https://jices.ut.ac.ir/ Journal of Iran and Regional Studies en daily 1 Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0330 Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0330 https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_107256.html This study examines how individual capabilities and institutional conditions jointly shape entrepreneurial intention and total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) across a cross-country sample of Eurasian and comparator economies characterized by diverse entrepreneurial and institutional environments. Focusing on entrepreneurial alertness, entrepreneurial knowledge and skills, social desirability, and economic freedom, the study investigates how individual- and country-level determinants influence entrepreneurial behavior across different institutional contexts, including transition-oriented and institutionally heterogeneous economies.Using multi-year panel data from the GEM and the Index of Economic Freedom, the study employsPLS-SEM to evaluate the simultaneous effects of individual and institutional factors on entrepreneurial intention and TEA. The findings reveal that entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial knowledge and skills significantly enhance both entrepreneurial intention and TEA. In contrast, social desirability has a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial intention but a negative and significant effect on TEA. The economic freedom has a negative and significant effect on TEA. These findings suggest that, diverse and partially volatile entrepreneurial environments, individual-level competencies play a more decisive role than formal institutional conditions alone in transforming entrepreneurial aspirations into early-stage entrepreneurial activity.The study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by integrating individual and institutional determinants within a unified analytical framework and by contextualizing entrepreneurial dynamics within Eurasian and transition-oriented economies, including Iran. The findings further suggest that institutional conditions such as economic freedom may not necessarily facilitate the conversion of entrepreneurial intention into entrepreneurial action, particularly in environments characterized by institutional constraints, regulatory uncertainty, and uneven entrepreneurial support structures. The study offers important implications for scholars and policymakers seeking to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems and entrepreneurial participation across heterogeneous institutional contexts. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_107070.html Zoomers (also sometimes known as Generation Z, post-Millennials, Homelanders or iGeneration for those born between 1997-2012) represent a pivotal demographic group that is reshaping South Asian (SA) societies through unprecedented digital connectivity and evolving cultural patterns. This study examines how South Asian zoomers engage with traditional values, literature, religion, and technology while comparing their experiences with Iranian youth who, despite facing structural challenges—including economic and technological sanctions—remain highly engaged in the digital world and activism. Through a mixed methods analysis integrating quantitative indicators from the Global innovation Index, digital adoption statistics and socioeconomics data across countries of SA including Bangladesh, Iran, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the research addresses the issue of whether this generation is threatening cultural preservation or accelerating adaptive evolution. The findings suggest that SA’s Gen Z navigates a paradoxical landscape- selectively preserving cultural heritage while embracing digital modernity but facing systemic barriers to technological advancement, including infrastructure shortages (internet penetration ranges from 31.1% in Pakistan to 84.1% in Iran), skills mismatches, and limited economic opportunities. The innovation gap with developed countries remains significant: The South Asian region invests 0.03-0.64% of their GDP in research and development as compared to 2.85% in developed economies while researchers per capita are 17-56 times lower. However contrasting strength emerges including 93% adoption of generative AI among Indian students and leadership in ICT services exports. The study suggests evidence-based interventions including curriculum reform with an emphasis on practical skills, global broadband initiatives, venture capital ecosystem development and programs that integrate tradition and technology. These recommendations aim to accelerate regional development and optimize demographic dividend while respecting cultural authenticity. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_106913.html With its deep historical roots and civilizational significance, the Persian language (historically and regionally known as Farsi, Dari, and Tajik) served for centuries as the official and cultural lingua franca across extensive regions of the pre‑modern world. Among these regions, Transoxiana—particularly the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand (also spelt Samarqand or Samarghand)—occupied a distinguished place in the historical and geographical development of Persian. For nearly two millennia, these cities not only formed an integral part of the Persianate world but also frequently functioned as its key cultural and literary centers. This study focuses on Persian-speaking cities of modern day Uzbekistan and examines the factors that contributed to both the flourishing and the decline of Persian as a language in this region. As the mother cities of Transoxiana, Bukhara and Samarkand played a crucial role in safeguarding