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Beyond Oil and Through Change: The Evolution of the Social Contract in the UAE
Al-Nuaimi, Azza Sultan
Al-Nuaimi, Azza Sultan
Date
2025-06
Author
Advisor
Type
Thesis
Degree
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29.232-2025.13a Azza Sultan Al-Nuaimi.pdf
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Description
A Master of Arts thesis in International Studies by Azza Sultan Al-Nuaimi entitled, “Beyond Oil and Through Change: The Evolution of the Social Contract in the UAE”, submitted in June 2025. Thesis advisor is Dr. Bethany Shockley. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).
Abstract
This study explores the evolution of the social contract in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), situating the analysis within the country’s ongoing evolution of state–society relations in the context of diversification efforts and post-rentier adjustments. Historically, the UAE’s governance model has been characterized by the distributive logic of the rentier state, in which expansive welfare provision secured citizen loyalty and political acquiescence. However, fiscal constraints, regional instability, and global disruptions have led the state to reform its welfare policies, which may have had an impact on state–society relations by introducing targeted benefits instead of the traditional universal benefits, thereby altering longstanding expectations around state responsibility and citizen entitlement. While existing scholarship remains largely topdown in orientation, focusing on government strategies and institutional design, this research focuses on citizen perspectives and aims to address three core questions: how Emirati citizens interpret recent changes to the social contract, particularly those related to welfare reform and employment policy, and state expectations of civic responsibility; the extent to which these interpretations vary across generational, gendered, and regional lines; and how citizens perceive the evolving relationship between entitlement, loyalty, and national belonging. Through content analysis of recent initiatives including the Nafis program, the 2015 energy subsidy reform, and the 2018 introduction of Value-Added Tax (VAT)—alongside semi-structured interviews, the study investigates how state–citizen relations in the UAE are being impacted in the context of economic diversification and post-rentier adjustments, as experienced and interpreted by citizens themselves.