The city of Dubai is a remarkable success story. From its origins as a small fishing and pearling community, the emirate has steadily grown in strength to become the premier trading center of the Arabian Gulf. It is also the locus of an exciting and innovative architectural revolution. Despite the lack of democratization and genuine civil society, Dubai is now a booming metropolis of more than two million people, most of whom are expatriates enjoying the benefits of the city's increasingly diversified economy.

After providing a detailed history, Christopher Davidson explains Dubai's current prosperity by presenting an in-depth study of its post-oil development strategies and how they were implemented against a backdrop of near complete political stability. Davidson addresses future problems that may surface as the need for sustained foreign direct investment encourages far-reaching socioeconomic reforms, many of which may affect the ideological, religious, and cultural legitimacy of the traditional monarchy. He also analyzes Dubai's awkward relationship with its federal partners in the United Arab Emirates before highlighting some of the hidden costs of being the region's most successful free port-namely its attractiveness to international criminal fraternities, the economy of the global black market, and terrorist networks.