The Impact of Oil on Political and Socioeconomic Change in the United Arab Emirates
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THE MIDDLE EAST: OIL, POLITICS, AND DEVELOPMENT Edited by John Duke Anthony THE IMPACT OF OIL ON POLITICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC CHANGE IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES John Duke Anthony The decision of the British government to abrogate the longpstanding treaties giving it defense and foreign affairs responsibilities for the seven U.A.E. sheikh doms, 1 and the dismantling of British military establishments in the area, in effect marked the end of one era and.the beginning of another. The sheikhdoms ceased to exist as "protected states" and became fully sovereign entities for the first time in modem history. Although the significance of the U.A.E.'s growing oil wealth is generally acknowledged, there are many aspects to the dynamics of change occurring in this important confederation that remain little known or seldom mentioned to the casual observer. This paper analyzes some of the characteristics of political and socioeconomic change at work in the United Arab Emirates and examines the major problems confronting it at this point in its development. The decision to consider the U.A.E. states as a whole is not based solely on their common status as former British protected states or on their recent merger into a loose confederation. In addition to these factors, there are other common characteristics-geography, history, language, religion, political and socioeconomic systems-that permit the area to be analyzed as a regional unit. The dynamics of political and socioeconomic change among the U.A.E.'s member states are a constant process of interaction that can be viewed from three different perspec tives: the clash between traditional and modernizing forces, the changing social and demographic structure of the indigenous and immigrant populations, and the shifting alliances between and among the rulers of the individual emirates. Traditional and Modernizing Forces Prior to the rise of Islam in the seventh century, there appears to have been little social cohesion in the U.A.E. area, as different conquerors and socioreligious systems rose and declined in tum. The spread of Islam, however, brought a cultural unity that was reinforced by the political hegemony of the Arab caliphates. This Islamic culture, Arabian in origin, absorbed Persian and Indian influences as it spread eastward, producing a sociopolitical identity in the region that still exists. 1 Abu Dhabi, 'Ajman, Dubay, Fujayrah, Sharjah, Umm al-Qaywayn, and Ra's al-Khaymah. The first six federated in December 1971; Ra's al-Khaymah joined the union in February 1972. 79 Throughout the Middle Ages, numerous indigenous political entities emerged along the U .A. E. littoral, and the areas controlled by a particular sheikhdom tended to vary with the fortunes of its ruling family. Under the caliphal banner, however, the U.A.E. states remained free from non-Islamic control until their external affairs were subjected to European influence, first by the Portuguese in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, later by the Dutch, and most recently, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, by the British. Beginning in 1820, the sheikhdoms entered into a series of special treaties with the British that granted the latter responsibility for their defense and foreign affairs. These treaties remained in effect until 1971, when they were replaced by a single treaty of friendship.2 Throughout the long history of the special treaty relationship with the British, however, control over domestic affairs remained largely in the hands of the local rulers. By assuming a protective rather than a colonial role, the British in effect preserved the traditional sociopolitical organization in the sheikhdoms. This organization is characterized by a compli.cated and delicate balance of power among tribal dynasties whose relationships and historical enmities date back to at least the eighteenth century and who&e pattern of rule has been essentially paternalistic and authorita.rian.3 · However, the British presence did have a significant .impact on the areas of law and administration, as well as on the ordering of external affairs and .on · the relations between sheikhdoms. In the areas along the coast, where British political agents resided, modern administrative and legal procedures such as the establishment of municipal governments and the application of Western legal codes to foreigners were introduced and coexisted with local Islamic and tribal institu tions: Another legacy of the lengthy British presence is the dependency of the U.A.E.'s oil industries, international commerce, defense, foreign relations, and even the systems of technical and higher education on the English language. At the local level, these and other British legacies have led to political and socioeconomic problems of considerable magnitude. The attainment of independence by the sheikhdoms, while regarded by most of the rulers as an inevitable step in the history of the area, was neither sought nor universally welcomed. The more traditional rulers tended to be content with British protection, which insulated them from harsh political realities. The depen dency syndrome of most of the rulers is still very much a political factor to be 2 For the texts of the instruments of treaty termination and the treaty of friendship, see Great Britain, Exchange of Notes Concerning the Termination of Special Treaty Relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Trucial States, Treaty Series, no. 34 (1972), Cmnd. 4941, and Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates, Treaty Series, no. 35 (1972), Cmnd. 4937. 