Is Dubai a Country? (3 Viewers)

[Seven]

My thoughts? Both.


In debating this topic I suggest we use the criteria for statehood that have been set out by the Montevideo Convention of 1933 as this is the most cited definition of statehood. As is well known the Montevideo Convention sets out four criteria for a state:

(a) a permanent population;
(b) a defined territory;
(c) government; and
(d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.

The discussion will thus revolve around these four criteria and whether or not they are met by Dubai.

 

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[Fred]

@Seven

Please present your arguments as to how you'd consider Dubai a country.

Alternatively you may apologize and accept the fact that you made a mistake that many people make(most of them ignorant like you but still many people). Dubai is probably more popular than the UAE in general, so many people do think the whole country is called Dubai. I've encountered many such people myself, so I wasn't overly surprised that you made that mistake.

 

[Seven]

@Seven

Please present your arguments as to how you'd consider Dubai a country.

Alternatively you may apologize and accept the fact that you made a mistake that many people make(most of them ignorant like you but still many people). Dubai is probably more popular than the UAE in general, so many people do think the whole country is called Dubai. I've encountered many such people myself, so I wasn't overly surprised that you made that mistake.

I've made a better thread. Maybe they should be merged. First we need to define what constitutes a state. I suggest we use the criteria set out by the Montevideo Convention.

 

[radekas]

Make a poll and let's see.

 

[Seven]

Make a poll and let's see.

No. That's not how it works. Most people don't have a clue about what a state actually is in the first place. It would be like making a poll on whether or not Pluto is a planet. I have no clue, because I don't know how we define planet.

 

[Mohad]

No.

 

[Seven]

No.

Why not?

In debating this topic I suggest we use the criteria for statehood that have been set out by the Montevideo Convention of 1933 as this is the most cited definition of statehood. As is well known the Montevideo Convention sets out four criteria for a state:

(a) a permanent population;
(b) a defined territory;
(c) government; and
(d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.

Which isn't met?

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@Fred,


As of 2013 Dubai has over 2 million inhabitants. I think we can all agree on the fact that Dubai has a permanent population. The first requirement for statehood is met.

Dubai has a territory of 4,114 km2. To my knowledge this territory is not disputed. There are no wars going on between Dubai and other entities and both the UAE and the international community recognize this territory to be Dubai’s. I may be corrected on this. As it stands I believe the second requirement is met.

Dubai is defined by Wikipedia as a constitutional monarchy. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is Dubai’s emir. An emir is the ruler of an emirate, a sovereign principality. Other examples of constitutional monarchies are France, Belgium and the Netherlands. To my knowledge cities do not generally have monarchs. In any case Dubai has a government. That government even has its own website. The third requirement is thus met.

Whether or not Dubai has the capacity to enter into relations with other states is up for debate. In my opinion it certainly can. In fact the founding of the UAE even required Dubai to enter into a union with other emirates. Some emirates were asked to join the union, such as Qatar and Bahrain, but they declined. Both are now seen as independent states. In my humble opinion I think Dubai most certainly meets the fourth requirement and thus can indeed be seen as a state.

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Fuck it, I think Dubai's a country.

 

[Eddy]

City-state I think is the more appropriate word here.

 

[Seven]

City-state I think is the more appropriate word here.

Yeah, I think that's probably the most appropriate word.

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I'm going to ask @king Ale, @JuveJay, Red, @Alen, @Martin and X to join the debate here.

 

[Eddy]

What you said is all true, I pretty much grew up in Dubai and if there is one thing Dubai cannot do, I think it's the foreign relation aspect in regards to diplomacy with other countries. I don't know, I could be mistaken but it definitely is a city-state.

 

[Seven]

What you said is all true, I pretty much grew up in Dubai and if there is one thing Dubai cannot do, I think it's the foreign relation aspect in which that power goes to the ruler of the U.A.E in regarding relations, treaties, weapons trading etc...

Yes, the foreign relations aspect is by far the most problematic. However, Dubai only needs to have the capacity to do so. The question becomes whether or not Dubai could deal with other states if it wanted to. Another aspect is that this is not always considered necessary for statehood. Germany for instance doesn't see it as a requirement. One could also claim it is a consequence of rather than a requirement for statehood. For example Kosovo was prevented from being able to deal with other states, because it wasn't acknowledged.

 

[JuveJay]

It's an emirate, which is essentially a principality, like Monaco or Andorra. Maybe more along the lines of Taiwan or Hong Kong, given the monarchy rule and federation.

 

[GordoDeCentral]

Does dubai have its own passport? Settled

 

[Cheesio]

rekt.

 

[Seven]

Does dubai have its own passport? Settled

Not really. That's a consequence of being a state and it's perfectly possible to imagine a country that doesn't use passports. In fact there have been many throughout history.

 

[GordoDeCentral]

Palestine is not even a 'state' yet and had its own passport, sorry but no passport no state

 

[Nicholas]

A place I'd never like to visit that's for sure.

 

[GordoDeCentral]

More on the subject

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_city

 

[Völler]

 

[Elvin]

Does dubai have its own passport? Settled

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