Long before Facebook updates and 140-character tweets, a number of cyber activists defined the landscape of non-government led opinion in the Gulf Arab states. In less than a decade, a group of bloggers—many of whom have never met—has paved the way for the emergence of the “other opinion” that was and continues to be largely missing from the government controlled Gulf Arab media. The shake-up to traditional media that these blogging pioneers caused was no less significant than what Al Jazeera’s arrival did to the moribund government-controlled television channels of the Arab world. Read more »
Reform
Gulf governments take to social media
In the past few months, the potential of social media outreach in the Gulf hasn’t only been noticed and exploited by marketing firms but also by regional governments and officials. After all, there are a staggering 7.4 million Facebook users in the Gulf according to Inside Facebook as of May this year and 5.5 million Twitter users in the Middle East according to ArabCrunch as of March this year. Read more »
McCarthyism in Gulf social media
Post-Second World War America was a period of economic growth and prosperity for many citizens but it was also a dark period in which a powerful US Senator by the name of Joseph McCarthy initiated a process of publicly accusing individuals of harbouring communist tendencies without regard for evidence. Read more »
The sponsorship system is on the wrong side of history
UAE law obliges expatriates who care to reside and do business in the country to either do so through a partnership with a UAE national in which the expat can own up to 49 per cent, or through a sponsorship system that allows the expat to own the entire business, though not on paper, provided they pay a fee to a UAE national. This fee can range from as low as a thousand dirhams a year and go up to several hundred thousand, depending on the size of the business. This sponsorship system is on the wrong side of history. If the federal government doesn’t end it, then international labour laws will probably do so. Read more »
Elected Municipal Councils Could Foster Spirit of Civic Participation in the UAE
For many Emiratis, experiences with the current Federal National Council have been less than ideal. If asked to name a major achievement accomplished by any FNC member, few Emiratis would have anything positive to say. Read more »
The Civil Society Movement in the Arab Gulf States
At first glance it seems as though the six Gulf Cooperation Council monarchies have no civil society movements to speak of, but scratching the surface unveils a complex layer of organisations that exist side by side with the governments and in some cases have been merged into governmental structures. In fact because of the relative young age of these states many of those who were active against the British presence in the Gulf prior to independence became themselves government officials and can be found in government circles until today. Read more »