The Emirati Model

The Emirati Dream is a provocative exploration of how the United
Arab Emirates became the most successful capitalist experiment in the
Arab world. Written by Obaid AlZaabi, an Emirati insider with a frontrow
seat to his country's transformation, the book weaves historical
narrative, economic analysis, and political insight to explain why the
UAE succeeded where others faltered.
Through rich storytelling and data-driven argument, AlZaabi contrasts
the UAE's pragmatic, pro-business ethos with the socialist and populist
models that have dominated the region-from Egypt's Nasserism to
Iraq's Baathism. He examines the pillars of the Emirati model: open
trade, limited taxation, foreign labor, state-led investment, and strategic
neutrality in global affairs. He also reflects on the role of identity,
leadership, and ambition in shaping the country's social contract.
At once a celebration of the UAE's rise and a critique of its ideological
alternatives, The Emirati Dream offers a new way of thinking about
development, governance, and ambition in the Arab world-and what
the future might hold for a region at a crossroads.