Dubai, the City as Corporation

Every now and again you come across a book that you can only describe as liberating, because it is able to shed light on some crucial problem in your lived experience the reasons for which you were somehow blind to or were unable to adequately recognize. Having lived several years in Dubai and elsewhere in the Gulf, this is one book that I'm especially grateful for. Kanna's study provides an insightful analysis and critique of new forms of structural oppression that emerge from the collusion of neoliberalism and local politics. The book highlights the (at times unwitting) role of new global elites, such as starchitects, in this process. And it also says a good deal about why those of us who live in this part of the world for generations--whether "local" or "expat"--remain blind to the factors that render invisible the causes of the various forms of systemic inequality we experience here.

This book is an obvious work of consequence. However, the author is so wrapped up in sounding intelligent(which he no-doubt is) and schlorly, his message gets muddled. Just because a book is "easy" to understand does not mean its message is simple.

The author of this book clearly does not want anyone to know what he's talking about. The book is highly informative and a great piece on Dubai, but it's impossible to read leasurely. As an Anthropology student, I had a lot of trouble getting through it.