The subtitle is Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism and the author is Jim Krane (2009) – the book is an examination of the city’s origins and specifically its development over the past few decades (ending with the global financial crisis).
A large measure of Dubai’s growth in the past century can be attributed to its efforts to function as a freer, less onerous and more business-friendly environment for Iranian money, even as it remains one of Iran’s largest trading partners. Despite its location, Dubai is not an oil town, holding only 4% of the reserves in the U.A.E. Therefore, it had to develop itself as a center for finance and tourism. Still, the real boom in the 2000s came in part because of 9/11 – after Arabs were largely shunned in the West, Dubai’s unique role in the region attracted much of the oil money that wanted a safe home. It was a free port; a tax-friendly financial center; with the growth of Emirates Air, a travel hub for the Middle East and a gateway city to the West; it was a place where all religions were welcomed and where expats did not need to live an ascetic life. And it has also managed to avoid terrorism despite some Western tendencies in its operations, despite maintaining business ties with Israel, and despite serving as a frequent pit stop for the U.S. Navy – probably because, officially, the U.A.E. has always maintained the company line when it comes to important Middle Eastern issues like the Palestinians. The government has chosen to avoid huge bureaucracies, to be as apolitical as possible, and to encourage experimentation.
There are of course concerns – demographics (it’s 75% men), a lack of real intellectual and artistic identity, women have been known to suffer some of the indignities associated with Middle Eastern culture, there is a small Emirati population that receives huge subsidies and relies on foreign labor that is denied the possibility of citizenship and often lives in squalor, and (as recent times revealed) a big reliance on real estate development and debt to fuel the economy and pay for things.
Nevertheless, Dubai’s emergence speaks to the virtues of letting people take risks and encouraging entrepreneurship. As the author notes: “it’s a place that mercilessly taunts the pessimist”.
