The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeking to realize its project for regional hegemony and become the new “kingmaker” in the region through military power and soft power, according to an analysis by an Istanbul-based think tank.

The regional vacuum that emerged in the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, paved the way for the Emirates to consolidate its power in the region, The Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University said in the report, “Examining the UAE Military: Its Roots, Development, and Prospects.”

“The decline in the regional roles of traditionally influential Arab countries like Egypt and Syria, the collapse of countries like Libya and Yemen, the emergence of transnational religious organizations like the Daesh/ISIS and the decline of the US presence in the region,” were factors which enabled the UAE to pursue such a controversial project in the region, according to the report.

Standing out against the wave of Arab revolts by planning wave of counter-revolutions, building military bases and managing a network of seaports in strategic locations in different parts of the world, and enhancing the capacity of Abu Dhabi-dominated UAE army were counted among the main pillars of the UAE’s international policies, it added.