The second half of the 20th century was characterized by the opposition between the two camps headed by the superstates, the USA and the USSR. The Cold War period was characterized by the rise of the ideas of hard power, linked to substantial human and material damage because of the use of force to promote specific interests. However, the collapse of the old system and the end of the Cold War demonstrated numerous flaws of hard power ideas and their impossibility of preserving peace in various regions and being a major tool of foreign policy. For this reason, the shift in priorities towards a new paradigm, inlying a soft power, was observed.
The 21st century is characterized by the emergence of new paradigms in international discourse. They appeared because of the increased importance and power of fast-evolving states with high potential. The UAE can be viewed as a nation belonging to this cohort. The nation has a focused development strategy and foreign policy, implying the cultivation of strong economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties with other countries (Suwaidi, 2021). The focus on these strategies helps to classify the UAE as one of the new global soft powers with the chance to become one of the leaders of global intercourse.
Thus, soft power remains one of the concepts attracting researchers’ attention. Numerous attempts are to investigate its role in global relations and its impact on the further development of international cooperation. However, little attention is devoted to the UAE as one of the states acting within the soft power paradigm. For this reason, the research focuses on addressing the given gap by identifying and analyzing strategies used by the UAE to empower its global positions, the elements of soft power elements and levels where it is used, and the challenges that might arise. The significance and relevance of the research are linked to the fast UAE’s rise and transformation into a regional and global leader with a focus on the further empowerment of its positions. The research analyzes the UAE as a soft power and the challenges it might face.
Literature Review
The idea of soft power emerged at the first stages of human societies’ development. The global states, such as the Roman Empire, combined brutal force with diplomacy to attain their goals and ensure their relations with allies remained stable (Ohnesorge, 2019). However, a new wave of interest in the concept was observed at the end of the 20th century as the result of the global changes in international policy and global discourse.
The increased importance of this idea was linked to the realization of all failures and tensions in relations between states promoted by the hard power ideas (Ohnesorge, 2019). Power has always been viewed as one of the most important aspects of international relations. It implies the ability to impact others and make them follow specific recommendations or courses of action (Lukes, 2005). However, soft power reconsiders this paradigm and introduces a new vision.
The exact definition of soft power and its major elements emerged in the late 1980s because of the increased number of states using the concept to attain their goals. Thus, Joseph Nye (1990) was one of the first scientists to define the term, viewing soft power as the paradigm helping to make others focus on similar goals by cooperating with them instead of using rude force or coercing them. The definition was supported by other investigators accepting the rise of the new form of global interactions and its critical role (Lukes, 2005). Another definition views soft power as the persuasive approach to international relations, which rests on economic and cultural levers and helps various states to build stronger relations (Ohnesorge, 2019). Today, soft power is viewed as one of the essential concepts vital for understanding global relations.
The Concept and Strategy of Soft Power
The development of international relations and the increased importance of soft power cultivated the further evolution of the concept. The relevant definition views it as the ability to impact others using co-optive methods of framing the agenda, persuading, impacting, and eliciting positive attraction to acquire the desired outcomes (Nye, 2011). The success of soft power is linked to its legitimate nature and its reliance on the processes and strategies accepted by the government (Nye, 2011).
At the same time, as against hard power, which is aggressive and uses military or economic force to press others, soft power is more friendly and implies other essential elements. These include culture, political values, and foreign policies employed by a particular state to attain desired outcomes (Nye, 2011). As a result, the shift of priorities from aggressive to milder forms is one of the most important aspects of the concept of soft power.
The soft power theory also considers the fast-changing nature of the environment where the states exist and cooperate. The collaborative relations are built regarding the relevant states’ demands and the major tools peculiar to the paradigm. These include benignity, beauty, and brilliance, as the embodiment of the soft nature of new ways to interact with others (Nye, 2011). The first aspect means tolerance toward others and helps to increase the credibility and trustworthiness of a country (Nye, 2011).
