The MBZ Edition
On Power, Diplomacy, and The New Middle East
Joseph Dana (JD) is a longstanding friend of WITI and a South Africa-based writer. He formerly edited the opinion pages at The National in Abu Dhabi and served as Monocle's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent and Istanbul bureau chief. Sign up for his newsletter: “Both/And” - Colin (CJN)
Joseph here. The most powerful person in the Middle East is not a household name, and that’s probably no accident. Mohammed Bin Zayed, the 61-year-old Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, became the ruler of the UAE after his brother, Sheikh Khalifa, died earlier in May. The ascension of MBZ, as he is known, won’t change much in the UAE since he had been the country’s de facto ruler for more than a decade, but it’s probably time that more people learn about how he conducts business.
Under MBZ’s leadership, the UAE has become a military and economic powerhouse. While Dubai often receives the lion’s share of attention regarding the UAE’s accomplishments, the critical decisions are made (and paid for) in Abu Dhabi. In line with his “little Sparta” approach to statecraft, MBZ has used Abu Dhabi’s vast oil wealth (the Emirate is home to the world’s sixth-largest oil reserves and has a $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, which is under MBZ’s control) to build one of the region’s most formidable military machines. The UAE has bought American and French war machinery for decades, but the country has gone after bigger ticket items like the F-35 fighter jet in recent years.
As an absolute monarchy, the UAE also has one of the most advanced domestic surveillance systems globally, thanks to major investments in Israeli surveillance technology. Long before the normalization agreement with Israel, Abu Dhabi had bought Israeli surveillance technology like Pegasus from the much-maligned NSO Group. Mass surveillance systems like the Falcon Eye, which is currently deployed in Abu Dhabi, haven’t received much coverage.
Abu Dhabi commissioned a film about its military a couple of years ago.
While I was living in Abu Dhabi, MBZ was larger than life. His almost elusive style of conducting matters of state was the stuff of legend. I would often hear incredible stories about his private army of ex-South African Apartheid soldiers that would be dispatched on a whim to Somalia or Libya to carry out operations. It’s nearly impossible to determine if these stories are real but suffice it to say MBZ's calculated demeanor has led to some fascinating tales. He also had a habit of making surprise visits to local coffee shops and holding informal meetings with citizens known as a majlis.
Why is this interesting?
Together with Israel and Saudi Arabia, the UAE is one of America’s most important allies in the Middle East. Yet, America is struggling to ensure that its allies work in unison. This is clear in Israel’s adventurous military actions and aggressive congressional lobbying but is becoming more evident in the UAE-American partnership as well. To say that MBZ is bold in his foreign policy would be a gross understatement. While he might not be widely known, he has been deeply involved in the geopolitics of the Middle East and beyond since he began running the UAE.
In a brilliant profile, the New York Times notes that “for decades, [MBZ] has been a key American ally, following Washington’s lead, but now he is going his own way. His special forces are active in Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Egypt’s North Sinai. He has worked to thwart democratic transitions in the Middle East, helped install a reliable autocrat in Egypt, and boosted a protégé to power in Saudi Arabia.”
This type of “going his own way” was recently on display when the international community began cutting ties with Russia over the Ukraine conflict. The UAE, along with Israel, were steadfast in their relationship with Russia, with MBZ going so far as to state Russia’s right to defend itself on March 1. The UAE continues to be a haven for Russian oligarchs and their assets despite the international backlash. The spike in oil prices means that the UAE is again flush with cash. Now that MBZ has moved from de-facto leader of the UAE to ruler, more people should get to know the Middle East’s most powerful person. (JD)
Quick links:
A couple of years ago, the UAE set up its own national security agency and staffed it with former American NSA operatives. The operation didn’t go as planned. Reuters delivers the details in this fascinating expose. (JD)
The ongoing war in Yemen is one of the world's worst. In many ways, this is MBZ’s war and blowback in the form of missile attacks on Abu Dhabi is starting to bite. (JD)
Mercenaries are popular in the UAE. A deep dive into their role in the UAE’s domestic and foreign policy. (JD)
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Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Joseph (JD)
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