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Doctorate conferred for thesis on the city

DUBAI - Ram Buxani, a long-time resident of Dubai, has been conferred upon a doctorate by a US university for his thesis on Dubai.

Mr Buxani, who has been working for the past one year on the topic “Governance of Dubai: The influence of tribal tradition in decision making, especially in the critical periods of the development of the city-state,” was informed by the Washington International University of USA that his thesis was accepted.

“Greatly influenced by the way the beautiful city-state of Dubai is being governed, this subject was an obvious choice”, says Mr Buxani, a doyen among the Indian business community and founder chairman of Overseas Indian Economic Forum. He is also the founder chairman of the forum of electronics distributors—The Electronics Group.

“My research looked into the critical periods of Dubai to bring out the important elements that went into shaping the destiny of this city-state,” says Mr Buxani, executive vice-chairman of ITL Group - Cosmos, who during his 45 years in the UAE, has donned several prestigious positions including chairman of India Club and chairman of Indian High School. He was associated with several financial and industrial groups.

Mr Buxani’s thesis seeks to establish that in spite of the constant and dramatic changes that Dubai has been subjected to ever since its formation, there are certain features that remained unaltered throughout its history. “These are its tradition, culture and religious beliefs. The Rulers derive their legitimacy from the tradition and that gives them the power to translate their visions into reality. They created a pluralistic and productive society by bringing in people with necessary skills from more than 150 countries. With these people they changed the face of their country”.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Mr Buxani explains: “Dubai could execute mega projects without delay because the bureaucracy is kept to its minimum. The Rulers always have their finger on the pulse of the community’s needs, problems and aspirations. The gap is minimum between the Ruler and the people. And one common thread that runs throughout the history of Dubai since the beginning of Al Maktoum family rule in 1833 till now is the uncanny ability of successive Rulers to foresee the unfolding of political and social events and take decisive steps to stay ahead of times. These are the elements that give Dubai its distinct character. And these are the reasons others could not replicate Dubai’s success.”