Education as a Tool of the UAE’s Soft Power



Within the framework of this article the author attempts to contribute to the development of the discussion about the active usage of soft power by the United Arab Emirates to diversify its economy, to limit the “brain drain”, and attract more students to study in the country.

Keywords: the UAE, knowledge-based economy, soft power, education, international branch campus.

Introduction.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country located in the Middle East. The state occupies the territory of 83,600 km ² (or 32,300 sq mi) with a population of 9,546,542 [1]. Historically, for the growth of economy and domestic product (GDP) the UAE have always heavily relied on oil production and its revenue [2]. However, nowadays with the emergence of the two notions — knowledge-based economy and a knowledge-based society — knowledge became the impetus for economic growth and socio-cultural development of countries. The former emphasizes knowledge as the engine for economic growth, while the latter means socio-cultural development of communities and countries [3]. Additionally, over the next two decades the natural resources of the Gulf states are expected to become depleted [4]. Furthermore, the climate change and the negative consequences that it entails make the transition from oil and gas to other sources (nuclear energy, VRE, etc.) for energy production more and more vital. In the light of the aforementioned facts together with a fastly growing population’s needs [5], the federal government and individual emirates have been trying to diversify their economies from their reliance on oil production. Thus, education became the tool not only to develop a knowledge-based economy, but also to serve as the country’s soft power tool on the international arena. The aim of this article is to prove the latter.

The Concept of Soft Power and Education Being a Tool of it.

The concept of Soft Power was first introduced by Joseph Nye in 1990. He argued that “the definition of power is losing its emphasis on military force” with “technology, education and economic growth becoming more significant in international power”. Thus, power is not simply “the ability or right to control people or things” anymore. There are alternative methods of foreign policy for states to win the support of others such as cultural attractiveness (culture), ideological attractiveness (ideology), attractive domestic policy, attractive foreign policy, relations with allies, economic assistance, and cultural exchanges, which will result in a more favorable public opinion and credibility abroad [6].

At the same time, the Global Soft Power Index identifies 8 key pillars of Soft Power: Business and Trade, Governance, International Relations, Culture and Heritage, Media and Communication, Education and Science, People and Human Values, and Sustainable Future [7].

Furthermore, in many scholars’ opinion contemporary diplomacy is distinguished by the multi-actor approach within it, which includes new actors and an increasing concern with soft power. There is “a shift from a state-based approach, typically centered on the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and professional diplomats to a multifactor approach is a hallmark of the current changes in diplomacy” [8]. In addition, J. Knight suggests that education actors be actively engaged in international relations: higher education and research in the form of national and regional associations, universities and colleges, research centers, students and faculty, disciplinary groups, expert networks, foundations, and governmental agencies [9].

Ted Hopf elaborates even further on education as an important source of soft power and claims that ‘education, and especially universities and graduate schools attracting foreign students are one of the most important institutions of hegemonic reproduction. The more foreign students a country can educate in its own universities, the more likely its hegemonic ideology will be propagated throughout the world’ [10]. Looking ahead, in this regard Saeed Mohammad Al Eter, Director-General of Public Diplomacy Office at Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and Future, and Secretary-General of UAE Soft Power Council, said that “a third main pillar of UAE’s soft power is the rise of international students coming to the UAE, who spend around four years here earning their university degree and experiencing local culture before returning home with a positive image” [11].

Supporting Nye’s statement about the universal value, Polish researchers Wojciuk A. and Michaіek M. claim that education is becoming an increasingly important factor in International Relations because, unlike other potential sources, education is a universal value, therefore “its quality and range is appreciated regardless of the culture and country, and it is perceived as a necessary condition for both broadly understood well-being of nations and their economic prosperity” [12].

E. Deodato and I. Borkowska claim that the internalization strategy that the universities are applying leads to certain market advantages, which is the occupation of the most profitable and attractive niche in the educational services market, which means that the states can and must use universities in their political interests [13].

Thus, education became one of the integral components of states’ soft power.

Education as a Tool of the UAE’s Soft Power.

In the UAE Vision 2021 Strategy there are goals to achieve a first-rate educational system (aimed at enhancing domestic education, with an emphasis on schools) and a competitive knowledge economy [14]. Furthermore, both the National Strategy for Innovation (launched in 2014 by the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum) and the UAE Centennial 2071 identify the goal of making the country a global platform for entrepreneurship and the leading hub for innovation (which implies the advancement of education as well) [15].

According to Nizar Mohammad Alsharari the “states’ desire to “modernize” higher education systems and the growing demand for internationally recognized undergraduate and post-graduate programs has led to a rapid expansion of the higher education sector and establishing extensive international partnerships with foreign universities across the UAE” [16].

