Strategic Threat In UAE - Report Example

Strаtеgiс Thrеаt in UАЕ Name University Introduction Following reports from international media and that from the United Arab Emirates concerning the attack on the civilian ship by Saleh Group and the Houthi Militia, it became evident that terrorism is a strategic issue in the UAE (Human Rights Watch, 2016). Terrorism, according to the united nations security council presented a challenge to sustainability and diversity in the economy of a country (Stein and Levi, 2015). The numerous attacks by terrorist groups that targets civilians violates the international charters by threatening the freedom of non UAE nationals. The terrorist groups like the UAE Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaida, and Daesh are key threats to the attainment of the objectives set to be achieved by UAE as outlined in the vision 2030 (Robins, 2015). These objectives as outlined in the vision 2030 include the creation of a sustainable UAE economy and establishment of a balance between the social and regional factors which will ensure the state achieves economic development (Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 2016). However, the terrorist groups threaten the achievement of these objectives by threatening the lives of investors like it is done by the UAE Muslim Brotherhood which considers non-Muslims as outsiders. The groups further are responsible for the attacks on oil rich areas in order to acquire funds for running the subsequent assault in other places and states (Englund and Stohl, 2016). In order to mitigate this menace and ensure the objectives outlined in the vision 2030 are achieved, the UAE government has put in place strategic measures that will counter the prevalence of terrorism in the nation (Lekhraibani, Rutledge and Forstenlechner, 2015). The government has put in place diplomatic measures like creating an inclusive environment for both nationals and expatriates to improve on integration and bridge the differences on religion basis. This intends to create harmony and unity among the residents. Moreover, the constitution has outlined key articles that spell out the strict punishment for those involved or associated with the terrorism activities. The articles are intended to deter the people from joining or supporting the terrorist groups. Economically, the government is encouraging diversity in the trade whereby the people are encouraged to participate in non-oil related trade to reduce the overdependence on oil business (Nobanee and Ellili, 2016). The diversity in economy will encourage people to participate in other income generating means and reduce their interest in oil business reducing the possibilities for internal conflicts. This retrospect paper seeks to discuss terrorism as a strategic issue using the strategic framework in relation to the vision 2030 for UAE. Terrorism in UAE Terrorism is a strategic issue in the UAE since it tends to impact negatively on the country’s economic and dynamic changes in the cultural sphere to create a sustainable and multicultural state (Englund and Stohl, 2016). Considering that the government planning for the vision 2030 outlines the outcomes of a sustainable income, terrorism poses a threat to the achievement of this target besides threatening the stability of the UAE government. From the vision 2030, it is the Abu Dhabi government has outlined various objectives that the country hopes to achieve. Among these objectives, one of the key objectives is to create a sustainable economy (Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 2016). The sustainable economy creation requires that the region be safe for business activities for both domestic and international business people. Moreover, the vision has also outlined that the country is focused on achieving and ensuring that there is a balance within the social and regional elements of the country’s economic development so as to realize benefits for everyone. As such, the government has put in place means and ways through which these objectives are set to be achieved (Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 2016). However, terrorism presents a challenge to the achievement of these objectives in a number of ways. For instance, terrorism activities conducted by groups like The UAE Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaida, Daesh among others are considered to disrupt economic activities within the country and the region (Uaeinteract.com 2016). This is through coordination of attack on the oil rich areas in order to cut down on the supply of oi in the Arab market and on global scale. Thus, the reduction in supply of oil to the market translates to the increase in fuel prices which allows the terrorist groups to get enough finances for their activities (Wickham, 2015). Moreover, the terrorist groups are able to utilize the skilled unemployed UAE residents to conduct the terrorist activities at sophisticated level (Stein and Levi, 2015). This impacts negatively on the country’s goal to achieve a sustainable economy in which the necessary skills and talents are utilized for greater good. In addition, the instability in the UAE economy is contributed to by the existence of a major terrorist group in the state. the UAE Muslim Brotherhood poses a major threat to the attainment of the objectives set by UAE in the vision 2030 (Lekhraibani, Rutledge and Forstenlechner, 2015). This is because the brotherhood has set up a number of objectives which are believed to be dividing people in the Arab countries. Although the group is headquartered in Egypt, the motto and the goals for the group affect all the Muslim countries. In the motto, it is stated that Muslim believers are brothers and jihad is the group’s way and they wish to die in the name of Allah (Robins, 2015). Through the imposition of this motto to the residents in Muslim countries, it threatens the safety of non-Muslim investors which impacts negatively on the country’s economy. For instance, Christian investors will be reluctant to invest in the UAE for the fear of being executed as they may not be considered as ‘brothers’ by the brotherhood (Wickham, 2015). This presents a major problem to the economic sustainability and integration for the social and regional elements in the UAE (Lekhraibani, Rutledge and Forstenlechner, 2015). In order to continue imposing these terrorism activities, the brotherhood requires funds for coordinating these activities and therefore will tend to restrict the country’s access to oil rich areas so as to collect the funds from the sales of the oil (Nobanee and Ellili, 2016). The government of the UAE has put in place various means through which the terrorism menace will be mitigated and help in attaining the vision 2030 objectives (Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 2016). With the interest in building an open, effective and efficient business environment that is appreciated globally, it is vital to adopt disciplined policies that will facilitate to creation of a safe region for trade. From the diplomatic perspective, the government has put in place various strategies in order to ensure that UAE is strategically positioned in the region through the sociocultural aspects and the regional affairs. For instance, the UAE government has outlined the strategies to encourage diversity in the culture