Perhaps no Arab is better known as a public intellectual than the great late Arab American scholar Edward Said, whose writings and lectures resonated across the world. Said once wrote: “The role of the intellectual is not to consolidate authority, but to understand, interpret and question it.” Read more »
A collection of citizen voices urges the GCC to cooperate
Every year, Gulf citizens collectively hold our breath, hoping that a specific 24-hour period ends in a better way than it started. This day starts tomorrow at the Gulf Cooperative Council summit in Abu Dhabi, where the last leg of the Formula One Grand Prix was held last month. But unlike the competitors in that race, we can all emerge winners from this upcoming event. Read more »
What We Can Learn From Abu Dhabi’s Soft Diplomacy
On December 2, 2010, the UAE began celebrating the countdown to its 40th anniversary as a federation. It is going to welcome its fifth decade in a few months as a mature diplomatic nation, due to a new phenomenon in the form of soft diplomacy. This report will review some of the recent milestones the UAE has witnessed in this field. Read more »
Business links that must be aired
A widely held belief in the Arab world holds that some elements in the West secretly oppose democracy in the region because free and fair elections would produce anti-Western governments. However one overlooked aspect is the role that leading businesses in Arab countries play in stifling democracy. Read more »
The other special relationship: the UAE and the UK
At a reception earlier this year in the British Embassy in Dubai, the newly appointed ambassador, Dominic Jermey, referred to London as the “eighth emirate” due to the close relationship between both countries. Many people aren’t aware of just how close this relationship is today. Read more »
Entrepreneurial Arabs Will Make It Better For The Next Generation
The first few days of November have quickly become known as Entrepreneurship Week in Dubai. The Dubai School of Government kicked off the week with a panel on women’s entrepreneurship in the Gulf, featuring leading businesswomen from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the region. The next day at the Young Arab Leaders Entrepreneurship Summit, cross-generational leadership was represented, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and his son Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan attending. Read more »