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From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy

Cilt: 23 Sayı: 2026 28 Eylül 2026
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From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as one of the Middle East’s most influential regional actors. Yet, existing scholarship largely explains this transformation through leadership change, particularly the rise of Mohammed bin Zayed, or through the country’s growing material capabilities. This article argues that these explanations overlook the evolution of the UAE’s national security strategy. It examines how changing domestic and regional threat perceptions have reshaped Emirati national security since the federation’s establishment in 1971. This research is a single-country longitudinal case study of document analysis using process tracing to examine the country’s increasingly interventionist foreign policy as the external manifestation of successive changes in its national security strategy. The article develops a conceptual framework that defines the UAE’s current foreign policy as selective interventionism, combining discursive and material interventionist practices with objectives of order transformation and order maintenance. The selective interventionism links national security strategy, foreign policy, and intervention before tracing the evolution of Emirati security thinking across three phases: state survival and federation building (1971–late 1970s), coalition security and exceptional intervention (1980–2011), and the normalization of selective intervention following the Arab Uprisings (2011–present). It argues that each phase reflects a distinct national security logic that redefined the objectives and instruments of Emirati foreign policy.

Anahtar Kelimeler

UAE national security, UAE foreign policy, UAE interventionism, Gulf security, United Arab Emirates

Kaynakça

  1. Abdulla, A. (2024). The Gulf Moment and the Making of the Khaleeji State. Middle East Initiative, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. https://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/pantheon_files/files/publication/MEI-MEI-Senior%20Fellow%20Abdulla_The%20Gulf%20Moment_v1d.pdf
  2. Abiad, N. (2023). The Functional Federalism of the United Arab Emirates. Perspectives on Federalism, 15(1–2), 84–109.
  3. Abu Dhabi Residents Office. (n.d.). Introduction-To-Abu-Dhabi. Retrieved 1 August 2026, from https://www.abudhabiresidentsoffice.gov.ae/About-Abu-Dhabi/Introduction-To-Abu-Dhabi
  4. Al Qassemi, S. S. (2013, October 8). Gulf Cities Emerge as New Centers of Arab World. Al Monitor. https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2013/10/abu-dhabi-dubai-doha-arab-centers.html
  5. Al-Qāsimī, S. I.-M. (2012). Taking the Reins: The Critical Years, 1971-1977 (C. R. Davey & K. Hroub, Eds; A. Ali, Trans.). Bloomsbury UK.
  6. Ali, H. (2024). The War in Sudan: How Weapons and Networks Shattered a Power Struggle (No. 2). German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien. https://www.giga-hamburg.de/en/publications/giga-focus/the-war-in-sudan-how-weapons-and-networks-shattered-a-power-struggle/
  7. Almezaini, K. (2020). The UAE’s Security Perceptions in the Middle East: Regional Challenges, Alliances and the Diversification of Partners. In S. Colombo & A. Dessì (Eds), Fostering a new security architecture in the Middle East (pp. 201–223). IAI.
  8. Alterman, J. B. (2025, December 2). The United Arab Emirates: From footnote to sophisticated global partner. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/united-arab-emirates-footnote-sophisticated-global-partner
  9. Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. (2023). UAE Security Forum 2022 Expanding Regional Partnerships for Security and Prosperity (Conference Report Event Report 1). https://agsi.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/UAESF-2022_ONLINE_V2.pdf
  10. Ardemagni, E. (2020, October 22). The UAE’s Military Training-Focused Foreign Policy. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/83033

Kaynak Göster

APA
Dogan Akkas, B., & Baycar, H. (2026). From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy. OPUS Journal of Society Research, 23(2026), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.2021411
AMA
1.Dogan Akkas B, Baycar H. From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy. OPUS TAD. 2026;23(2026):1-18. doi:10.26466/opusjsr.2021411
Chicago
Dogan Akkas, Betul, ve Hamdullah Baycar. 2026. “From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy”. OPUS Journal of Society Research 23 (2026): 1-18. https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.2021411.
EndNote
Dogan Akkas B, Baycar H (01 Eylül 2026) From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy. OPUS Journal of Society Research 23 2026 1–18.
IEEE
[1]B. Dogan Akkas ve H. Baycar, “From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy”, OPUS TAD, c. 23, sy 2026, ss. 1–18, Eyl. 2026, doi: 10.26466/opusjsr.2021411.
ISNAD
Dogan Akkas, Betul - Baycar, Hamdullah. “From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy”. OPUS Journal of Society Research 23/2026 (01 Eylül 2026): 1-18. https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.2021411.
JAMA
1.Dogan Akkas B, Baycar H. From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy. OPUS TAD. 2026;23:1–18.
MLA
Dogan Akkas, Betul, ve Hamdullah Baycar. “From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy”. OPUS Journal of Society Research, c. 23, sy 2026, Eylül 2026, ss. 1-18, doi:10.26466/opusjsr.2021411.
Vancouver
1.Betul Dogan Akkas, Hamdullah Baycar. From intervention as exception to intervention as normalcy: Explaining the evolution of UAE national security and foreign policy. OPUS TAD. 01 Eylül 2026;23(2026):1-18. doi:10.26466/opusjsr.2021411