Can Soft Power Be Bought and Why Does it Matter?

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has undergone a rapid transformation over the last fifty years. From a scattering of coastal fishing villages and desert settlements, it is now home to hyper-real metropolises, iconic skylines, luxury hotels, and world-class tourist attractions, all fuelled by the discovery of oil in the late 1950s. It has established itself as the global capital of luxury, building a world “beyond imagination,” where “the impossible doesn’t exist.” This article explores whether soft power can be bought and why it matters, using the UAE as a case study. Once a measurement of political values, foreign policy, and culture, soft power is now a misused and overused term that has become synonymous with nation branding, tourism, and trade. Viewed through this contemporary lens, the acquisition of the Louvre, the Guggenheim, and New York University outposts and the establishment of Dubai as a luxury holiday destination are arguably, as examples, ways for the UAE to secure its position on the world stage as a welcoming, tolerant, and modern country. However, this recent cultural development and glamorous veneer overshadows and obscures the country’s aggressively authoritarian politics: from a wealthy royal family that pays its citizens for their acquiescence to human rights abuses such as arbitrary detention and forced labour, and from state-run media to some of the heaviest restrictions on free speech in the region. At a time when scrutiny should be focused on the UAE, soft power enables its autocratic governance to appear benign, ensuring that the country retains a palatable reputation and remains attractive to international visitors and investors alike.