The process of border formation of the United Arab Emirates included extensive local leadership participation. Such a rare event in the Middle East affords a glimpse into local inhabitants’ notions of borders and their transformations over time. Based on primary sources in English and Arabic, the paper follows the evolution of the unique spatial interpretation of borders adopted by the local leadership. It highlights two perceptual turning points during the border negotiations, from the reticular border system, through the setting up of frontier zones to the phase of territorial borders. The negotiations records shed light on the dialectic process of shaping and reshaping border perceptions through an ongoing dialogue between the local and British elites and through mutual adjustment of spatial ideas and practices. The paper argues that the borders delineation process in this region exemplifies late-stage decolonization when pragmatism transcended ideology and when locally-oriented considerations prevailed bureaucratic amenity.

阿拉伯联合酋长国的边界形成过程包括当地领导层的广泛参与。中东发生的如此罕见的事件让我们得以一窥当地居民的边界观念及其随时间的变化。本文基于英语和阿拉伯语的主要资料，追踪了当地领导层采用的独特的边界空间解释的演变。它突出了边界谈判过程中的两个感性转折点，从网状边界系统，到边界区的设置，再到领土边界阶段。谈判记录通过当地和英国精英之间的持续对话以及空间理念和实践的相互调整，揭示了塑造和重塑边界观念的辩证过程。