Public Policy Issues and Campaign Strategies: Examining Rationality and the Role of Social Media in a Legislative Election Within a Middle Eastern Context Abdulfattah Yaghi, PhD United Arab Emirates University Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Osman Antwi-Boateng, PhD United Arab Emirates University Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Abstract While most studies from western countries emphasize rationality in electoral behavior, the present study proposes that rationality is also a driver of candidates’ behavior in a non-Western context. The purpose of the present study is to map cam- paign content as well as campaign strategies of 214 candidates in the 2015 United Arab Emirates legislative elections. The qualitative analysis showed rational consider- ation drove the selection of both campaign strategies and public policy positions. Candidates decided to include patriotism and social and economic policy issues in their campaigns to attract votes. In addition, while candidates utilized social meda in their campaigns hoping to maximize their voter outreach, doing so was not necessar- ily decisive in garnering more votes. Thus, juxtaposed with social meda channels like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, SnapChat, and GooglePlus, traditional campaigning strategies remained very potent. Key words: Social media, UAE elections Problemas de política p ublica y estrategias de campa~ na: examinando la racionalidad y el papel que juegan las redes sociales en una elecci on legislativa dentro del contexto del Medio Oriente Resumen Mientras que muchos estudios de países occidentales enfatizan la racionalidad en el comportamiento electoral, este estudio propone que la racionalidad es tambien un motor del comportamiento de los candidatos en un contexto no occidental. DOI: 10.1111/dome.12118 Digest of Middle East Studies—Volume 26, Number 2—Pages 398–421 VC 2017 Policy Studies Organization. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.