The establishment of the United Arab Emirates, 1950-85 / Abdullah Omran Taryam.

Includes bibliographies and index.

Introduction -- 1. Internal and External Influences and their Impact on the Arab Emirates 1950-60 -- The British Conquest -- Early winds of change -- The Trucial States Council 1952 -- Modern education, 1953 --
Commercial development of Dubai -- Anti-British movements in the 1950s -- The Buraimi dispute -- The Inner Oman Revolution -- The Bahraini Nationalist Movement -- Iranian expansionist ambitions -- Fragmentation as a policy -- 2. Oil and the Change in British Policy -- Beginning of progress -- Political awakening -- Impact of the oil wealth Arab League involvement -- The Development Office -- 3. The British Withdrawal Decision and Local, Regional and International Reactions -- Reason for the withdrawal decision -- Attitudes and reactions -- (i) United States -- (ii) Saudi Arabia -- (iii) Iran -- (iv) The rulers of the emirates -- (v) The Arab world -- (vi) The British Conservative Party -- (vii) The Soviet Union -- 4. The Dubai Agreement and Talks over the Proposed Nine-member Union -- The Abu Dhabi-Dubai agreement -- The nine-member union scheme -- Constitutional differences -- Saudi and Iranian attitudes -- Proposed constitution -- 5. Failure of Talks about the Nine-member Union and Success of the Seven-member Union Settlement of the Bahrain question -- Resumption of talks -- Impact of the British Conservative Party's return to power -- The British withdrawal -- Emergence of the seven-member union Iran's seizure of the islands -- Proclamation of the state of the United Arab Emirates -- 6. The Federation of the Emirates and the Conflict Between the Constitutional Structure and Regional Authorities -- Features of the provisional Constitution Establishment of the federal power structures -- Bids to consolidate federal versus regional authority -- Problems of regionalism and inter-emirate frontier disputes -- Committee for a draft permanent constitution -- Rejection of the permanent constitution and extension of the provisional constitution -- Demand by the Cabinet and National Assembly for more federal powers -- UAE joins the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council -- Second extension of the provisional constitution -- 1976-81 -- 7. Evaluation of the Economic and Social Development in the United Arab Emirates -- The UAE development experiment and its characteristics -- Development planning bodies in the UAE -- Demographic situation and national and foreign -- manpower Achievements under the Union – Education – Health -- Social welfare -- Agriculture, animal welfare and fisheries -- Electricity and water -- Roads, communications and transport -- Crude oil and extractive industry – Miscellaneous -- Foreign trade -- Banking and insurance – Housing.

The United Arab Emirates were established in response to the British decision to withdraw from the Gulf by 1971. This decision, announced in 1968, had left the rulers of the emirates perplexed and alarmed. After decades of mutual suspicion and rivalry, fostered by British imperial dominance, the emirates were now obliged to seek security in fede.