Analysis of the United Arab Emirates' National Security
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Durham E-Theses ANALYSIS OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES' NATIONAL SECURITY AL-MOALLA, SHEIKH,MAJID,ABDULLA How to cite: AL-MOALLA, SHEIKH,MAJID,ABDULLA (2017) ANALYSIS OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES' NATIONAL SECURITY , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12282/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 ANALYSIS OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES’ NATIONAL SECURITY BY SHEIKH MAJID ABDULLA RASHID ALMOALLA THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHYIN POLITICS SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS DURHAM UNIVERSITY 2017 I To The Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan The Late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum The Late Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi The Late Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi The Late Sheikh Ahmad bin Rashid Al Mualla The Late Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi The Late Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi Founders of the United Arab Emirates II ABSTRACT This study addresses a gap in the literature on the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) national security. It establishes a reference for further research into the analysis of national security of similar countries to the UAE based on established international relations theory. The UAE, since its establishment in 1971, has gone through exponential development and changes in terms of its politics, economics and social structures. However, attempts to develop a comprehensive approach to analysing the various aspects of maintaining the country’s existence are scarce. Any research focuses on narrow specific areas. This research analyses the UAE’s national security by using the most relevant analytical framework based on Buzan’s ‘Nature of the State’ hypothesis from the Copenhagen School of International Relations. The threats to the UAE’s impeding national security threats are addressed using the various elements in the hypothesis. These elements are the ‘idea of state’ which concentrates on the country’s state formation, the institutional framework of the UAE, and the structure of its physical base. Importantly, due to the dynamic interdependency of these elements, a threat to one can create a threat to the other elements. The researcher establishes a framework for the analysis of national security, which; because of the similarity of the political, economic and social base of the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia), can be used to analyse their national security systems. Furthermore, the researcher addresses the requirement for further exploration of the interdependencies between the three elements composing the state and the need for a coherent approach in addressing those threats. The study is structured in five parts. Chapter one highlights the research’s introductory material. Chapter two explores the theories of national security of the major schools of international relations theories, while chapter three theorizes the UAE’s national security according to the most relevant international relations theory (Buzan’s ‘Nature of the State’). Chapter four explores the specific threats to the UAE national security and finally chapter five demonstrates the researcher’s findings and recommendations. III DECLARATION I hereby confirm that this study is my own work and all the material has been developed solely on my own efforts. This study has not been submitted for other degrees. IV COPYRIGHT The copyright of this thesis resides with the author. Any use of or reference to information from this thesis shall take place without prior consent from the author. V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, praise to God for helping me and giving me the health and the ability to accomplish this thesis. I am especially grateful to my thesis supervisors, for their guidance, advice and comments, which helped me to achieve the PhD in this format. In addition, I extend my thanks and gratitude to all Lecturers and Staff in the school of Government and International Affairs, Durham University, for their help during my study. Finally, I extend my thanks, appreciation and gratitude to my family and all who encouraged me to pursue my study and to overcome the obstacles that confronted me during my study in the United Kingdom. VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ADEC: Abu Dhabi Education Council AED: UAE Dirham AQAP: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula CIA: The Central Intelligence Agency GCC: The Gulf Cooperation Council GCHQ: The Government Communications Headquarters. GDP: Gross domestic product INTERPOL: The International Criminal Police Organization IRENA: International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA: International Renewable Energy