While the increasing digitalisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has enhanced overall safety and contributed to lower crime rates, it poses serious concerns for privacy and individual rights. Public-private partnership fosters the enhanced physical and online surveillance of the population under the banner of long-term objectives of sustainability and digital economy. In essence, the existing partnerships between China and the UAE, as well as their common appetite for digital innovation and control of the population, could lead the UAE to shift away from the U.S.

Key Judgement 1: Technocratic inclinations increasing within the UAE are highly likely to gradually impede on individual rights.

Key Judgement 2: Rising private-public partnerships and technological developments are likely to result in increased physical and psychological control of the population.

Key Judgement 3: The UAE is likely to further develop its relationship with the People’s Republic of China to satisfy its ever-growing reliance on digital technologies, thus progressively shifting away from the United States.