The UAE and Saudi Arabia: Border Disputes and International Relations in the Gulf

The politics of territorial disputes in the Arab region represents one of the most contentious issues inherited down from direct colonial rule, wherein western colonial powers took part in the brutal demarcation of territories based on their economic and geopolitical interests. Although more than half a century went by since the end of colonialism and Western tutelage, Arab nations have still not reached a final consensus on the resolution of their border disputes and territorial integrity.

The Gulf region does not recoil from these complications either, albeit they do not contravene Big Brother’s agenda. As long as the attempts of reaching a compromise among the parties concerned remain unsatisfactory, the overall balance of power will always be tilted towards Big Brother’s interests and objectives in the region.

The book examines the border crisis between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and the various aspects of this conflict that involve historic rights on land, natural resources, and maritime routes. Moreover, the book sheds light on the current balance of power which includes the intervention of British mediation, as well as policies of the Saudi-Emirati axis which is intended to rebuild American leadership of its regional alliance structure, and the overall outcomes of negotiations between the two countries.