Abu Dhabi’s model for expanding regional influence is a text-book co-ordination of hard and soft power

The recent summit called by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) involving some – but not all – regional leaders has underlined the important role that Abu Dhabi plays in regional affairs. The wealthy emirate is an ever bigger player in international affairs – from managing climate change to intervening in African conflicts – even if international attention is more often captured by events and pronouncements from Iran and Saudi Arabia.