How the United Arab Emirates is Coping in the New International Environment

 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the most important nations in the Arab world. It is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and exercises a considerable amount of influence not only on the Arabian Peninsula, but also in the Middle East as a whole. Its influential role, despite its relatively small size, is one of the most unique aspects of this country because it enjoys the confidence of other GCC member states as well as numerous others in the region. Its influence comes second only to that of Saudi Arabia, its biggest partner in the region, and this has ensured that it plays an important role.

One of the most significant strategic issues that affect the UAE in the region involves the growing influence that Iran has in the Middle East. Iran is a Shia Muslim state, and this is in contrast to the GCC countries which are essentially majority Sunni Muslim states. The contentious relationship between these two sects of Islam have been ongoing for centuries, but have ended up becoming more magnified in recent years. This is especially considering that a majority of Sunni nations consider Iranian influence to be a serious security threat to their own survival (Guzansky, 2015, p112). Iranian influence has also come close to home in Yemen, which is the southernmost country in the Arabian Peninsula. Another strategic issue for the UAE is that involving the growing influence of democratic as well as Islamic forces such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which tend to be anti-monarchist and seek to ensure the establishment of Islamic states following the abolition of monarchies in the region (Hedges and Cafiero, 2017, p.129). The third issue is that brought about by a situation where the UAE is faced with the need to stabilize the region through retaining the status quo rather than allowing unpredictable revolutions to take place.

When handling the issue of Iranian influence, the UAE, along with some of its allies in the GCC has taken military actions against the rebel groups in Yemen supported by Iran. The military capabilities of the UAE are among the best in the region and these have been utilized effectively to stifle Iranian, and by extension, Shia influence on the Arabian Peninsula. In addition, being one of the most powerful economies in the region because of its oil wealth has enabled the UAE to ensure that it is able to make use of its financial clout to influence some strategic events in the Middle East. Among these is that it is among the foremost backers of the counterrevolutionary forces in such countries as Egypt and Libya. In the latter, the UAE has been active participant in the funding and arming of General Khalifa Haftar to become the most powerful person in the country (Dorsey, 2017).

Finally, the need to stabilize the Middle East has led to a situation where the UAE is increasingly using its influence to prevent the exacerbation of the effects of the Arab Spring. This is especially in countries such as Egypt, as well as its actions in imposing sanctions on Qatar for sponsoring groups that it considers destabilizing, such as the Muslim Brotherhood.