Stratfor: Abu Dhabi marginalizes the rest of the Emirates and threatens the national unity of the state

The American "Stratfor" website said, in a

, that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi prioritizes itself at the expense of the rest of the emirates in the United Arab Emirates, which threatens to undermine the federal government project.

The site pointed to the latest policy adopted by Abu Dhabi to demonstrate what he said, saying that the UAE as a whole followed a strict and very closed approach when the first wave of the "Covid-19" virus hit the region in the spring of 2020.

But by the fall, Dubai and the other emirates had reopened their borders to tourists and their economies had largely returned to normal.

Meanwhile, the emirate of Abu Dhabi has maintained strict border controls across the country, using what the site called its "deep pockets" to prop up its economy, as citizens cannot freely enter their capital amidst the hard border between Abu Dhabi and the rest of the country being installed for the first time in decades. .

Threatening National Unity

He expected Abu Dhabi to continue to give priority to its citizens and residents in future national emergencies, whether they are future epidemics, natural disasters, wars or economic crises, which undermine national unity.

He said Abu Dhabi's wealth, backed by deep oil reserves and a sovereign wealth fund worth about $900 billion, would allow it to distance itself from the normal commercial interactions, trade and tourism that other emirates depend on to keep their economies going during crises.

Prioritizing Abu Dhabi during disasters will raise expectations among those living in the emirate that they will be protected early on during future emergencies, but residents in other emirates may become more critical of Abu Dhabi's role during crises, and politicize citizens who usually acquiesce in Abu Dhabi's tight control over most parts of the country.

Another example

The site added another example, the 2008 financial crisis, saying that Abu Dhabi used its emirate-wide spending to maintain its economy while allowing some of Dubai's smaller businesses to collapse.

The other emirates received less aid until the Arab Spring in 2011, when concerns about political turmoil prompted new spending pledges from Abu Dhabi.

He said that the UAE has been implementing a national identity project for decades aimed at uniting its seven emirates, the ruling families, and the different families and tribes into one nation state.

This national identity project was initially designed to prevent the potential disintegration of the UAE into independent states during the early years after independence in 1971. Since then, the project has been reworked to emphasize national features.