"What is the UAE capital doing to combat such serious erosion [of Emirati cultural identity]? Quite a bit, in fact, and its strategy seems to be novel and pre-emptive."

“’May you live in interesting times’ goes a Chinese saying that usually has negative connotations. The emerging UAE political scene is nothing if not interesting, though.”

"Effective change is contingent on reforming the educational systems in the region — beginning in primary school — to train individuals to think critically, to accept criticism, to welcome change, and to appreciate the values of collaborative and cooperative work."

In this essay published in Gulf News, Natasha Ridge outlines how family, school and state , "combine to create a system in which young women are actively continuing their education, but where young men are still failing to see the point of it."

"While social media can be an instigator of, catalyst for and witness to social change, it does not bring about social change - not singlehandedly anyway. People do."

The challenge ahead is not only about making a smooth transition to a more democratic system of governance. It is about relegitimizing the entire structure of government and the exercise of power.

In this op-ed published in The Khaleej Times, Susan Crotty explores the roots of western misperceptions of danger in the UAE, and recommends steps the UAE can take to rectify the problem.

"Young men and women need to see a return on education in order to invest in it. Until that happens they will continue to opt out, and in the long term that is bound to be a curse."

In this editorial in the Financial Times, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi urges local media to report on the hidden links between leading businessmen and governments in the Arab world.