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Abstract:
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Harold Wilson , the British Prime Minister , announced in January 1968 that the British government would withdraw from the Persian Gulf by the end of 1971 . For Britain , the decision indicated a re -prioritization of British global defense obligations . For the rulers of the Arab emirates of the Persian Gulf , Wilson‘s announcement signaled an end of British military protection , and the beginning of a process of negotiations that culminated in the establishment of the United Arab Emirates on December 3 , 1971 . An examination of the process by which the individual Persian Gulf states became a sovereign federation presents an opportunity to examine the roles of nationalism and anti -imperialism played in the establishment of the Union . This work demonstrates that Arab rulers in the Persian Gulf strove to establish their new state with close ties to Great Britain , which provided technical , military , and administrative assistance to the emirates , while also publicly embracing the popular ideologies of anti -imperialism and Arab socialism , which dominated the political discourse in the Arab world through most of the twentieth century .
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This dissertation draws on primary source materials from British and American government archives , speeches and government publications from the Arab Emirates , memoirs and a wide variety of secondary sources . These materials provide the basis for understanding the state -building process of the United Arab Emirates in the areas of pre -withdrawal development , the decision to withdraw , the problems of establishing a federal constitution , and the problems posed by the need for security in the post -withdrawal Persian Gulf . |