Sheikh Zayed and the passage of the United Arab Emirates into the modern world : the uses of the past

Abstract EN

The essay is an attempt to answer two related question that inquire into the extraordinary passage of Abu Dhabi and the united Arab emirates into the 21st century under the leadership of sheikh zayed bin sultan al nahayyan .

First, what enabled sheikh zayed not only to successfully survive politically but also to succeed and as the ruler of Abu Dhabi and the father of the UAE in leading his country to stability and prosperity through one-third of a century to stability and prosperity through one-third of a century of unprecedented economic, social, demographic, and other change? Second, why were most of the best-informed observers (particularly those in the west) so wrong in their negative predication as to the likely fate of the UAE and the other conservative patriarchal regimes in The Arabian peninsula / Arab gulf region? One might also ask why some, after the passage of 30 years, continue to issue such forecasts.