Compared to 2022, in 2023 the UAE rose from the 15th to the 10th place in the Global Soft Power Index, being the first Arab country to enter the top-10. At the same time, an increase can be noticed in the following pillars: Reputation Increase (from the 20th to the 17th), Influence increase (from the 10th to the 8th), International relations (from the 11th to the 9th), and Education and Science (from the 17th to the 15th). The aforementioned data indicates that the UAE are considering not only oil, showcasing its education and science appeal [17].

Higher education system of the UAE consists of three forms:

1) The federal-level public system, which includes government-owned and operated universities and higher institutes of technology.

2) State-level semi-public universities, which are typically for-profit and owned by private and state shareholders [18].

3) “Free zone” universities, which comprise cross-border collaborations between local and international universities (including branch campuses of foreign providers, which cater primarily to the expatriate community, and increasingly to international students from the neighboring regions). In fact, in 2017 Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA; the federal agency charged with licensing non-federal institutions and accrediting their programs) oversaw 78 licensed non-federal institutions enrolling over 80,000 students, 55 % of these students being non-Emiratis [19].

The 2016 report of the International Branch Campuses: Trends and Developments defines the international branch campus as the following: “an entity that is owned, at least in part, by a foreign education provider; operated in the name of the foreign education provider; and provides an entire academic curriculum, substantially on site, leading to a degree awarded by the foreign education provider” [20]. In addition, Professor Gabriel Hawawini outlines five international reach models [21], two of which being the foreign campus model and the import model. The former is when academic institutions open campuses in other countries, provide a variety of academic programs and services to both domestic and foreign students [22]. And the latter means attracting students, staff, and faculty from all over the world to the institution’s campus by having as many nationalities as possible represented in their programs, faculty, administration, and governing body. These two models are precisely adopted by the UAE.

Most of the foreign higher education operations are located in the free zones established by the emirates of Dubai, Abu-Dhabi, and Ras Al-Khaimah to attract foreign education providers. Free zones are typically designed around one business industry category and offer a number of incentives to attract international investment and prompt commercial activity, such as purpose-built facilities, 100 % ownership, tax exemption, and no restriction on profit or capital repatriation [23]. Such conditions are especially favorable for foreign branch campuses. For instance, DIAC (Dubai International Academic City) provides overseas campuses with 100 percent foreign ownership, 100 percent tax exemption, and 100 percent profit repatriation. The Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone in addition to tax exemptions provides administrative support, such as aid with visa applications for branch campus workers [24]. The student body in Dubai is highly internationalized, with international students representing only 57 % of the total student population. In the emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah 30 % of higher education students (70 %) study at private universities. Over 1,500 students (mostly from South Asia: Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh) were enrolled in 7 foreign providers in 2017 in the Ras Al-Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) Academic Zone. The emirate of Abu Dhabi is distinguished by a more interventionist approach. The government directs funding for public institutions and for some high-profile foreign providers to settle in the emirate, funding and supporting them in terms of set-up and operations: New York University, Paris Sorbonne University, Mohamed V University and INSEAD. Two other foreign providers, New York Institute of Technology, and the University of Strathclyde, are self-supporting [25].

According to the Global Country Report: United Arab Emirates, by 2017 there were 42 international campuses in the country (and this number had a potential to increase) [26]. These international higher education institutions provide the government with a number of such advantages as “Emiratization”, more locals choosing to study at home since foreign branch campuses have been built in the Gulf States [27] (which solves the issue from which also China suffered: when domestic students went abroad in large numbers to acquire a degree and only a few came back [28]), raising revenue for the organizations [29], encouraging women who are otherwise unlikely to study abroad to pursue higher education in local universities (including international branch campuses), furthering education of the expatriate communities (who are excluded from regional public universities and make up 50–80 percent of the population in the Gulf countries) at the private sector universities [30], providing a boost to the national economy, and raising prestige of the host (Abu Dhabi, to complement the campuses of New York University and Paris-Sorbonne has established the branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums, thus cultivating a cultural and knowledge hub, “where cutting edge research will be achieved [31]).

Conclusion.

Undoubtedly, the presence of international campuses contributes to improvement of the quality of education. In addition, the use of education as a soft power tool (that is international branch campuses) enables the government to keep in the country more citizens that would otherwise have fled to Europe and the US in the country. Furthermore, it benefits the economy by providing goods and services to foreign students. As the UAE continue to pave the path to the knowledge economy, make favorable conditions for research and scientific discovery, and increase the number of international branch campuses, the country will become more and more attractive for students and young specialists who will come to study in the country. Thus, education in the UAE not only plays a vital role in diversifying the economy, but also becomes a political tool of soft power influence.

References:

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