Comparative analysis highlights defense policies and military self-reliance in UAE and Singapore, indicating key differences amid great power competition.
Amid the US-China rivalry, small states struggle to avoid aligning with the logic of great power competition while ensuring their security through self-reliance. This dilemma can be seen in regions like Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In this context, comparing the defense policies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore shows how universal these challenges are. Both countries face similar constraints regarding their armed forces' ability to operate independently, the propensity of their defense industries to develop indigenous capabilities, and the challenge of balancing self-sufficiency with maintaining close ties to the US. However, despite these similarities, the article also explains how and why the policies of the UAE and Singapore differ significantly.
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Jean‐Loup Samaan (2025) studied this question.
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