This dissertation examines the institutionalisation of philanthropy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the 1950s to the mid-2020s. It explores how practices of giving have evolved from earlier forms of generosity embedded in leadership and social cohesion into an expanding institutional field. In doing so, it asks how philanthropy has become one of the spaces through which the country articulates social responsibility, national development and international engagement. It argues, first, that ambiguity around the term philanthropy in the UAE is not simply a conceptual gap, but a strategic resource that allows actors to speak to different audiences and institutional settings. Second, it shows that the relationship between philanthropy and the state is not a recent development, but is rooted in longer practices of leadership, generosity and welfare provision. Third, it proposes a three-tier reading of UAE philanthropy, organised not by who gives, but by who is addressed: charity-like giving, philanthropy oriented primarily toward nationals, and cross-border philanthropy. What emerges is that Emirati philanthropy is best understood as a site of continuity and change: a field in which older traditions of giving are reworked through contemporary institutional forms and global vocabularies. Through this process, philanthropy supports social and national development, while reinforcing narratives of responsibility and benevolence. In doing so, the dissertation contributes to a broader understanding of philanthropy beyond assumptions of a clear public-private divide, and opens a grounded conversation on giving in contexts where public authority, private initiative and social responsibility are closely intertwined.