Beauty states for shared ideas, values, and causes, attracting states to each other and enhancing their collaboration (Nye, 2011). Finally, brilliance is linked to solid economies, attractive culture, and developed society (Nye, 2011). Combining these three tools, the states acquire the chance to avoid using force when interacting with others and ensure their offerings are more attractive (Ohnesorge, 2019). As a result, there is a chance to build better and closer international relations by using soft power models.
The Soft Power of the UAE
Nowadays, the UAE can be viewed as one of the powerful international actors using the soft power method to achieve its goals and support existing incentives. The nation’s development paradigm implies building a stronger nation through cultivating cultural, economic, and political development (Suwaidi, 2021). Moreover, the UAE accepts the importance of global intercourse and the necessity to act at the international level (Ali Alhashmi, 2019). However, it focuses on playing a unique role by avoiding direct confrontation with others and building partnership relations based on trust, attractiveness, and mutual support (Suwaidi, 2021). Thus, during the country’s formation stage, the UAE created an internal framework providing all emirates with the chance to find common interests and avoid conflicts (Suwaidi, 2021). It helped to avoid the problems peculiar to newly independent states and create the basis for the future state’s evolution and rise.
At the regional level, the UAE views relations with the Gulf states as the central priority of its foreign policy. The countries have a shared history and similar customs, traditions, and beliefs, making cooperation easier (Suwaidi, 2021). For this reason, the UAE focuses on avoiding direct conflicts and using soft power to find common interests and build trust (Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, 2017). Meetings between the Gulf Cooperation Countries help to shape the intercourse and select the new vectors for development (Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, 2017).
Finally, the UAE supports its relations with the rest of the Arab world and other nations. The generosity of its culture, strong economics and the fast development of various business sectors make the UAE an attractive partner which can be trusted (Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, 2017). For this reason, the state benefits from employing the soft power method to address its local, regional, and international issues and support its current policies.
Challenges to Apply a Soft Power
The UAE’s employment of the soft power paradigm helps the state to transform into one of the most powerful international players with numerous opportunities for further development. However, adherence to the given model might also introduce numerous challenges and problems that should be considered. For instance, the UAE faces regional threats linked to instability in the Gulf region. The risks include the high level of the terrorist threat and lack of stability in Afghanistan, South Sudan, Yemen, Syrian, and Iraq (Suwaidi, 2021). Moreover, the state has traditionally complex relations with Iran because of unresolved territorial issues and the Iran nuclear program threatening peace in the whole region (Suwaidi, 2021). The scope of these threats is significant, and the UAE’s further evolution depends on the ability to resolve them.
Under these conditions, there is a critical need to find the balance between using the soft and hard power approaches. The UAE’s current development strategy implies the necessity to avoid direct military confrontations with neighbors or other states and build interactions regarding economic, cultural, and scientific needs (Antwi-Boateng & Ali Alhashmi, 2022). However, to mitigate the threats mentioned above, the nation employs some hard power approaches to remain competitive and survive in the region (Antwi-Boateng & Ali Alhashmi, 2022).
The state regularly increases its military spending to build a stronger army that can help to support its soft power strategies and protect the course selected by the nation (Ali Alhashmi, 2019). Furthermore, the global instability and the financial crisis caused by the pandemic might also be viewed as a significant challenge to the UAE’s soft power methods (Ali Alhashmi, 2019). At the moment, the state manages to address the problems effectively. However, it is critical to investigate the situation to acquire an enhanced understanding of how the state evolves and resolves issues.
Research Questions
The information about the soft power and its role in the functioning and development of the UAE provided above, along with the purpose of the paper, helps to formulate the following research questions:
- Why the UAE can be viewed a global soft power?
- What are the major elements of soft power in the UAE?
- What are the major challenges the UAE faces regarding its soft power approach to foreign policy?
The following research objectives support the research questions:
- To define the concept of soft power, its major elements, and strategies.
- To discuss soft power as the model of foreign relations.
- To discuss the UAE as the rising soft power.
- To outline and determine the major elements of soft power in the UAE.
- To determine the central challenges the UAE faces as the new soft power.
- To outline the opportunities for further development, the UAE has at the moment.
- To discuss the challenges and their implications for the state.
