Springtime for no-one. Religion, Identity and Democratic statecraft in post Arab Spring UAE. Presentation at a conference/panel in Tunisia

Kenneth Christie received a Research and Professional Development grant to study identity, religion, and statecraft through the perspective of globalization and its impact on the UAE.

Globalization to some extent has forced and allowed many states to reassess their identity and the challenges to this identity in the late 20th, early 21st centuries. How and why states in MENA use the strategies afforded to them, and how these have been mobilized is crucial in the outcomes of political security, stability, and their socio-economic development, within and beyond their borders. In this paper I examine the role of religion, identity, and statecraft in the UAE through the lens of globalization and the consequences of the Arab Spring for democracy in the UAE and beyond.