This selection of essays addresses the general aspects of social change in the Gulf on the one hand and the specific contours of transformation in different milieus of the region on the other. The volume goes beyond the paradigms of security and rentier state to capture state-society linkages, women's role in knowledge economy and social reforms, the directions of democratisation, changing dynamics of cities like Dubai, the interplay of sacred and secular in the Gulf. It shows the multi-layered manner in which Arab societies of the Gulf have responded to the phenomenon of globalisation. The interconnectedness of political and economic dynamics and social change is brought forth in the volume by locating specific spaces, issues and moments of such transformation. Scholars from diverse disciplinary vantage points provide the reader with a multi-dimensional perspective of the societies in the Gulf.