The #UAE And #Qatar Are More Alike Than Apart - Bloomberg

The UAE And Qatar Are More Alike Than Apart - Bloomberg

The end of the embargo on Qatar and the resulting restoration of its ties with the United Arab Emirates will not resolve over their deep-seated differences. But the two sheikhdoms are strikingly alike in many ways, especially in their skillful exploitation of similar economic and demographic circumstances to acquire political clout across the Middle East and North Africa.

In the past decade, they have both punched above their weight as regional powers, using financial, political and military tools to wield ever-expanding influence across the MENA region. They’ve also attached themselves to powerful global and regional alliances — on the same side under the American security umbrella (the UAE and Qatar both host U.S. military bases), and on opposite sides (Qatar also hosts a Turkish military base, much to the UAE’s chagrin).

In population terms, the UAE and Qatar are among the smallest Arab nations, their economies making up for a paucity of citizenry by employing large phalanxes of foreign workers. But their lack of demographic weight has been no impediment to their growing regional and international role. On the contrary, when taken in combination with the absolute power of their rulers, the lack of numbers may have helped make both states more politically stable and economically insulated than their neighbors.

It may be useful to think of the UAE and Qatar as company-states, in which the ruling dynasties exercise power and control resources, analogous to a managing board of directors. The citizens, 1.4 million Emiratis and 313,000 Qataris, are shareholders without voting rights, entitled to dividends in the form of the highest per-capita incomes in the world. The expats — who make up for 88.52% and 90% of the total population in the UAE and Qatar respectively — are workers who receive wages but have little say in how state is run. (Expats have almost no prospect of naturalization.)