| Summary/Abstract |
Pursuing political objectives, Western imperial powers were selective in the inclusion of non-European polities into the realm of sovereign states. In the case of the Trucial States –– the contemporary United Arab Emirates –– Britain as the imperial power granted recognition to a regularly changing number of local shaykhdoms through the negotiation and repeated exchange of treaties, with important repercussions for the later political and urban development of the country. This article examines Britain’s decision-making regarding these recognitions from 1820–1952. Building on British archival records, it argues that the final result of seven recognized sovereign emirates was only to a very limited degree a representation of the situation as it existed on the ground. Instead it was largely the outcome of a British policy of selective recognition, driven by the strategic rationale of obtaining accountable and coercible treaty partners, and by tactical considerations such as the exclusion of imperial competitors, the erection of bases, and the obtainment of oil concessions.
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