Agency IRGC: The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps ISIL: Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant ISIS: Islamic State in Iraq and Syria KHDA: The Knowledge and Human Development Authority MOE: The Ministry of Education MOU: The Memorandum of Understanding NATO: The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NSA: The National Security Act PFLP: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine TNCs: Transnational corporations TOS: The Trucial Oman Scouts VII UAE: The United Arab Emirates UAR: The United Arab Republic UK: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland UN: The United Nations US: The United States of America USD: United States dollar WAM: The Emirates News Agency VIII LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Total Number of Emirati Population 69 Table 3.2: Population by Gender and National/Non-national, 1980, 1995 and 2010 70 Table 3.3: Percentage Real GDP Growth of Selected Non-Oil Sectors, 2010-2014 72 Table 3.4: Real GDP Growth in the Oil and Non-oil Sectors, 2010-2014 72 Table 4.1: The Growth of the Demographic Imbalance 82 Table 4.2: National and Non-National Students in Private Schools in the UAE, 2010/11 87 IX LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Constituent Parts of the State 27 Figure 3.1: The Federal Authorities in the UAE 44 Figure 3.2: The Central Federal Government and Local Governments in the UAE 48 Figure 3.3: The Structure of the Higher National Security Council 63 Figure 3.4: Population Composition of the UAE 69 Figure 3.5: Dubai’s Smart City Circle 76 Figure 4.1: Threats to the Idea of the UAE State 79 Figure 4.2: Threats to the UAE Institutions 90 Figure 4.3: The Threats to the Physical Base of the UAE 122 Figure 4.4: Hezbollah Organizations in the Middle East 130 Figure 4.5: Number of Infiltrators Arrested, 1971 to 2011 151 Figure 4.6: Types of Cyber Attack 159 Figure 5.1: National Security Threats Dynamics 178 X LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1: Statement in Islah magazine 227 Appendix 2: Interview 1 231 Appendix 3: Interview 2 233 Appendix 4: Interview 3 235 Appendix 5: Interview 4 236 Appendix 6: Interview 5 238 Appendix 7: Interview 6 240 Appendix 8: Interview 7 242 Appendix 9: Interview 8 244 Appendix 10: Interview 9 246 Appendix 11: Interview 10 248 Appendix 12: Interview 11 250 Appendix 13: Interview 12 251 XI TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT III DECLARATION IV COPYRIGHT V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VII LIST OF TABLES IX LIST OF FIGURES X LIST OF APPENDICES XI TABLE OF CONTENTS XII CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 2 1.2 RESEARCH BACKGROUND 2 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: PARAMETERS OF NATIONAL SECURITY 7 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 9 1.5 LITERATURE ON NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE UAE 9 1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 12 1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS 13 CHAPTER TWO: THEORIES OF NATIONAL SECURITY 15 2.1 THE REALIST SCHOOL 16 2.2 THE LIBERALIST SCHOOL 20 2.3 THE CONSTRUCTIVIST SCHOOL 23 2.4 THE COPENHAGEN SCHOOL 25 2.5 THEORISING THE NATIONAL SECURITYOF THE UAE 32 2.6 CONCLUSION 38 CHAPTER THREE: THEORIZING THE UAE’S NATIONAL SECURITY 39 3.1 THE IDEA OF THE UAE 39 XII 3.2 THE UAE INSTITUTIONS 42 3.2.1 The Federal Authorities in the UAE 43 3.2.2 The Organization of the Federal and Local Institutions in the UAE 47 3.2.3 State Protection Institutions in the UAE 49 3.2.4 Summary of the Institutional Base of the UAE 67 3.3 THE PHYSICAL BASE OF THE UAE 67 3.3.1 The Geography of the UAE 68 3.3.2 Demographics of the UAE 68 3.3.3 The Economic Base of the UAE 70 3.3.4 The e-Infrastructure 74 3.3.5 Summary of the Physical base of the UAE 76 3.4 CONCLUSION 77 CHAPTER FOUR: THE THREATS TO UAE’S NATIONAL SECURITY 78 4.1 THE THREATS TO THE IDEA OF THE STATE IN THE UAE 78 4.1.1 Conflict of Identities 79 4.1.2 The Increasing Demographic Imbalance 81 4.1.3 The Private Education System 86 4.2 THE THREATS TO THE UAE INSTITUTIONS 90 4.2.1 The Muslim Brotherhood 91 4.2.2 Al-Qaeda 106 4.2.3 ISIS 113 4.3 THE THREATS TO THE PHYSICAL BASE OF THE UAE 121 4.3.1 Iran 122 4.3.2 Environmental Challenges Facing the UAE 138 4.3.3 Infiltrators into the UAE 148 4.3.4 Cyber War 153 4.3.5 Proxy Battlefield 163 4.3.6 Economic Threats 168 4.4 CONCLUSION 170 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 172 5.1 CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE 177 5.2 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH 179 5.3 IDEAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 179 XIII BIBLIOGRAPHY 181 APPENDICES 227 XIV CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Academic studies addressing national security issues, whether in assessing threats to countries or attempting to understand a particular country’s national security situation, in relation to the established theories in the field are challenging.