Crafting a Global Capital. The shifting territories of alcohol in Abu Dhabi

The place of alcohol in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, has undergone fast-paced changes over the last decade. While drinking was initially restricted to hotels, it is now possible to engage in this practice publicly; and alcohol has become central within the new leisure and entertainment districts. This paper argues that such evolutions reflect shifting representations of alcohol in the state’s discourse. Whereas it had first been constructed as a ‘necessary evil,’ an exogeneous substance required to cater to the needs of a growing foreign workforce, alcohol is now portrayed as a primary feature of the world-class city. These transformations draw a moral geography of the capital which produces specific norms: at the same time as they serve Abu Dhabi’s ambitions to become a ‘global destination’ for international tourists, and for the expatriate ‘talents’ who will serve the state’s project of economic diversification, they exclude from the making of the world-class city those (both citizens and non-citizens) who are not at ease with such changes.