The UAE has embraced soft power as part of its foreign policy strategy. While soft power instruments are understood as useful, if not critical to a state’s foreign policy objectives, it is not clear entirely clear how those instruments can be developed and deployed efficiently. Thus, this study examines the scope of soft power in the UAE’s foreign policy: to what extent the soft power capabilities of the state can be deployed to affect foreign policy objectives. The scope depends heavily on the consensus within the state, especially amongst its bureaucracies tasked with foreign policy. In the first of two phases, the study examines the relative soft power of the UAE compared to its neighbours in the region using the methodology provided by the Soft Power 30 index. The UAE has a narrow advantage but not in all soft power domains. In the second phase, the study examines the bureaucratic consensus on soft power and the objectives of the state. First, respondents were grouped into different foreign policy domains: culture, diplomacy, military/security, and economy. Then respondents were asked questions about the foreign perceptions of the UAE, the country’s foreign policy objectives, and the emergence of soft power instruments. The survey found no association between the respondent’s domain and their answers to questions about foreign perceptions and the foreign policy objectives of the UAE. This implies bureaucratic consensus on soft power capabilities and the objectives of the state. However, there is a strong association between domain and their perception of increasingly important hard power and soft power foreign policy instruments in the recent past (significant at 0.5). This means that bureaucratic consensus may not extend to the development of specific foreign policy instruments despite consensus on the scope for soft power in the state. It could also mean that bureaucrats are likely to either over-emphasise or downplay the scope for soft power. Finally, the survey results suggest that even when bureaucratic consensus is available, it may be incoherent with the scope for soft power. While respondents selected the media and cultural organisations as the agents with the highest soft power potential, these choices were inconsistent with their own views that the UAE’s soft power advantages are due to its diplomatic power capabilities, which are best associated with the civil service. Moreover, phase 1 established that the UAE has relatively low cultural and media soft power. This discrepancy might explain the viable but narrow scope for soft power in the UAE’s foreign policy.
The Scope for Soft Power in the UAE: Soft Power as a Mechanism to Strengthen Hard Power Instruments
Alzahmi, M. (Author). 2023
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Professional Studies