Rethinking the Dubai School of Government

There's been much speculation recently on the future of the Dubai School of Government (DSG). The consensus seems to be that post-crisis Dubai doesn't need an institution that attempts to promote an Arab-wide agenda of economic and public sector reform. This view is especially popular among Arab Spring sceptics who believe that instead of promoting the Dubai model to Arab countries, the very opposite could likely happen.

In other words, DSG could very well become a net importer of revolutionary ideals as opposed to an exporter of reformist ones, something that the UAE has made clear is not acceptable — at least not at the Arab Spring's pace (read 2019 as target date for universal suffrage). The Dubai School of Government was founded on the idea that — as in the case of Dubai — under effective governance and state capitalism, Arabs need not resign themselves to their third world fate.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and DSG's patron, founded it six years ago with the belief that the Dubai model could be implemented (with modifications) in various Arab States that shared his Arab fate revisionist doctrine. Its founding was especially timely with the recent accession of five new Arab rulers who were relatively young and seemingly reformist; Syria's Bashar Al Assad, Qatar's Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Morocco's King Mohammad VI and Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa. And it appeared to work for sometime. Conferences were held, delegations were received and public officials from across the Arab world were enrolled into its Masters in Public Administration (MPA) programme.

Promoting dialogue

To achieve all of this, DSG went into partnership with Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and launched the ‘Dubai Initiative' which according to its website aimed to "bridge the expertise and resources of the John F. Kennedy School of Government/Harvard University with the Dubai School of Government and enable the exchange of students, scholars, knowledge and resources between the two institutions in the areas of governance, political science, economics, energy, security, gender and foreign relations in the Middle East." More recently, DSG has launched ‘Project Encounter', which aims to promote dialogue between the Middle East and West.

The Dubai model of course and its promotion by DSG garnered varying reactions by Arab states. On one hand, Saudi writer Badriya Al Bishr acknowledged last year that the success of the Dubai model was a cause of internal embarrassment for Saudi Arabia and its recent financial woes were largely received with relief there — its success was too close to home. On the other hand, rumour has it that the late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri once told Shaikh Mohammad: "I dreamt and you realised." - a sign of recognition of the two leaders' common aspirations.

Following the global financial crisis and as realities of fiscal discipline and monetary drought kicked in, many initiatives and projects had to be halted; from museums and foundations to international investments and domestic real estate projects and DSG is no exception. With certain projects (read real estate and private equity investments) this was an overdue step but not so much with other socio-political ones. Nevertheless, it was wholly necessary. One analogy I've come to measure Dubai by, was that it was Athens and now had to be Sparta i.e. more stoic. But Dubai's destiny is to continue to be hub of all things transactional: goods, ideas et al. And a Spartan fast would be good before returning to Athens. So does DSG have a role to play in this Greco-transition? I think it can play a crucial one.

Brain box

This journey of post-property self-discovery that Dubai must take is one that DSG could help chart. The Dubai Initiative could be reversed internally and used to re-examine the Dubai Strategic Plan (DSP). It could really be an aid — not a nuisance — in turning Dubai Inc into Dubai.gov. It could help it better evaluate its options: how will Dubai's economic model evolve going forward? Will its revenue generation continue to be driven by fees, assets sales or will it perhaps have to finally resort to taxation? Will it continue to attract corporations to set up their regional head quarters or should it develop an incentive package for entrepreneurs? How can Dubai improve its educational system in line with global labour market trends?

What alternative (read non-government) job creation options can be created to tackle unemployment among nationals? Is there room for niche industrial sectors for Dubai to tap? Further questions about health care, labour and migration should also be tackled. Simply put, before the advice of multinational management consultants, Dubai needs its own in-house ‘brain box'. The stakes are too high and faith in trade, tourism, its unique time zone and a vague conviction in a property rebound aren't going to cut it. And if DSP's going to be rewritten, DSG should be restructured in order to lead that initiative. Dubai will come back but it's important that its return isn't reactionary to global trends but a proactively pre-empted one.

Mishaal Al Gergawi is an Emirati current affairs commentator. You can follow him at www.twitter.com/algergawi