through the rapid population growth that is facilitated by the increased immigration and the rise in birth rate (Lekhraibani, Rutledge and Forstenlechner, 2015). As such, the sustainability in the GDP through the population growth will translate to diversification in the country’s culture which will allow the nationals and expatriates to live in harmony. Therefore, this eliminates the existence of such terrorist groups like Islamic Brotherhood. Besides, having expatriates from other countries within the region allows the country to strengthen their relationship with the respective countries and therefore reducing the possibility of being attacked by terrorist groups from the region (Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 2016). Further, fighting of terrorism within the UAE has been considered to be a global challenge and therefore the government has begun negotiations with other countries to devise means on mitigation of the problem. Strengthening the ties between the different countries allows the fighting of crime to be done through amicable means like establishing resilient financial markets which contribute to building of a sustainable economy. From the economic perspective, it can be noted that the country has outlined the key means through which the economy will be diversified (Nobanee and Ellili, 2016). As a matter of fact, the country has proposed diversifying the economy into non-oil sectors as a means to economic growth and stability. Through this approach, it can be seen that terrorism will be reduced since the over dependence on the oil oriented business causes the increased volatility in the social and economic pillars. Therefore, the diversification is set to increase employment in other sectors which will eventually lead to more satisfied population and hence reduce the hostility and terrorism activities (Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 2016). Since the government is focused on attaining a sustainable economy, such an economy needs to be in a position to fulfill the interests of both the nationals and external investors. When the economy and the market in the country is diversified through encouraging agriculture and manufacturing business, the competition within the oil business is reduced and therefore people focus on developing the entire economy and not competing domestically. The focus of the government to create a sustainable economy within the region in order to reduce the terrorism menace will require that the government to collect enough information on the population and enrich the intelligence base so as to be in a position to counter unprecedented shifts in the social, economic and political arena (Nobanee and Ellili, 2016). As such, it implies that the government has to target driving significant improvement within the labor market. This has also been outlined in the vision 2030 in the government has put in place law regarding the equity and equality in the employment sector. The target is to ensure that more women are employed which will regulate the number of skilled unemployed population that is usually lured into terrorism activities (Englund and Stohl, 2016). With the government targeting development of highly skilled and productive workforce, it will be possible to note reduce the rate at which terrorism is growing and rather channel the workforce into facilitating the growth of the economy. The UAE government has also put in place strict terrorism laws that are intended to counter the ever growing dangers of terrorism. In the article 16 of the UAE constitution, it is stated that anyone with an intent to create either direct or indirect act that will be deemed to have a terrorist outcome will attract a life imprisonment as a punishment. Article 14 of the constitution further sets stricter law by pointing out that the culprits will attract a death penalty if they publicly declare their lack of allegiance to the ruling regime (Stein and Levi, 2015). These articles are intended to psychologically alter the intentions of terrorists and those intending to join the groups will be deterred from doing so which will ensure that the state is secure for business activities (Lekhraibani, Rutledge and Forstenlechner, 2015). Conclusion Conclusively, terrorism, as a strategic issue in UAE presents vital challenges to attainment of vision 2030 objectives (Wickham, C. R. (2015). The threats to attaining the objective are evident in the manner that groups like Houthi militia which are responsible for attacking civilian ships to instill fear amongst the residents (Uaeinteract.com 2016). Besides, Muslim Brotherhood has been reported to be leading in attack on non-Muslim regions while spreading their motto that jihad is the way. On the contrary, the government is focused on attaining a sustainable economy and a regionally conscious state. In order to do this, the nation has to address the terrorism threat through various ways. One of the key means is the economic aspect where the state is pushing for diversification in the trade by encouraging non-oil business which targets to regulate the volatility in the oil producing areas (Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 2016). Besides, there are laws that have been put in place concerning being a terrorist of associating with a terrorist group. For instance, article 14 and 16 of the constitution stipulate the punishments for these crimes for both nationals and expatriates (Stein and Levi, 2015). The military means are further employed to create a safe region by securing the regions that have been at war like the Gulf war. The safer the regions are, the easier it will be to achieve the objectives for the government. References Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. (2016). Economic Council. Retrieved 15 November 2016, from http://www.tdic.ae/TDICWSAssets/En/pdf/Abu-Dhabi-Economic-Vision-2030.pdf Englund, S., & Stohl, M. (2016). Constructions of Terrorism. Perspectives on Terrorism, 10(3). Lekhraibani, R., Rutledge, E., & Forstenlechner, I. (2015). Securing a Dynamic and Open Economy: The UAE's Quest for Stability. Middle East Policy, 22(2), 108-124. Nobanee, H., & Ellili, N. (2016). Corporate sustainability disclosure in annual reports: Evidence from UAE banks: Islamic versus conventional. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 55, 1336-1341. Robins, P. (2015). Rentier Islamism: Muslim Brotherhood affiliates in Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford). Stein, J. G., & Levi, R. (2015). In Partnership with the Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law and the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute: Navigating Deterrence: Law, Strategy, & Security in the Twenty-First Century: The Social Psychology of Denial: Deterring Terrorism. NYUJ Int'l L. & Pol., 47, 409-855. UAE - The Official Web Site - News. (2016). Uaeinteract.com. Retrieved 15 November 2016, from http://www.uaeinteract.com/news/default3.asp?ID=216http://www.uaeinteract.com/news/ default3.asp?ID=216 UAE: Terrorism Law Threatens Lives, Liberty. (2016). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 15 November 2016, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/12/03/uae-terrorism-law-threatens-lives-liberty Wickham, C. R. (2015). The Muslim Brotherhood: evolution of an islamist movement. Princeton University Press. Read More

