Emirati Journal of Community & Family Studies

Browse Journals

Articles

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025): Emirati Journal of Community & Family Studies

The Family Book System: Sociocultural Impact on Emirati Family Dynamics

  • Rodrigo Bochner
Submitted
December 1, 2025
Published
2025-12-29

Abstract

The United Arab Emirates’ Family Book (Khulasat Al Qaid) is an advanced governmental documentation system that transcends simple civil registration by serving as a multidimensional tool for citizenship verification, national identity construction, and family legitimization. This analysis employs qualitative methods—policy document review, demographic data inspection, and sociological interpretatio—to explore how the Family Book shapes family relationships, influences identity formation, and impacts diverse family structures within the UAE’s unique demographic and cultural context. The system functions effectively as both an administrative mechanism and complex social technology, facilitating citizenship verification, benefit allocation, and national identity consolidation. Notably, the patrilineal transmission framework produces varied experiences, especially for mixed-nationality families. The UAE’s 2021 reforms, allowing Emirati mothers to sponsor children’s residence permits and expanding naturalization pathways, establish the country as the most progressive GCC nation in citizenship modernization. While the system enjoys cultural legitimacy and administrative effectiveness, ongoing refinement aligned with Vision 2071 goals of gender balance, family wellbeing, and social cohesion is recommended. This work, ddressing this understudied field, contributes to policy discourse by illustrating the UAE’s model of balancing progressive reform, cultural authenticity, and demographic sustainability while respecting its sovereign authority in citizenship policy desing, bringing a new perspective to the gcc families

References

  1. Babar, Z. (2015). The cost of belonging: Citizenship construction in the State of Qatar. Middle East Journal, 68(3), 403-420. https://doi.org/10.3390/mid.68.3.403
  2. Bhabha, J. (2009). Arendt’s children: Do today’s migrant children have a right to have rights? Human Rights Quarterly, 31(2), 410-451. https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.0.0072
  3. Bloch, A., & Chimienti, M. (2011). Irregular migration in a globalizing world. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(8), 1271-1285. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2011.560276
  4. Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
  5. Bowen, M. (1978). Family Therapy in Clinical Practice. New York: Jason Aronson.
  6. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
  7. Bristol-Rhys, J. (2010). Emirati Women: Generations of Change. London: Hurst Publishers.
  8. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  9. Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  10. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  11. Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship. (2023). Strategy Report 2023-2026. Government of the United Arab Emirates https://icp.gov.ae/en/about-icp/icp-strategy/
  12. Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre. (2023). Population Statistics. United Arab Emirates Government. Retrieved from https://uaestat.fcsc.gov.ae/en
  13. Forstenlechner, I., & Rutledge, E. J. (2011). The GCC’s “demographic imbalance”: Perceptions, realities and policy options. Middle East Policy, 18(4), 25-43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4967.2011.00508.x
  14. Hajer, M. A. (2006). Doing discourse analysis: Coalitions, practices, meaning. In M. van den Brink & T. Metze (Eds.), Words Matter in Policy and Planning (pp. 65-74). Utrecht: Netherlands Geographical Studies.
  15. Hasan, S. (2023). Statelessness and suspended identity: The case of Pakistani Bengalis. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 46(5), 892-911. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2022.2089850
  16. Heard-Bey, F. (2005). From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates: A Society in Transition. London: Motivate Publishing.
  17. Isin, E. F. (2008). Theorizing acts of citizenship. In E. F. Isin & G. M. Nielsen (Eds.), Acts of Citizenship (pp. 15-43). London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230603578_2
  18. Janardhan, M. (2015). Citizenship in the Gulf: Policies and practices. Contemporary Review of the Middle East, 2(3), 283-299. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347798915593033
  19. Jones, J. (2015). Mixed nationality families and the problem of statelessness. Refugee Survey Quarterly, 34(3), 129-150. https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdv009
  20. Katz, L. F., & Gottman, J. M. (1997). Buffering children from marital conflict and dissolution. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26(2), 157-171. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp2602_4
  21. Kerr, M. E., & Bowen, M. (1988). Family Evaluation: An Approach Based on Bowen Theory. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
  22. Khalaf, S. (2000). Poetics and politics of newly invented traditions in the Gulf: Camel racing in the United Arab Emirates. Ethnology, 39(3), 243-261. https://doi.org/10.2307/3774053
  23. Lamont, M., & White, P. (2009). Workshop on Interdisciplinary Standards for Systematic Research. Washington, DC :https://lead.wceruw.org/Qual-Report-Data-NSF.PDF
  24. Lori, N. (2019). Offshore Citizens: Permanent Temporary Status in the Gulf. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108635684
  25. Moffitt, U., Juang, L., & Syed, M. (2020). Intersectionality and youth identity development research in Europe. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 78. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00078
  26. Olson, D. H. (2000). Circumplex model of marital and family systems. Journal of Family Therapy, 22(2), 144-167. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6427.00144
  27. Rubin, K. H., Bukowski, W. M., & Parker, J. G. (2006). Peer interactions, relationships, and groups. In N. Eisenberg, W. Damon, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology: Social, Emotional, and Personality Development (pp. 571-645). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
  28. Sophie A. J., 2024. "Domesticity as Nation Building in the United Arab Emirates," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9. DOI: 10.17645/up.7775
  29. Schmidt, L. F. (2020). The impact of childhood statelessness on psychological development. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 12(2), 445-462. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huaa019
  30. Stebbins, R. A. (2001). Exploratory Research in the Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  31. Torpey, J. (2000). The Invention of the Passport: Surveillance, Citizenship and the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511489792
  32. Federal Decree-Law No 41 (2024). Offical Gazette, UAE Governament https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/2770/download
  33. UAE Governament (2025). Amendments to Federal Law No. 17 of 1972 on Nationality and Passports. United Arab Emirates Governament Plataform . https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/passports-and-traveling/emirati-nationality#:~:text=the%20UAE's%20citizenship-,Provisions%20allowing%20foreigners%20to%20acquire%20the%20Emirati%20nationality,to%20retain%20his%20original%20nationality.
  34. UAE Government. (2023). UAE Vision 2071. United Arab Emirates Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved from https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/strategies-initiatives-and-awards/federal-governments-strategies-and-plans/uae-vision-2071
  35. UNHCR. (2014). Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2014. Geneva: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/media/background-note-gender-equality-nationality-laws-and-statelessness-2014
  36. Vora, N. (2013). Impossible Citizens: Dubai’s Indian Diaspora. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822395811
  37. Walsh, F. (2016). Strengthening Family Resilience (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
  38. World Bank. (2021). Women, Business and the Law 2021. Washington, DC: World Bank Group. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1652-9

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.