3 A detailed account 9f the political relationships within and among the various emirates may be found in my Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum (Washington, D.C. : The Middle East Institute, 1975). 80 reckoned with. In this respect, the newly sovereign sheikhd�ms exhibit certain features unique to the postwar Arab world. For example, the political and military weakness of nearly all of them, and especially the economic weakness of those without oil, has actually increased the extent of the rulers' dependence on external assistance. In the case of the former protecting power, this has resulted in an interesting paradox: in the period both prior to and following the decision by the British government in 1968 to dismantle its military establishments in the region, the sheikhdoms 'have generally cooperated with Great Britain, not resisted it. In the early stages of the negotiations that led to the establishment of the federation, it was apparent that if the rulers resisted anything it was the very idea of independence itself. The ruler of Abu Dhabi, who was concerned lest British troops be withdrawn prior to a settlement of Saudi Arabian claims to large portions of Abu Dhabi's territory, offered to meet the costs of retaining the British military presence. Against this background, many local observers seemed sur prised when, subsequently, the individual tribal dynasts, far from being overthrown by revolutionaries or discredited by association with the British, as happened to their counterparts in the sultanates and sheikhdoms of the Federation of South Arabia in 1967, were recognized at independence as fully sovereign rulers. Previous to the 1968 announcement, a number of attempts had been made to organize the sheikhdoms along regional lines. The most important regional institutions established were ( 1 ) the Trucial Oman Scouts, a local defense force organized in 1951; (2) the Trucial States Council, a forum in which the rulers gathered once annually, and only occasionally more frequently, to discuss matters of mutual concern such as driving regulations and the administration of regional health facilities; and (3) the Trucial States Development Council, a body com prising the seven rulers which approved and monitored area development projects. The last two bodies were established in 1953 and 1965, respectively. The present federation, the powers of which are limited mainly to defense, foreign affairs, and the financing and administration of such regional infrastructure projects as electric power and health facilities and the construction and maintenance of roads and schools, grew out of these efforts.4 The most important factor in forcing the pace of change in the area, however, has not been the attainment of independence or the degree of regional integration achieved to date but, rather, the discovery, development, and exploitation of 4 A study of the formation of the confederation and its performance during the first half year of its existence is contained in J. D. Anthony, "The Union of Arab Amirates," Middle East Journal, vol. 26, no. 3 (1972), pp. 271-87. See also Richard Johns, "The Emergence of the United Arab Emirates," Middle East International, no. 21 (March 1973), pp. 8-10; David Ledger, "Gulf Union," Middle East International, no. 9 (December 1971), pp. 6-7; Donald Hawley, The Trucial States (New York: Humanities Press, 1971); K. G. Fenelon, The United Arab Emirates: A Social and Economic Survey (London and New York: Longman, 1973); and "United Arab Emirates: A MEED Special Report, 1973," Middle East Economic Digest, 29 June 1973, pp. i-xxvii. 81 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 0 Greater Tunb 0 Lesser Tunb KEY TO ENCLAVES: A. 'Ajman D. Dubay S. Sharjah A/0. 'Ajman/Oman 0 F. Fujayrah Abu Musa S/0. Sharjah/Oman F/S. Fujayrah/Sharjah \5 � c:/> � � a "?-� c,' 1.1.. <v� a � 1.1.. -.J ::J (.!) Sultanate of Oman Abu Dhabi 0 15 30 Ultes 82 increasingly large quantities of petroleum during the past decade.5 British attempts to speed the proc_ess of modernization in the local administrative system in Abu Dhabi, for example, date from the discovery of petroleum in that sheikhdom. Dubay and Sharjah were modernizing their public administrations prior to the discovery of oil, but the existence of oil revenues has helped considerably to accelerate this development.