In 1971, the seven sheikdoms at the southern end of the Persian Gulf, the Trucial States, formed the state of the United Arab Emirates, which soon found its feet on the world stage as a member of the UN, OPEC and the Arab League. This is a history and social study of the present-day UAE
The unexpected decision of the British Government in January 1968 to withdraw its military and diplomatic protection from the Gulf catapulted the region into the limelight. For the following five decades the historian Dr. Frauke Heard-Bey was best placed to observe subsequent developments in the Gulf, having joined her husband David, a petroleum engineer, in Abu Dhabi in 1967. Through her role over decades in the Centre for Documentation and Research (now the UAE’s National Archive), Frauke Heard-Bey made use its archives about the Gulf, while taking every opportunity to travel in the area and immerse herself in the local environment. The work covers a broad spectrum, including the formation of the UAE in 1971, the subsequent development of this federation, the first oil crisis and geopolitical repercussions, urbanisation, labour migration, electoral systems, trade, the changing way of life and its implications for traditional loyalties in the Gulf states and Oman. The results of much of this work (which rely little on secondary sources) are collected in this volume, parts of which have been printed in hard-to access journals, while others are published here for the first time.
Wenige Länder haben sich innerhalb von einer Generation so dramatisch verändert, wie die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate. Nirgends ist eine einheimische Bevölkerung so schnell zu einer Minderheit geworden. Wie hat die Gesellschaft diese Umwälzungen verkraftet? Dieses wissenschaftlich fundierte Buch beschreibt in gut lesbaren Kapiteln das traditionelle Leben in den sieben Scheichtümern vor dem Öl-Reichtum und ehe der Zusammenschluß zur VAE, der stabilsten Föderation in der arabischen Welt, diesem Land gänzlich neue Horizonte eröffnete. Die Autorin, die seit 1967 in Abu Dhabi lebt, begleitete diese faszinierenden Veränderungen und hat viel Einblick in die Hintergründe der gegenwärtigen Entwicklungen.