The given research questions and the objectives will help to discuss the problem from various perspectives, acquire an enhanced understanding, and conclude about the role of soft power in the development of the UAE and its further transformation.
At the same time, the information acquired from the literature review helps to formulate the following hypothesis:
The UAE is a growing global soft power with a robust foreign policy and mutually beneficial relations with other nations built based on culture, political values, and shared interests.
Altogether, the research questions, objectives, and hypothesis formulate the basis of the study and impact the choice of data collection and analysis methods. At the same time, they help to conduct the in-depth investigation of the selected problem and conclude about the development of soft power and its role in the UAE.
Methodology
The qualitative research methodology is used to collect and analyze the information linked to the issue. Several vital aspects explain the choice of approach. First, qualitative methods help to investigate a particular phenomenon and acquire a better understanding by analyzing available sources (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). The UAE’s foreign policy and the use of the soft power method can be investigated by analyzing the current perspectives on the issue, the recent research findings, and the current attitudes linked to the problem. Furthermore, the qualitative method allows a researcher to remain focused on a particular aspect and avoid considering unnecessary factors that might deteriorate findings.
Furthermore, the qualitative case study method is employed to guarantee the in-depth investigation of the problem under research. The choice of the method is explained by the case study’s ability to fill in the existing gaps in knowledge by collecting credible and relevant information pertaining to the issue under analysis and building a case (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). It also helps to study the question under the research intensively and from various aspects, which is vital for acquiring credible findings and answering the research issues. For this reason, the case study method is viewed as an advantageous approach to collecting data about the problem and concluding about its current state.
The case study will be supported by the thematic analysis of the information and the deductive coding. The data set for thematic analysis will be comprised of the relevant documents linked to the problem, such as the UAE’s strategies, policies, and regulations used to establish the paradigm of its foreign relations. The inclusion of credible data will help to enhance the trustworthiness of the research and the practical utility of the findings (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). The codes applied to the dataset will help to distinguish major themes and conclude about the current situation linked to the soft power in the UAE, the current challenges, and trends.
Altogether, the qualitative case study supported by the thematic analysis of the primary documents linked to the problem is viewed as the most effective research paradigm for answering the formulated research questions and acquiring an enhanced understanding of the issue under research. The paradigm will help to collect credible and relevant data and speak about the peculiarities of the UAE’s foreign policy and strategies regarding the idea of soft power. Moreover, the data collected in the course of research will create the basis for making recommendations and discussing the peculiarities of the UAE’s development and the changes it faces in terms of the selected policies.
Chapters
It is expected that the research study will have the following chapters:
- Chapter 1. Introduction
- The section sets the background for the research and introduces the scope and significance.
- Chapter 2. Literature Review
- The section creates the theoretical background for the research by reviewing the literature linked to the issue.
- Chapter 3. Methodology
- The section outlines the theoretical framework and methods used to collect and analyze the information.
- Chapter 4. Data Analysis
- This part introduces the process of data analysis and structuring
- Chapter 5. Results
- The section structures the acquired results, presents the significant findings, and answers the research questions.
- Chapter 6. Conclusions and Recommendations
- The chapter summarizes the acquired findings, outlines their practical utility, and introduces recommendations for future research.
References
Ali Alhashmi, A. (2019). The emergence of United Arab Emirates as a global soft power: Strategies and challenges. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. United Arab Emirates University.
Antwi-Boateng, O., & Ali Alhashmi, A. (2022). The emergence of the United Arab Emirates as a global soft power: Current strategies and future challenges. Economic and Political Studies, 10(2), 208-227. Web.
Creswell, J., & Creswell, D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Lukes, S. (2005). Robert Dahl on power. Journal of Political Power, 8(2), 261-271. Web.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation. (2017). UAE international development cooperation. Web.
Nye, J. S. (1990). Soft power. Foreign Policy, 80, 153–171. Web.
Nye, J. (2011). The future of power. Public Affairs.
Ohnesorge, H. (2019). Soft power: The forces of attraction in international relations. Springer.
Suwaidi, A. M. (2021). The United Arab Emirates soft power in the international relations context [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. United Arab Emirates University.