The Political Culture of Leadership in the United Arab Emirates

The book describes the impact of cultural perceptions on rulers' behaviors in the United Arab Emirates, once the Trucial States. Despite differences in size, economic resources, and external political pressures, the seven emirates' rulers utilized very similar cultural expectations to gain the support of others.

"Rugh marches confidently through well-trodden historical sources and has produced a concise and focused narrative account for each of the ruling families of the seven emirates that will be greatly appreciated by those embarking on a study of the country." - International Journal Middle East Studies

"Dr. Rugh s book fills a gap in the scholarship on the Gulf States by examining the cultural aspects of political leadership in the UAE. The uniquely personal governance in this region cannot be adequately described by the tools of comparative political systems. This book instead describes how the system really works, including the important role of local women and how marriage strategies cement family alliances. This is a key to at least a partial understanding of a fascinating political system that is racing into the 21st Century while holding on to familiar traditions. If only this book had been in my library when I was the US Ambassador to that country!" - Ambassador David L. Mack, Acting President, Middle East Institute

"Andrea B. Rugh s The Political Culture of Leadership in the United Arab Emirates will be the definitive work on the culture, society, and political traditions of the United Arab Emirates for decades to come. It is an important contribution to the understanding of not only one oil-rich and strategically vital part of the world, but also to the broader topics of tribalism in traditional societies, their transformation in modern times, andthe mixed legacy of the impact of the West on the rest of the world. With an exceptional attention to detail, a masterly command of both concrete information and comparative history, anthropology, and political culture, and a tact and sensitivity hard to equal when studying a foreign political culture, the author gives us a rare insight into the workings of the traditions, families, ways of life, and leadership of a region undergoing major transformation in the light of history, and under the scrutiny of a technologically superior, yet dependent world.This book is a must-read for both students of, and experts on, the Middle East." - Leila Fawaz, Issam M. Fares Professor of Lebanese and Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Tufts University

ANDREA B. RUGH is an Adjunct Scholar, Middle East Institute, Washington D.C, USA.