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Transitional Tensions in UAE Public Administration:. From Islamic Roots and Arab Custom, through Colonisation , to Current Contradictions under Globalisation. Arab/Bedouin Custom. Islamic Work Values. Caliphal Administration. Colonisation. Current and Futue. Islamic Work Values.
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Transitional Tensions in UAE Public Administration: From Islamic Roots and Arab Custom, through Colonisation, to Current Contradictions under Globalisation
Arab/Bedouin Custom Islamic Work Values Caliphal Administration Colonisation Current and Futue
Islamic Values Prophet Mohamed (PBUH/saws) • Qur’an • Sunna, Hadith
Islamic Work Ethic(Ali, 1988; Al-Kaleh, EdD; Yousef, 2000) • Life without work has no meaning • Engagement in economic activity an obligation • Honesty, justice in trade • Equitable, fair distribution of wealth (e.g., zakat) • Acquire skills & technology • Praises work as a virtue
Work Ethic cont… • Effort of the capable is obligatory • Cooperation & consultation • Social relations at work creates balance in life • Work source of independence, personal growth, self-respect, self-fulfillment • Measures intentions instead of results • Workplace governed by justice & generosity
Emirati Traditional Governance Model: Egalitarian & Participatory (Left Side Field of Consensus) Defense against aggressors Leader/Shaikh External Aggressors Accessibility (Majlis) & accountability loyalty Transfer loyalty & territorial rights New Leader/Shaikh Followers
Black – Abbasid Caliphate Green – Fatimid Caliphate Red - Hashemites White - Ummayyad Caliphate
Caliphal Rule • Caliph (Ar. Khalifa) • KhalifatuRasulil-lah = Successor to the Messenger of God • Abu Bakr, 'Umar, Uthman, Ali (earliest, closest Companions of Prophet): simple and righteous lives, justice impartial; treatment of others kind, merciful; one with people - first among equals • Subsequently, Caliphs assumed manners of kings and emperors, spirit of equality diminished
Timeline of Caliphates • Had only indirect influence on UAE area bedouin • Until Ottoman Empire (still only indirect)
Moral character, visionary, caring Father of the state & people ‘Individual’ in community Leadership inheres in personal qualities Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Dubai) United Arab EmiratesCharismatic/Traditional Exemplars
Consultative, conciliatory, consensus-seeking Selected for competences Oriented to public good and welfare Bedouin traditions (plus Arabic, Muslim) Grounded in kin system Personal style Personal networks (trust systems): appropriate Wasta Orientation towards quality Leadership Practices
UAE Shaikhdom • Ruling families est. by UK colonisers • Federated state of 7 member Emirates • Meritocratic: the competent selected as Crown Prince • Consultative • Negotiating & navigating among powerful tribal/family representatives • Negotiating among member Emirates
“Lost History”: The West’s Adoption of Arab Scholarship Al-Khalili, J. (2010) Pathfinders: Golden Age of Arabic Science Crone, P. (2005) Medieval Islamic Political Thought Freely, J. (2009) Aladdin’s Lamp: How Greek Science Came to Europe Through the Islamic World Lyons, J. (2009) The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization Masood, E. (2009) Science & Islam: A History Morgan, M. (2007) Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists O’Leary, D. (2003) Arabic Thought and Its Place in History
Synthesised Scholarship Common Heritage: e.g., Plato, Aristotle (history, politics, sociology, cultural analysis) Arab Scholarship: e.g., Al-Farabi, Al-Ghazali, IbnKhaldun, Islamic Humanist tradition Western trad. built upon Arabic: e.g., Renaissance scholars, Weber, Heidegger
Mgmt, Admin & Leadership: Historical Complexity Tribal Traditions Colonial Heritage Western Education & Consultancy Post-Unification Shaikhdom (ShaikhZayed)
Initial Theoretical Scaffolding Weberian Value-orientation & Ideal Typing GoffmanMicrointeractionist Metaphors Saidian Humanistic Critique of Orientalist Hegemony Bourdieuian Intellectual Field
Disruptions: British “Rule” Undercutting Shaikhs (1820-) Limited/eliminated trad’lfunctions of shaikhs: ability to wage war, deal with foreign powers, raid commercial boats, engage in slave trading, depose or murder of rulers UK approval of successors, require agreement to treaties & conditions, accept British advice, protect UK interests
British “Rule” cont….. Selected shaikhs raised to unchallengable positions of power Prevented tribes from getting rid of unsatisfactory shaikhs Fixed territorial boundaries Replaced consultation & consensus with British force, colonial hierarchy [Bureaucratisation of traditional society]
Additional Effects of UK Colonisation • Bombed the ports, disrupting trade • Restricted size of boats, diminishing pearl diving (only source of revenue) • Built no roads, no hospitals, no schools • Subsistence population sank further (i.e. camel milk and dates are not enough) • Significant rise in death rate
First Settlement: 5,500 BCE Pop. 2011: 7.2 Million (Expats 88.5%) Urban: 88% 32nd Human Develop Index (of 169) Life Expectancy: 78.5 years Literacy Rate: 93+% Health & Educ (to BA) free GDP per cap: 17th world; 3rd Middle East UAE Sample Vital Stats
Myths to Dispose of:Women in the UAE • They drive • Are increasingly in workplace (glass ceiling?) • Travel abroad (many regularly) • 80% Emirati grad students • Assertive in doctoral seminar • UAE is (relatively) uxorious society