Uncovering the interplay between political will, public management reforms, and outcomes: a study of the United Arab Emirates

The aim of the study is to fill the gap in the existing literature by presenting a comprehensive and theoretically sound framework that examines the interplay between the attributes of political will, public management reform design and implementation, the results they yield and the impact of external factors on these variables. Drawing upon the systematic literature review, the research develops a conceptual framework of political will and applies it to the context of public management reforms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A wide range of databases are used from secondary sources including Worldwide Governance Indicators, Failed State Index, Global Innovation Index, and Transparency International. The results show that the UAE government's strong commitment to reforms, as well as its ability to implement those reforms effectively, has contributed to positive outcomes in areas such as economic development and public service delivery. UAE has liberalized its economy and institutionalized innovative practices. All actors are involved in reform initiatives. Given the developmental clientelist regime in the UAE, political leadership has played an instrumental role in successfully implementing public management reforms. The UAE Government has ensured capacity-building efforts and proper incentives such as Government Excellence Awards are in place for the continuity of reform initiatives. Other government regimes could potentially benefit from the approaches employed by the UAE government in undertaking public management reform initiatives. The results challenge the common assumption that monarchical regimes are unable to drive such changes and instead demonstrate that a development-focused clientelist state can effectively implement incremental reforms in public management. The proposed conceptual model will also potentially guide future empirical research in the field.