Lessons from the ascent of the United Arab Emirates

Over the next few weeks Dubai will be abuzz. Tens of thousands of diplomats, activists and business folk are due to fly in to join the un’s annual climate pow-wow. The United Arab Emirates’ skill at wrangling countries and industries with vastly disparate interests, in the hope of making further progress on tackling climate change, will be on full display. But that is not the only reason to pay attention to the uae. It also shows how to thrive in the multipolar age.

The country is home to just over 0.1% of the world’s people and produces only 0.5% of its gdp, but it contains nearly 10% of the world’s oil reserves, and this wealth helps it punch above its weight. Like many emerging countries today, it straddles political and economic divisions. It is a closed autocracy, yet one of the world’s most open economies. It is a close ally of America, but its biggest trading partner is China. Although its gdp per person exceeds that of Britain or France, it is often seen as part of the global south and is a hub for Indian and African businesses, making it the Singapore of the Middle East. And in 2020 it was one of the first Gulf countries to normalise relations with Israel.