United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a union of seven small emirates along the eastern Persian Gulf coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The city of Abu Dhabi was selected as the nation's capital when the union was created in 1971 and takes up nearly ninety percent of the nation's entire area. The six other emirates include Dubayy (Dubai), 'Ajman, Ash-Shariqah (Sharjah), Umm al-Qaywayn, and Ra's al-Khaymah, and Al- Fujayrah. Political power is divided between the central federal and emirate governments; the head of state is UAE president who is chosen by the Supreme Council of the Union made up of the rulers of the seven emirates. There are no political parties and most political power rests in the hands of the emirs and their families. Oil was discovered in UAE in 1958 and oil production began in 1969. The economy is now dominated by the petroleum industry, reserves concentrated in the...
[ View Full Essay]