Political Strategic Studies

Explaining the UAE’s Sub Imperialist Model in Africa: Economic, Geopolitical, and Global Ambition Logics, and the Mechanism of Proxy Forces

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Najmiyeh PourEsmaeili

Asistant Professor, African Studies Center, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22054/qpss.2026.88797.3691
Abstract
The geopolitical, strategic, and economic significance of Africa for the United Arab Emirates is multifaceted and vital. Owing to this diverse and strategic importance, the UAE has found it necessary to adopt a multidimensional foreign policy toward the African continent. This multidimensional foreign policy in Africa is shaped by a complex blend of cooperation and investment, interventionist and destabilizing practices, humanitarian assistance, and ostensibly neutral engagement—forming a calibrated balance aimed at securing influence amid competition with its regional and global rivals. To conduct an in depth and illuminating analysis of the UAE’s actions in Africa, and by considering the logic of sub imperialism as the central explanatory core, this article seeks to answer the following question: How can the UAE’s pattern of influence in Africa be explained within the framework of sub imperialism? The argument advanced here is that the UAE’s pattern of influence in Africa can be conceptualized as a form of sub imperialism that materializes through the synergy of three principal logics—economic orientation, global ambition, and the management of geopolitical constraints—alongside the mechanisms of proxy networks. This study employs a qualitative, interpretive explanatory methodology.

Keywords

United Arab Emirates
Africa
Sub‑Imperialism
Multidimensional Foreign Policy
The Nature of Foreign Policy
Subjects
Political Strategic Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 June 2026

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