The Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates

While today the military of the United Arab Emirates is described admiringly as a 'little Sparta', just 60 years ago the only security forces in the Emirates were the armed retainers of the Ruling Sheikhs and a small British-led, locally-raised Arab force. Through a combination of direct oversight by rulers, investment in its nationals, engagement of expatriates and the purchase of cutting edge military hardware, the UAE Armed Forces has become, arguably, the most capable Arab military. In the last decade, it has also gained considerable experience through its military operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

This book traces the little-known history of the country’s military from 1951 to 2020. It provides unparalleled detail on the constituent forces that evolved into the UAE Armed Forces in 1976, and how that unified force has evolved to the present. It provides essential background information on how the country’s geography, demographics and political system have shaped its military, the enduring roles of the military and the history of each military service. It also details the political and command structure governing the military, and its manpower and materiel characteristics. The book concludes with an explanation of how the UAE has been able to develop such a highly capable military for its size in a relatively short period of time.

".....[This] book is a deeply-researched and courageous attempt to give a transparent assessment and objective history of one of the most consequential and successful modern Arab militaries." Middle East Quarterly

"...treats its subject with encyclopedic scope, combining the critical contexts of local and regional history, geography, and internal demographic dynamics with thoughtful analysis of the UAE’s armed forces and security organizations." NYMAS Review

"Reading this book impressed me on the complexity of the subject matter and the challenges the author faced in researching this book....This makes Yates’ achievement in writing this authoritative, thorough and engrossing history of the Emirati armed forces all the greater.....I have no hesitation in recommending this book to scholars of Gulf history, politics and security studies, but also a professional audience too. It is a book that will be as valuable to a military attache as it will be to an academic or student." British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

"Yates has written a thoroughly worthwhile book that joins a relatively small literature on the armed forces of the Middle East." Middle Eastern Studies

"Yates’s book is a welcome addition to the slowly growing scholarly literature on the Gulf monarchies’ military establishments. Especially those with special interest in history, facts and figures, and organizational charts will find it a valuable work of reference." Middle East Journal