Persian over the past thousand years, resisting four major waves of invasion: Arab, Mongol, Turkic, and Russian. The central question of this article is: How did the Persian language in Uzbekistan descend from a peak of splendor to a state of profound decline? The study also evaluates the current status of Persian in comparison with other regional languages and reviews efforts aimed at its revival. Using library sources and a historical-analytical method, and drawing on the theoretical frameworks of identity constructivism and cultural hegemony, this research explores the transformation of Persian’s status in Uzbekistan from the Samanid era to the present. The study concludes that the historical cycles of suppression and revival of the Persian language demonstrate its enduring role not merely as a medium of communication but as a core repository of cultural memory and identity among Iranian‑descended communities, highlighting its resilience as a civilizational force and the importance of equitable linguistic and cultural policies for sustaining shared heritage and regional coexistence. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_106911.html With the growth of AI-related technologies, countries at the governance level are increasingly realizing the importance of precise policymaking in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Experience shows that correct governance in this area can be a catalyst for the economic development of developing countries. The central question is: How have the differences in the AI governance strategies of China and India affected the quality of their economic development from 2017 to 2024? This study employs a deductive logic within the framework of integrating Neo-Technological Realism and Endogenous Economic Growth theories to test the hypothesis that the different models of AI governance in these two countries, despite other similarities, have led to significant differences in the quality of their economic development.To this end, using indicators such as Growth Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, GDP per capita based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), the share of the digital economy in total GDP, labour productivity growth, exports of advanced technology goods and services, and foreign direct investment inflow into AI-related sectors, it is demonstrated that China, with its centralized, authoritarian policies and massive investment, has followed a path of rapid but unequal development. Meanwhile, India, with its participatory, gradual, and human-centric policies, has followed a more stable and equitable development path.The findings of this research indicate that technological governance patterns can have a significant impact on the quality of a country's economic development. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_106912.html The Yemen crisis, as one of the most complex conflicts in West Asia (or the Middle East) in the past decade, has involved numerous actors. One of the less explored dimensions of this conflict is the role of identity representation and the discursive patterns adopted by the states engaged in it. Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey (also Turkiye), and Egypt each approach the Yemen conflict through their own identity-based narratives and have consequently pursued distinct foreign policy strategies. Accordingly, the central question of this study is: Why have these three countries, when faced with the same crisis, adopted such divergent—and at times contradictory—approaches?The aim of this research is to analyze and compare the identity discourses of Iran, Turkey, and Egypt regarding the Yemen crisis and to examine how these discourses shape their foreign policy behavior. The study assumes that Iran, relying on a “resistance” discourse and supporting aligned groups, seeks to strengthen an anti-hegemonic axis; Turkey, by reviving a “Neo-Ottoman” discourse, aims to redefine itself as a soft power and active mediator in the region; and Egypt, emphasizing “national security and regional stability,” seeks to contain threats and preserve order in its surrounding environment. Based on the qualitative analysis of the study’s data, the findings indicate that the foreign policies of Iran, Turkey, and Egypt toward Yemen are shaped less by purely geopolitical necessities and more by the reproduction of their respective identity discourses. Iran positions itself as the heart of regional resistance; Turkey pursues the revival of its civilizational–historical role as a supra-regional power; and Egypt places primary emphasis on maintaining national stability and safeguarding its peripheral security. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_106909.html In the contemporary era, non-governmental actors have increasingly entered the arena of safeguarding national interests in their comprehensive sense, alongside traditional state actors. In this context, the role of parliaments—through multilateral parliamentary diplomacy as a form of complementary diplomacy—has become increasingly consistent and enduring, particularly over the past few decades. This development has drawn the attention of researchers in various countries. In this regard, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation are among the states that have taken the initiative in this field by establishing regional and trans-regional parliamentary assemblies. Given this fact, a key question arises: what role can multilateral parliamentary diplomacy play in advancing relations between the two countries? To address this question, the study employs available library and internet sources, applying an exploratory and comparative reading of texts within the framework of the rational choice institutionalism approach. It is assumed that inter-parliamentary relations and cooperation between the two countries—considering the functions of parliaments—can serve as a facilitating factor in developing bilateral and multilateral relations aimed at securing their mutual interests. Accordingly, this article begins with an introduction outlining the importance of multilateral parliamentary diplomacy, its historical context, research background, and theoretical foundations. It then examines the evolution of multilateral parliamentary diplomacy in both countries, followed by an analysis of the capacities for inter-parliamentary cooperation in strengthening bilateral relations. Finally, the article discusses the prospects for further development of multilateral parliamentary diplomacy between Iran and Russia. