استراتيجية القوة الناعمة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة : دراسة تحليلية مقارنة

Abstract EN

The importance of soft power has increased considerably in the last few years, as a crucial tool for promoting a country’s international influence.

The UAE has adopted the concept because it provides an opportunity to gain a competitive edge in enhancing regional and international influence.

This study, therefore, addresses the tools and methods the UAE can use and institutionalize in order to improve and promote its soft power.

To achieve this goal, the study provides an overview of the UAE’s sources of soft power, as well as an assessment of the UAE’s current soft power strategy.

The study also compares and contrasts soft power strategies of the Kingdom of Norway and the State of Qatar in order to draw lessons for the UAE’s decision makers through comparative practical applications.

The study asserts that the UAE has huge capabilities in terms of its sources of soft power, including the level of urbanization and advancement achieved by the country, its tolerance and openness to the world, and the level of international development aid it offers.

The UAE is the preferred destination for Middle Eastern youth to live and work, the UAE’s passport is one of the world’s most powerful, while the country ranks high in a number of international indexes for human development, welfare and infrastructure.

These indexes are important because they reflect the strength and service quality of organizations in the UAE, which have helped achieve these results internationally.

However, the region’s unstable environment creates major challenges for UAE foreign policy, and risks jeopardizing the country’s reputation and influence, with adverse impacts on its soft power.

Having assessed the UAE’s sources of soft power, evaluated its current soft power strategy and drawn lessons from comparative study, the paper reaches several recommendations; most importantly, that the UAE should improve and promote its media campaign in order to overcome counter campaigns from adversaries that target its reputation.

The UAE should also avoid excessive expansion of its foreign activities, in addition to selectively identifying its objectives, and concentrating its efforts and resources on one clear, unified foreign policy message.

The study also recommends that the UAE work on a long-term plan to enhance its reputable and credible policies as a basis for its soft power.

The study also concludes that the UAE should review its general policy and soft power strategy to reflect the fast-changing power dynamics that stem from the UAE’s geographical location and the region’s unstable political situation.