Page 414 - UAE Truncal States

The Formation of lho Federation
'Ain. The students conic from all the Emirates and have already
demonstrated in their activities their concern for the well being of the
federal State.
As the federal administration grew and became more effective
throughout the Emirates, the people more readily accepted the
authority of the federal ministries, facilitating the task of health
advisers and social workers, and eventually they even submitted to
the jurisdiction of the federal courts. 150
On the face of it such developments can only strengthen the
Federation internally; but loo overtly expressed enthusiasm for the
federally-provided services may be counter-productive, because the
local governments do not want to see their authority diminishing.
This fear may be at the root of some of the reluctance of Rulers
to amalgamate vital services, such as the provision of electricity
and water, unless their financial situation makes such a move
imperative.151
In some fields such as education the federal administration
gradually assumed control over the existing institutions in the
individual Emirates, but in other fields and in almost all the Emirates
the federal government encountered virgin territory and could build
up from the beginning suitable legal and administrative structures
for the entire country. In 1971 only a few far-sighted civil servants
nourished the expectation of swift and complete handover of
authority to the federal bodies. Seen in this light, the progress of
federalisation over the last ten years has been surprisingly good. But
while it emerged that the new Slate was developing into a genuine
federation, rather than a loose confederation, the arguments about
the nature of this more closely-knit Stale became more intensive.

Crises and unresolved problems of the Federation

Domestic crises
During the ten years of its existence the UAE has already been
shaken a number of limes by internal dissent and disputes which
sometimes gave rise to speculations that the federation was about to
break up. It has been argued above that the prime source of
instability in the Federation should not be sought in its constitution,
because it is pliable enough to lend itself to both a rather loose
federation as well as a fairly centralistic State.
A fundamental problem is that many of those who think seriously
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