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_105678.html Despite its frequent use, the term 'partnership,' as recently employed by China to describe its strategic partnerships and relations with friendly states, has received little scholarly attention, and its dimensions remain underexplored. This article argues that China’s partnerships can be better understood through the lens of economic statecraft—a foreign policy approach wherein states actively deploy economic tools to achieve political objectives. It explores the relationship between China’s strategic partnerships and economic statecraft, as traditionally referenced in the field of international political economy, analysing China–Egypt partnership as a case study. The paper contends that China’s partnerships have not only, as suggested by the notion of economic statecraft, led to deeper economic interdependence, but have also enabled China to consolidate its strategic influence in the regions spanning along the so-called Belt and Road project. Accordingly, China’s strategic partnerships can be viewed as manifestations of the traditional economic statecraft strategy; however, given the diversity and the formation of expansive, multi-layered networks of partnerships, the application of this framework is not limited to the mere use of economic tools for exerting influence over a single country or group of countries. Rather, such partnerships—through a complex integration of geopolitical, institutional, and diplomatic elements—transcend traditional understandings of economic statecraft, evolving into a more comprehensive and multi-layered form of strategic agency in international politics https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_107270.html The Taiwan crisis is one of the central geopolitical variables in the strategic rivalry between the People’s Republic of China (hereafter, China) and the United States. Its implications are not confined to bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington, but extend to the security, economy, and geostrategic dynamics of surrounding regions. Southeast Asia, due to its geopolitical position, geoeconomic significance, connection to vital maritime trade routes, and growing role in global supply chains, is directly affected by escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Drawing on Regional Security Complex Theory and using a descriptive-analytical method, this article asks how Sino-American rivalry over Taiwan affects Southeast Asian regional security. It argues that the Taiwan crisis creates geoeconomic opportunities for strengthening Southeast Asia’s role in global supply chains while also increasing strategic uncertainty, the risk of disruption in the Strait of Malacca, threat perceptions of China, military expenditures, and tendencies toward new security coalitions. The findings show that the Taiwan crisis has a dual character for Southeast Asia: it generates economic opportunities while simultaneously increasing security and geopolitical risks. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_107075.html The Islamic Republic of Iran has long suffered from the chronic effects of a mono-product economy due to its reliance on oil revenues and the vulnerabilities inherent in its rentier economic structure. This rent-dependent economic system has consistently been accompanied by widespread crises and economic challenges. In response, policymakers have envisioned strategies aimed at achieving a “non-oil economy” to mitigate the problems arising from such dependence. The Islamic Republic of Iran has long suffered from the chronic effects of a mono-product economy due to its reliance on oil revenues and the vulnerabilities inherent in its rentier economic structure. This rent-dependent economic system has consistently been accompanied by widespread crises and economic challenges. In response, policymakers have envisioned strategies aimed at achieving a “non-oil economy” to mitigate the problems arising from such dependence. Therefore, the separation of Iran’s economy from oil revenues, reliance on non-oil sectors, and the pursuit of a “non-oil economy” have a long-standing history and have often been considered an elusive goal. This study, based on Nafisi Rad’s theory of the non-oil economy, aims to critically analyze the implementation of a non-oil economy during Rouhani’s administration and examine its associated outcomes.In other words, the study seeks to determine the consequences of relying on a non-oil economy for the economic performance of Rouhani’s administration. The article’s hypothesis posits that Rouhani’s government, facing declining oil revenues and international sanctions, encountered an unprecedented opportunity to implement a non-oil economic policy—an aspiration long held by Iranian policymakers. However, due to the dominance of a mono-product economy and a strong dependence on oil revenues, the government was unable to remain immune to the