Social engineering or sabre rattling?

The UAE has announced compulsory military service for all males between the ages of 18 and 30. The move was announced by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, on Twitter. Sheikh Mohammed said that the country’s cabinet had endorsed the plan, although there is no indication when the rules will take effect.

Ladies in the armed forces will still, one assumes, remain volunteers!

At first glance the introduction of conscription will seem to many to be a sign of belligerence, and the question will be asked as to the identity of the enemy the UAE seeks to be able to confront.

Would it be completely false false to see a menace, a real danger within the young nation's borders? I do not refer to any sedition, rebellion or similar upheaval, but to the often discussed lethargy of a generation of Emiratis who are so comfortable that they show no interest in taking jobs which are not government sinecures, display little discipline, are prey to the maladies of cosseted indolence.

Earlier this month the Gulf News reported that one in every two employees in the UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries is not engaged at work, according to a new study. The research found that employee commitment level in the GCC region is the lowest worldwide, at only 49.5 per cent. This means the majority of employees in the region are not likely to be putting in more discretionary effort into their jobs to produce positive outcomes.

Against this background the introduction of compulsory military service could be planned as a way of inculcating simple discipline, healthy exercise and the concept of shared responsibility in a cohort of young people who will one day be obliged to take the reins of a nation in which they will still be a  demographic minority.