Framing the Trucial Coast's tribes: Shifting notions of borders and imperial influence before the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The process of border formation of the United Arab Emirates included extensive local leadership participation. Such a rare event in the Middle East affords a glimpse into local inhabitants’ notions of borders and their transformations over time. Based on primary sources in English and Arabic, the paper follows the evolution of the unique spatial interpretation of borders adopted by the local leadership. It highlights two perceptual turning points during the border negotiations, from the reticular border system, through the setting up of frontier zones to the phase of territorial borders. The negotiations records shed light on the dialectic process of shaping and reshaping border perceptions through an ongoing dialogue between the local and British elites and through mutual adjustment of spatial ideas and practices. The paper argues that the borders delineation process in this region exemplifies late-stage decolonization when pragmatism transcended ideology and when locally-oriented considerations prevailed bureaucratic amenity.