There's a saying in the military that has direct relevance to interpreting change in Kuwait: ‘hurry up and wait’. In a military context, the phrase captures the urgency for readiness constrained by a plodding bureaucracy. In the Kuwaiti context, ‘hurry up and wait’ characterises the urgency and impatience for change (among some citizens) balanced by traditions and fears of disrespect and disruptiveness. Like the phrase, Kuwait is characterised by complex juxtapositions of hurry and wait. From a bird's eye view of the small Arabian Gulf country, we see, for example, rapid changes in styles of dress compete with reinforced tradition in calls to respect the emir. We see globalised culture, in the form of restaurants like Cheesecake Factory and Texas Road House, made local, by the absence of pork products and alcohol; and the latest Hollywood films, severely edited, with any touching between the sexes removed, while, ironically, gore, violence and foul language remain. In terms of politics, we see ‘oppositional compliant’ behaviour in the practice of everyday life, like participating in a youth movement for change while also complying with a parent's wishes on choice of major at university, or career and marriage decisions.

These competing narratives also influence Internet use and impact. For example, stressing the transformative nature of Internet culture in Kuwait, a 2011 study argues that