Sustainable growth and national security: The case of the United Arab Emirates

The aim of the paper is to create the necessary epistemological background in order to be able to assess and analyze the linkages and interconnections between sustainable growth and national security. In an era of global complexity, huge public deficits, environmental degradation and reserves of traditional energy sources are under question due to high demand mainly from the emerging Asian and African economies. The pursuit of sustainable growth is a key element for governments. National security dimensions and dilemmas come to the forefront when planning and implementing economic policies. Thus, the need to create a holistic approach to address such a complex interaction is more necessary than ever.

The need for such a paper arises from the fact that sustainable growth and national security are most frequently treated in the literature as two separate entities. The above results in a dichotomy that affects the ontological and epistemological essence of these two pillars. My working hypothesis is that both pillars should be addressed in a complementary and interconnected way. My main argument is that the comprehension of this inter linkage is of crucial importance due to the great volatility and complexity in global affairs and the impact of this inter linkage on national policy formulation.

Thus, such a comprehensive approach will contribute to enabling the academic community and policy makers to comprehend national policies and strategic choices aiming towards the diversification of the economy through mega projects not only in terms of infrastructure, but also in terms of policy orientations, vision and strategy. Unless we put the two pillars into an integrative epistemological background, we will lead ourselves towards dangerously simplistic outcomes concerning the motives and the impact of such "grand policies". In this framework and in order to sustain my main argument I will assess the strategy of the United Arab Emirates with specific reference to the country's 2030 Economic , Industrial and Environment vision and strategy. More specifically, I will argue that the content of UAE governmental policies is not a mere economic project but also reflects the sustainable growth elements of the economy and strongly entails vital national security concerns, also affecting the the GCC region as a whole.