From the vision 2030, it is the Abu Dhabi government has outlined various objectives that the country hopes to achieve. Among these objectives, one of the key objectives is to create a sustainable economy (Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 2016). The sustainable economy creation requires that the region be safe for business activities for both domestic and international business people. Moreover, the vision has also outlined that the country is focused on achieving and ensuring that there is a balance within the social and regional elements of the country’s economic development so as to realize benefits for everyone.

As such, the government has put in place means and ways through which these objectives are set to be achieved (Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 2016). However, terrorism presents a challenge to the achievement of these objectives in a number of ways. For instance, terrorism activities conducted by groups like The UAE Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaida, Daesh among others are considered to disrupt economic activities within the country and the region (Uaeinteract.com 2016). This is through coordination of attack on the oil rich areas in order to cut down on the supply of oi in the Arab market and on global scale.

Thus, the reduction in supply of oil to the market translates to the increase in fuel prices which allows the terrorist groups to get enough finances for their activities (Wickham, 2015). Moreover, the terrorist groups are able to utilize the skilled unemployed UAE residents to conduct the terrorist activities at sophisticated level (Stein and Levi, 2015). This impacts negatively on the country’s goal to achieve a sustainable economy in which the necessary skills and talents are utilized for greater good.

In addition, the instability in the UAE economy is contributed to by the existence of a major terrorist group in the state. the UAE Muslim Brotherhood poses a major threat to the attainment of the objectives set by UAE in the vision 2030 (Lekhraibani, Rutledge and Forstenlechner, 2015). This is because the brotherhood has set up a number of objectives which are believed to be dividing people in the Arab countries. Although the group is headquartered in Egypt, the motto and the goals for the group affect all the Muslim countries.

In the motto, it is stated that Muslim believers are brothers and jihad is the group’s way and they wish to die in the name of Allah (Robins, 2015). Through the imposition of this motto to the residents in Muslim countries, it threatens the safety of non-Muslim investors which impacts negatively on the country’s economy. For instance, Christian investors will be reluctant to invest in the UAE for the fear of being executed as they may not be considered as ‘brothers’ by the brotherhood (Wickham, 2015).

This presents a major problem to the economic sustainability and integration for the social and regional elements in the UAE (Lekhraibani, Rutledge and Forstenlechner, 2015). In order to continue imposing these terrorism activities, the brotherhood requires funds for coordinating these activities and therefore will tend to restrict the country’s access to oil rich areas so as to collect the funds from the sales of the oil (Nobanee and Ellili, 2016). The government of the UAE has put in place various means through which the terrorism menace will be mitigated and help in attaining the vision 2030 objectives (Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 2016).

With the interest in building an open, effective and efficient business environment that is appreciated globally, it is vital to adopt disciplined policies that will facilitate to creation of a safe region for trade. From the diplomatic perspective, the government has put in place various strategies in order to ensure that UAE is strategically positioned in the region through the sociocultural aspects and the regional affairs. For instance, the UAE government has outlined the strategies to encourage diversity in the culture through the rapid population growth that is facilitated by the increased immigration and the rise in birth rate (Lekhraibani, Rutledge and Forstenlechner, 2015).

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