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Podcast: Middle East Dossier
Episode: ME101 Lecture 5 - The Changing Gulf: Domestic Policies and Social Reforms
Description: This lecture will provide insights into the latest developments in the socio-cultural landscape of the Gulf Arab states. Conceptually, the long-held rentier model in academic scholarship no longer has the same purchase that it once did, owing to a slew of domestic reforms implemented notably in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Economic diversification and urbanisation have also altered societal attitudes in a region where the family unit has been a social anchor. The presentation will also examine social demographics, including the need for professional foreign talent and low-skilled labour. The reassertion of kinship ties, among other preserved traditions, is...