Along its eastern edges on the Persian Gulf, the Arab world is undergoing a transformation more profound than any produced by its rival states, squabbling political parties or violent insurgencies.

Representing this transformation is Dubai, whose great wealth and extraordinary growth exists beyond oil, -construction and even the Middle East, since the United Arab Emirates imports the bulk of its population, -commodities and infrastructure from outside the region. But immigration is a non-issue here, along with nationalist hysterics and xenophobia, because the small number of Dubai citizens makes a national culture there impossible. Instead, Dubai's nationality exists in the form of advertising and commodities. It is to be found in the guise of leisure and entertainment, from shisha bars to desert safaris, whose designers, builders and consumers are foreigners.