ABSTRACT
The chapter shows how the opposing trajectories followed by the border cities post-independence parallel the way the UAE and Oman have grown separately. Since the 1970s, these border cities have followed divergent, often opposing, trajectories; reflecting how the UAE and Oman have diverged. The chapter highlights the slow mutual recognition between the two newly independent countries from the 1970s to the early 2000s. While Abu Dhabi and Muscat's pursued similar and simultaneous state-building projects, al-Ayn and al-Buraymi began diverging due to the roles those projects gave them. Until the early 1990s, the Sultanate was divided into two governorates and nine regions, including the 'Jaw and al-Buraymi' covering the UAE borderland. The chapter explores how the question of separating from the other re-emerged in the early 2000s as both countries faced domestic challenges calling into question the socio-political order established in the 1970s.
