MBZ formal federal presidency: AI-emirate pivot and fiscal broadening

Doctrine — stated goals and content

Sovereign-directed post-oil diversification translated from de-facto rule into formal presidency after Khalifa's death. Economic school: state- capitalist with a pronounced technology-emirate push — G42 as a national AI champion, chip and compute sovereignty, Microsoft and BlackRock anchor investments, ADQ/Mubadala/ADIA as industrial-policy vehicles — paired with a measured fiscal broadening (9% federal corporate tax from June 2023 on a previously zero-tax base, retention of free-zone exemptions for qualifying income). Left-right: federation of absolute monarchies; content is pro- business, low-tax, open-investment, socially-liberalising for an Arab Gulf context (weekend switch Jan 2022, non-Muslim Family Law 2022, alcohol and cohabitation decriminalisation continuing from 2020). Foreign policy codifies the Abraham Accords: full implementation of Israel trade and investment channels, climate-diplomacy leadership via COP28 in Dubai (November-December 2023), and a Khaleej regulatory-sandbox posture on virtual assets (VARA Dubai, ADGM). Popularity proxies in the absence of elections: FDI inflows (UNCTAD record inflows 2023-24), SWF AUM growth (ADIA, Mubadala, ADQ combined >$1.5tn), Henley Passport Index ascent (UAE into global top-10 2024), and expatriate retention via Golden Visa expansion. Coherence line: this is a formalisation, not a break — MBZ ratifies the trajectory he already set as de-facto ruler.