UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Arabic Dawlat Al-Imarat al-'Arabiyah al-Muttahidah union of seven tiny emirates along the eastern Persian Gulf coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Formerly known as the Trucial States, Trucial Oman, or the Trucial Sheikhdoms, they are bordered by Qatar to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west and south, and Oman to the east and northeast. Nearly nine-tenths of the union's area of 32,280 square miles (83,600 square km) is occupied by Abu Dhabi (Abu Zabi), the one emirate stretching along the Persian Gulf coast. The six other emirates are clustered on the Musandam Peninsula, which separates the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman; they are Dubayy (Dubai), 'Ajman, Ash-Shariqah (Sharjah), Umm al-Qaywayn, and Ra's al-Khaymah on the Persian Gulf side and Al-Fujayrah on the Gulf of Oman side. The city of Abu Dhabi was chosen as the national capital when the union was formed in 1971. Additional reading Comparative coverage of the states in the Persian Gulf region is provided by Michael Herb, All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies (1999); F. Gregory Gause, III, Oil Monarchies: Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States (1994); John Bulloch, The Persian Gulf Unveiled (also published as The Gulf, 1984); and Alvin J. Cottrell (ed.), The Persian Gulf States: A General Survey (1980). Discussions of early history include Juan R.I. Cole, Rival Empires of Trade and Imami Shi'ism in Eastern Arabia, 13001800, International Journal of Middle East Studies, 19:177203 (May 1987); Ahmad Mustafa Abu-Hakima, History of Eastern Arabia, 17501800: The Rise and Development of Bahrain and Kuwait (1965); and J.B. Kelly, Britain and the Persian Gulf, 17951880 (1968). Works on the United Arab Emirates include Frank A. Clements (compiler), United Arab Emirates, rev. ed. (1998); Werner Forman and Michael Asher, Phoenix Rising: The United Arab Emirates, Past, Present & Future (1996); Malcolm C. Peck, The United Arab Emirates: A Venture in Unity (1986); and Ali Mohammed Khalifa, The United Arab Emirates: Unity in Fragmentation (1979). Linda Usra Soffan, The Women of the United Arab Emirates (1980), discusses changes in the status of women. See also Ragaei El Mallakh, The Economic Development of the United Arab Emirates (1981).Historical works include Abdullah Omran Taryam, The Establishment of the United Arab Emirates, 195085 (1987); Sultan Muhammad Al-Qasimi, The Myth of Arab Piracy in the Gulf, 2nd ed. (1988); Frauke Heard-Bey, From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates: A Society in Transition, new ed. (1996); Muhammad Morsy Abdullah, The United Arab Emirates: A Modern History (1978); Rosemarie Said Zahlan, The Origins of the United Arab Emirates (1978); and Clarence C. Mann, Abu Dhabi: Birth of an Oil Shaikhdom, 2nd ed. (1969). Jill Ann Crystal Administration and social conditions Government The highest governmental authority is the Supreme Council of Rulers, which is composed of the hereditary rulers of the seven emirates. However, a significant amount of power is exercised at the individual emirate level, notably in Abu Dhabi and Dubayy. The president and vice president of the union are elected for five-year terms by the Supreme Council from among its members. The president appoints a prime minister and a cabinet. The unicameral legislature, the Federal National Council, is an advisory body made up of 40 members appointed by the individual emirates for two-year terms. A provisional constitution was ratified in 1971 and was made permanent in 1996 by the Supreme Council. There are no political parties in the emirates. Justice and security The constitution calls for a legal code based on Shari'ah (Islamic law). In practice, the judiciary blends Western and Islamic legal principles. At the federal level, the judicial branch consists of a supreme court and several courts of first instance: the former deals with emirate-federal or interemirate disputes and crimes against the state, and the latter cover administrative, commercial, and civil disputes between individuals and the federal government. Other legal matters are left to local judicial bodies. The emirates' defense forces were merged in 1976 as the Union Defense Force, but the forces in Dubayy and Abu Dhabi have retained some independence. Total uniformed military personnel exceed 60,000. The Supreme Council has made the right to levy armed forces a power of the national government. Cultural life Young boys preparing for a camel race in Dubayy, United Arab Emirates. The cultural traditions of the United Arab Emirates are rooted in Islam and identify with the wider Arab world, but strong cultural ties are maintained with the neighbouring Persian Gulf states. Tribal identities remain fairly strong, despite urbanization, and the family is still considered the strongest and most cohesive social unit. The United Arab Emirates has experienced the impact of Islamic resurgence, though Islam in the emirates is generally less austere than in Saudi Arabia. Camel racing remains a popular sport, and prize racers often sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. In several ways, change is apparent in the nation's cultural life. Changes in attitudes toward marriage and employment of women are discernible. Some women are now given more opportunity for choice in a marriage partner, and education and some types of professional work have become more available to women. New forms of entertainment, ranging from football (soccer) matches to videotape recorders, have affected taste and behaviour. The news media are concentrated in Abu Dhabi, Dubayy, and Ash-Shariqah. A number of daily newspapers are published, in both Arabic and English. Radio and television programs are broadcast daily from Abu Dhabi, Dubayy, Ash-Shariqah, and Ra's al-Khaymah, in both Arabic and English. J.E. Peterson Jill Ann Crystal