adverse effects arising from the rentier economic structure. From this perspective, bank indebtedness, declining national revenues, poverty and widening income inequality, currency devaluation, stagflation, unemployment, reduced production, budget deficits, and slower economic growth were among the consequences of unprecedented crises faced by Rouhani’s administration. The unprecedented crises faced by Rouhani’s administration resulted in bank indebtedness, declining national revenues, poverty, widening income inequality, currency devaluation, stagflation, unemployment, reduced production, budget deficits, and slower economic growth. Consequently, the government’s policies aimed at implementing a non-oil economy not only failed to free the economy from its rentier dependence on oil revenues but also resulted in a fragmented economic system plagued by crises, which became a pervasive problem for Iran’s economy and may continue to affect future administrations for years. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_106910.html The European Union has developed a distinctive regulatory approach to artificial intelligence that combines risk-based obligations with participatory and experimentalist governance mechanisms. This article addresses the following research question: how do European AI startups participate in experimentalist governance mechanisms within the EU’s AI regulatory framework, and what implications does this participation have for norm formation, regulatory design, and competitive dynamics in EU digital policy? Drawing on qualitative case studies of firms including Mistral and Aleph Alpha, the analysis is based on policy documents, stakeholder consultations, ethics-related deliberations, and legislative negotiations surrounding the EU AI Act. The findings indicate that participatory instruments—such as ethics advisory frameworks, consultation procedures, and interinstitutional negotiations—create channels through which private actors may contribute to the articulation of regulatory norms while simultaneously reinforcing institutional legitimacy. The resulting regulatory architecture reflects a hybrid model that combines general transparency requirements with differentiated, risk-based obligations, aiming to balance ethical considerations, innovation incentives, and market competition. This app roach resonates with broader debates in AI ethics that emphasize accountability, transparency, and value-sensitive regulation. At the same time, the analysis highlights concerns regarding asymmetric access to governance processes and their implications for democratic accountability. The article contributes to scholarship on experimentalist governance and AI regulation by clarifying how ethical discourse, institutional design, and stakeholder participation interact in shaping the EU’s emerging framework for artificial intelligence governance. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_107640.html In the contemporary international system, states increasingly draw on soft power resources to achieve foreign policy objectives through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion. Possessing a rich civilizational and cultural heritage, alongside diverse soft power instruments, India has actively sought to deploy “Sufi diplomacy” towards the Central Asian republics. Employing a qualitative methodology with a descriptive–analytical approach based on library and documentary sources, this study addresses the following central question: how has the government of Narendra Modi utilised Sufi diplomacy to advance India’s national interests? In response, the study tests the hypothesis that India emphasises shared elements of tolerance and diversity between ancient Indian culture and Sufism, foregrounding the principles of compassion and forbearance in their mutual heritage. By doing so, New Delhi attempts to construct a shared identity discourse that serves as a “counterweight” to political Islam and religious radicalism in the secular states of Central Asia, thereby enhancing the appeal of its governance model to the region’s secular regimes. Framed within the conceptual boundaries of soft power and constructivist theory, the findings only partially confirm this hypothesis: while India’s Sufi diplomacy has found resonance among Central Asian political elites, its overall efficacy remains constrained by the growing contradiction between New Delhi’s external pluralist rhetoric and its domestic Hindu nationalist shift. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_107654.html Since the Chinese Communist Party’s rise to power in 1949, relations between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (hereafter, China) have traversed approximately twenty-year cycles of hostility, cooperation, and competition. Since 2017, strategic competition has emerged as the dominant framework in American foreign policy documents, positioning the two states in direct confrontation across the domains of economics, technology, soft power, and geopolitical influence. This paper examines the central question of the nature assumed by the current strategic competition between the two powers and argues that, although the bilateral rivalry is comprehensive and multidimensional in scope, it does not constitute a new Cold War, owing to the profound depth of economic interdependence between them. Moreover, the probability of falling into the Thucydides Trap and of the outbreak of all-out war remains low, given the stabilizing effect of nuclear deterrence and the prohibitive costs of direct military conflict. By contrast, the Churchill Trap—a protracted confrontation defined by persistent enmity short of direct warfare—represents the most plausible and consequential scenario on the horizon. An analysis of bilateral competition across the domains of economics and technology, the Belt and Road Initiative vis-à-vis the Build Back Better World initiative, and soft power reveals that both parties are actively seeking to manage this rivalry. Nevertheless, the absence of robust crisis-prevention mechanisms and the persistence of regional flashpoints—most notably in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea—sustain the very real prospect of inadvertent escalation. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_108063.html China's political and economic interests in the South Caucasus region are evolving steadily. Desire to increase its global role is clearly visible in the “Belt and Road Initiative”. The main message of this initiative is that China is not only developing peacefully, but it also share results of its development with others. One of the main goals of China's foreign policy is transformation from a "big" state (great economic and military capabilities) to a "strong" state. In the 21st century, the "One Belt, One Road" (BRI) project is considered part of the Chinese government's global dominance strategy.The expectations of the countries of the South Caucasus region (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) are from this project. Political cooperation, increased investments, trade and expansion of cooperation with European and Asian countries in various fields.China's rapid economic development, large capital, technology and huge domestic market are good for the economic development of all three South Caucasus countries. At the same time, China does not interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries. All this may balance the influence of other countries on all three countries of the South Caucasus region. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_108065.html This paper investigates how the European Parliament operationalized experimentalist governance principles in shaping the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Through a detailed analysis of legislative amendments, committee structures, and stakeholder engagement, the study examines the Parliament’s role as a normative and institutional anchor in the AI policy cycle. The research is guided by the question: How did the European Parliament operationalize experimentalist governance principles in shaping the EU Artificial Intelligence Act? The hypothesis tested is that the European Parliament’s strategic use of amendments, stakeholder engagement, and institutional reforms enabled the transformation of the EU AI Act from a technocratic proposal into a recursive, rights-based governance framework. The findings demonstrate that the Parliament consistently acted as a transmission belt—connecting civil society, expert networks, and legal institutions to formal policymaking. Its emphasis on horizontal regulation, transparency obligations, and ethical safeguards shaped the final text of the law, particularly in relation to general-purpose AI models, deepfakes, and high-risk applications. Structural reforms such as the creation of the AI Office and the embedding of fundamental rights impact assessments reflect the Parliament’s commitment to democratic legitimacy and adaptive oversight. By institutionalizing peer review, stakeholder consultation, and cross-border enforcement mechanisms, the Parliament redefined the procedural and normative architecture of EU digital regulation. This study contributes to broader debates on digital governance, legislative innovation, and the role of democratic institutions in regulating emerging technologies. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_108067.html This study uses a qualitative research design to examine how resistance, social capital, and international reactions were constructed, mobilized, and contested during Iran’s 12-Day War begun on the 13th of June, 2025. Because hybrid conflicts operate across military, informational, cultural, and diplomatic arenas at once, the article combines discourse analysis, thematic content analysis, process tracing, and triangulation across multiple data sources. This approach makes it possible to interpret the war as a complex socio-political event rather than a purely military confrontation. This research investigates how resistance was discursively constructed and redefined during the 12-Day War, how social capital manifested and functioned as a mechanism of wartime resilience, and how regional and international actors framed and responded to the conflict. Findings suggest that resistance was shaped not only by battlefield developments but also by identity, legitimacy, and narrative struggle. Social capital played a central role in sustaining cohesion and adaptation throughout the conflict.  Bridging social capital enabled cross-community coordination, information sharing, and digital counter-misinformation efforts through online verification networks and diaspora-based advocacy. International reactions were similarly shaped by more than military outcomes. Global media framing, humanitarian narratives, and diplomatic signaling influenced how the war was interpreted abroad, aligning with theories of soft power and narrative influence. The article shows how Iran sustained internal cohesion and external messaging amid external pressure and internal fragmentation. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_108068.html The Caucasus region has always been one of the important centers of competition and cooperation between regional and trans regional powers due to its geopolitical location, energy resources, and ethnic-religious diversity. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation, as two regional powers and neighbors with vital interests, have complex interactions in this region that include tactical cooperation. This article analyzes the interactions of Iran and Russia in the Caucasus using the theoretical framework of structural realism (neorealism) by Kenneth Waltz. The main argument is that the anarchic structure of the international system and the distribution of power at the regional level are the main drivers of the behavior and activism of these two countries in the relatively turbulent Caucasus region. Survival, national security, and efforts to increase extend of power constitute the main goals of Iran and Russia, leading to the formation of a model of cooperation in the security, military, strategic, and economic fields (economic projects) based on balance against common threats such as Western influence and competition for regional influence in peripheral crises such as the Karabakh crisis, competition in the field of energy and transit corridors. The present study, by describing, analyzing, and explaining the characteristics of Iran-Russia relations in various historical transitions (past and present), seeks to apply the components that shape the interactions between Iran and the Russian Federation in the Caucasus from the perspective of structural realism (the anarchic nature of relations, survival and national security as the main priority for the survival of the parties, the behavioral pattern resulting from creating a balance, tactical alliance and self-help, and promoting security). https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_108848.html The United States has long relied on coercive measures, particularly economic sanctions, to influence Iran’s political demeanor. This study examines the effectiveness of the “Maximum Pressure” campaign (2018–2021), launched after the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The campaign aimed to alter Iran’s strategic behavior by compelling Tehran to accept U.S. demands regarding its nuclear program, regional policies, and missile development. Drawing on Phil Haun’s Asymmetric Coercion theory and using Process Tracing, the study answers this research question: how and through what mechanisms did the campaign affect Iran’s strategic behavior? This study finds that the campaign failed to achieve its main objectives for three reasons: U.S. demands were perceived in Tehran as existential threats to the state or its political survival, second Tehran did not perceive threats and punishments would end upon making concessions, and finally the credibility of certain U.S. threats was limited. Hence, the perceived cost of resistance remained lower than that of compliance, leading Iran to resist U.S. coercive pressure. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_109164.html For a long time, myths and epics have served as repositories of collective memory, safeguarding the beliefs, values, historical experiences, and cultural identities of human societies from one generation to the next. Although epic traditions reflect the distinctive features of particular civilizations, comparative studies show that geographically distant cultures can produce similar heroic narratives, symbolic structures, and mythological motifs. Carl Gustav Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious provides a framework for understanding these recurring patterns. Jung argues that myths and epics express universal archetypes embedded in humanity’s shared psychological inheritance. Therefore, heroic characters from different civilizations may perform similar symbolic roles even when they emerge in different historical and cultural contexts. Building on this theoretical foundation, the current study compares the Kyrgyz Epic of Manas with Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. The main question of this research is how these two epic traditions represent the Hero archetype through similar narrative patterns while preserving their cultural differences. Using qualitative comparative textual analysis, this study examines shared archetypal motifs, including noble ancestry, prophetic dreams, miraculous birth, threatened childhood, heroic initiation, national unification, and the hero’s death. Rather than proposing direct historical influence between the two traditions, the study argues that these parallels can be understood as expressions of universal heroic archetypes. https://jices.ut.ac.ir/article_109271.html Since the 1970s, the development of urban environments designed to support sustainable lifestyles—integrating urban planning, ecology, and civic participation—has emerged as a primary global solution to environmental degradation. The West Asia region, characterized by rapid urbanization, population growth, diverse environmental pollutants, and acute water scarcity, faces a unique set of challenges. Furthermore, regional nation-states have implemented long-term development programs that necessitate rigorous environmental considerations. This article presents a case study of Masdar City in the UAE, reviewing the national policies adopted to attain and ensure sustainable development. Employing a descriptive case study methodology, this research examines the challenges the government faces in meeting the ecological standards established in the original project design and advocated by eco-city theorists. The author argues that while the UAE’s initiative to develop an eco-city is fundamentally sound—driven by both environmental imperatives and tourism objectives—some green ambitions remain unfulfilled due to the state’s tendency to prioritize commercial interests over the holistic goals of ecological urbanism. Additional challenges include the fragility of societal infrastructures and inequitable access to urban facilities, which disproportionately favour affluent segments of the population.