ABSTRACT
The emergence of the so-called oil crises in the 1970s has stimulated considerable discussion and studies on oil-rich Middle East countries, aimed principally at examining the potential of individual countries to absorb the oil revenues which have been accruing to them. Middle East members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) especially have come under an unprecedented international focus since 1973, a focus which has been predicated upon the economic and political importance of oil in international trade. Despite a proliferation of country studies undertaken within regional-wide discussions by the news media, political analysts, economists, and other scholars, the distribution of the attention attracted by the Middle East has not been all that equitable. One country which has received a share of the focus well below its roles in both the regional and international scenes is the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
