach to Emirati politics, culture, and society. Relevant to researchers, students and policymakers, the volume maps the new trends and dynamics in and around this rapidly changing Gulf country. In doing so, the book cultivates a current and comprehensive account of the current developments and debates in, and surrounding, the UAE.

This book is the fourth book in the Contemporary  Gulf state  series, and seeks to define the era of contemporary history in the Arab Gulf region. This book tracks the evolution of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from a surviving state to an assertive power, since early 1990s, providing a holistic and an integrated account of the contemporary UAE from an interdisciplinary perspective. To date, most accounts of the UAE in existing literature focus on one particular aspect of the UAE. This book stands apart in its multifaceted approach to Emirati politics, culture, and society. Relevant to researchers, students and policymakers, the volume maps the new trends and dynamics in and around this rapidly changing Gulf country. In doing so, the book cultivates a current and comprehensive account of the current developments and debates in, and surrounding, the UAE.

Highlights

• Covers continuities and changes within the United Arab Emirates in a holistic, multidisciplinary approach Is to collate aspects of history, governance, diplomacy, culture, society, and economics in the UAE context Maps the new trends and dynamics in and around this rapidly changing Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country

Über den Autor

Mahjoob Zweiri is a Professor in Contemporary Politics and History of the Middle East with a focus on Iran and the Gulf region. He is a visiting professor in the Politics and International Relations program at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. He is also an Editor at the Encyclopedia Arabica published by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. He was a professor at the Gulf Studies Center from 2018 to 2025. He was also Director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, 2018–2024, and the Head of the Humanities Department, 2011–2017. Before joining Qatar University in 2010, Professor Zweiri was a senior researcher in Middle East Politics and Iran at the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan. From March 2003 to December 2006, he was a research fellow and then a director of the Centre for Iranian Studies in the Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Durham University. Professor Zweiri has around 110 publications in the areas of Iran and Contemporary Middle East History and Politics, Gulf Studies, Social Sciences in the university of the future and Artificial Intelligence, and Social Sciences. In addition to Arabic, Professor Zweiri is fluent in Farsi and English. Professor Zweiri is the founder and Editor of the Journal of Gulf Studies, published by Intellect.

Nesibe Hicret Battaloglu is a Research Assistant at the Gulf Studies Center, Qatar University, and received her Ph.D. from Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara. She holds an MA in Gulf Studies from Qatar University, where her thesis focused on Türkiye and Iran’s soft power in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Her research interests include the international relations of Gulf monarchies, Türkiye-GCC relations, and the intersection of identity and foreign policy in the Gulf. Battaloglu has authored peer-reviewed publications on topics such as Iran’s soft power, GCC responses to regional challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic and the Arab Spring, and Türkiye’s alignment with Qatar. She is also a contributor to platforms such as Gulf International Forum, Amwaj Media, and Politics Today.