Abstract As the largest of the seven emirates and home to the national capital, Abu Dhabi plays a dominant role in the country. The government takes pride in maintaining a strong link between its leaders and its people, with an integrated system of local government. As per the national constitution each emirate has its own ruler, who takes care of local affairs, and also holds a seat on the national Supreme Council. The ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is also the president of the UAE and is focused on maintaining tradition within his country while also providing for the needs of the 21st century. Within the emirate, the crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also helps to oversee day-to-day affairs and serves as chairman of the Executive Council, Abu Dhabi’s foremost political body. The council is formed of chairmen from various government departments along with leading figures appointed by Sheikh Khalifa and is responsible for issuing legislation and leading long-term development strategies. It reviews proposals for public policy put forth by the General Secretariat of the Executive Council (ADGSEC), which also implements legislation and oversees lower levels of government. The National Consultative Council (NCC) is an assembly of influential Emiratis that examines and activates legislation and is also responsible for ensuring a strong link is maintained between leaders in Abu Dhabi and the country’s citizenry. The best example of this connection is perhaps majlis, an open meeting held regularly by the royal family to which anyone can bring requests, complaints or points of discussion. At the national level, the Federal National Council (FNC) scrutinises all federal legislation and checks in with ministers to ensure smooth inter-governmental connections. A new session of the FNC opened in November of 2008; expected topics on the table include election reform and population imbalances. In the international sphere Abu Dhabi – and the UAE – maintains a sound foreign relations policy and encounters few disputes with other nations. Regionally the UAE is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). While it did pull out of the planned GCC monetary union in May of 2009, regional relations remain strong.
In this chapter OBG interviews Sheikh Diab bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority; Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman, Executive Affairs Authority (EAA); Bernard Kouchner, French Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mary Coughlan, Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. There is also a viewpoint from Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

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