Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been engaged in a long-standing border dispute and in 2004 the UAE launched a public diplomatic campaign to persuade Saudi Arabia to revisit the issue. The governments of Saudi Arabia and the UAE had already signed the Treaty of Jeddah in 1974 to end forty years of conflict over territory. However, discrepancies between the oral agreement and final text led to recurrent tensions. This book offers understanding about how the Treaty of Jeddah came about and why the UAE were so quick to sign an agreement they would later regret.
Using four Gulf sovereign wealth funds as case studies - Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - this book examines and analyses the history, governance and structure, and investment strategies of the above mentioned funds, in the context of on-going debates about their transparency. The book discusses how most Gulf sovereign wealth funds were established under colonial rule, and have operated in the global financial system for many decades. With the increase of oil revenues, it goes on to look at how the funds have broadened their asset classes and their institutional development. Debate over the transparency of sovereign wealth funds has highlighted various global practices. Recently, organisational measures have been introduced for calculating possible risks from non-commercial investment incentives of funds, whose politically-driven investment strategies are viewed as potentially a major threat to the national security of their host countries. Highlighting a number of incidents that triggered the transparency debate, the book scrutinises the reaction of some of the Gulf sovereign wealth funds to these recent regulatory codes and strategies. It is a useful contribution to Development, Political Economy and Middle East Studies.
The year 1973 is usually considered the great equaliser among major oil producers. But the 'Visions' strategies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a so-called middle power and small state in the Middle East regional system, point to broadening economic relations as a great enhancer of economic power. This book explores the impact of regime type and leadership style on the two countries' foreign policies. It reveals how autonomy and influence, threat perception and alliance patterns are folded into the complex and personal riyal politik and economic statecraft that sit at the core of their international relations.
Thoroughly expanded and updated, this guide covers bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The book features 56 detailed maps, accommodation and restaurant options for all budgets, comprehensive political and historical notes, and invaluable information for travel in post-war Kuwait. Tips are given on buying Bedouin silver and Omani daggers.
Muhammad bin Salman Al-Saud and Muhammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the respective princely strongmen of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have torn up the old rules. They have spurred game-changing economic master plans, presided over vast anti-corruption crackdowns, tackled entrenched religious forces, and overseen the mass arrest of critics. In parallel, they also appear to have replaced the old 'sheikhly' consensus systems of their predecessors with something more autocratic, more personalistic, and perhaps even analytically distinct. These are the two wealthiest and most populous Gulf monarchies, and increasingly important global powers--Saudi Arabia is a G20 member, and the UAE will be the host of the World Expo in 2021-2022. Such sweeping changes to their statecraft and authority structures could well end up having a direct impact, for better or worse, on policies, economies and individual lives all around the world. Christopher M. Davidson tests the hypothesis that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are now effectively contemporary or even 'advanced' sultanates, and situates these influential states within an international model of autocratic authoritarianism. Drawing on a range of primary sources, including new interviews and surveys, From Sheikhs to Sultanism puts forward an original, empirically grounded interpretation of the rise of both MBS and MBZ.
Led by Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the UAE has become deeply embedded in the contemporary system of international power, politics, and policy-making. Only an independent state since 1971, the seven emirates that constitute the UAE represent not only the most successful Arab federal experiment but also the most durable. However, the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath underscored the continuing imbalance between Abu Dhabi and Dubai and the five northern emirates. Meanwhile, the post-2011 security crackdown revealed the acute sensitivity of officials in Abu Dhabi to social inequalities and economic disparities across the federation. The United Arab Emirates: Power, Politics, and Policymaking charts the various processes of state formation and political and economic development that have enabled the UAE to emerge as a significant regional power and major player in the post Arab Spring reordering of Middle East and North African Politics, as well as the closest partner of the US in military and security affairs in the region. It also explores the seamier underside of that growth in terms of the condition of migrant workers, recent interventions in Libya and Yemen, and, latterly, one of the highest rates of political prisoners per capita in the world. The book concludes with a discussion of the likely policy challenges that the UAE will face in coming years, especially as it moves towards its fiftieth anniversary in 2021. Providing a comprehensive and accessible assessment of the UAE, this book will be a vital resource for students and scholars of International Relations and Middle East Studies, as well as non-specialists with an interest in the United Arab Emirates and its global position.
Page 1 opens with a jarring turn: "Filipina domestic worker, employed in Riyadh: 'Really they are good to me. If I say I need rest, they give me rest.' [And if they were not so good to you, if you would have some problem with your employer, where would you go?] 'Madam, I cannot go anywhere, I am not allowed to go outside. I cannot go to the embassy. I will just cry in my room and pray.'" This book explores the duality and conflicts faced by the desperate employee far from home, having signed a contract written in Arabic, her passport held by her employer, and with limited power as a woman to be a witness in court against a man. DOMESTIC WORKERS IN SAUDI ARABIA AND THE EMIRATES is a new socio-legal study of pressing questions of human rights, contractual freedom, transnational markets, and social policy: Which factors influence the emergence and character of conflicts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates between domestic workers and their employers, the social and legal norms both parties refer to, and the related imbalance of power? In what way and to what extent do domestic workers and their employers refer to Islamic, customary, contractual, and formal legal norms? Do conflicts concern disagreement over norms or disputes regarding behavior contrary to the norms upon which both parties agree? Which factors influence the norms that both parties refer to in conflicts? Which party is able to enforce its own norms or to act contrary to norms on which both parties agree and which factors influences the balance of power? Using a grounded-theory methodology involving extensive field research and revealing interviews of workers, employers, employment agencies, human rights organizations, and governmental officials, Vlieger exposes the multifacets and dilemmas of the people and institutions involved. Finally, she proposes pragmatic solutions to prevent the most excessive vulnerabilities and imbalances. This is an upsetting and candid introduction to another world, supported with scholarly research but accessible to the general reader, as well as academics and human rights activists. Part of the Human Rights and Culture Series from Quid Pro Books.
Seventeen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2020 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity.
An insider's account of the often-fraught U.S.-Saudi relationship Saudi Arabia and the United States have been partners since 1943, when President Roosevelt met with two future Saudi monarchs. Subsequent U.S. presidents have had direct relationships with those kings and their successors—setting the tone for a special partnership between an absolute monarchy with a unique Islamic identity and the world's most powerful democracy. Although based in large part on economic interests, the U.S.-Saudi relationship has rarely been smooth. Differences over Israel have caused friction since the early days, and ambiguities about Saudi involvement—or lack of it—in the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States continue to haunt the relationship. Now, both countries have new, still-to be-tested leaders in President Trump and King Salman. Bruce Riedel for decades has followed these kings and presidents during his career at the CIA, the White House, and Brookings. This book offers an insider's account of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, with unique insights. Using declassified documents, memoirs by both Saudis and Americans, and eyewitness accounts, this book takes the reader inside the royal palaces, the holy cities, and the White House to gain an understanding of this complex partnership.
