Trust is shaped over time, built through lived experience, consistency and a sense of shared purpose. While it can disappear overnight, that is rare. More worrying is that trust can change quietly, as uncertainty grows and people reassess who and what they can rely on.
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer captures this shift, tracing a long-term global move from anxiety to grievance and now towards something more subtle and complex: insularity.
Around the world, seven in 10 people say they hesitate to trust someone whose values, approach to societal problems, beliefs or cultural background differ from their own. In some markets, that instinct to narrow trust is even more pronounced.
The UAE stands apart in this global picture, reflecting a truly different trust dynamic. While nearly one in two people here express hesitation about trusting those who differ from them, residents remain open to trusting across differences, more so than almost any other country globally. In a society as diverse as the UAE, that openness is a strength. One that reflects conscious choices made by our government, institutions, leaders and communities.
This contrast, between global pressure and continued openness at home, is what distinguishes the UAE. While optimism for the next generation has declined globally, with fewer than one-third (32 per cent) believing life will improve for the next generation, nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of people in the UAE remain optimistic about that same future. This confidence places the country among the most forward-looking societies measured in the Edelman Trust Barometer.
More importantly, it suggests that optimism and openness are not accidental. They are shaped by deliberate leadership choices and consistent institutional behaviour.
Across organisations in the UAE, I increasingly see this balance. People remain open, ambitious and outward-looking, but they are also more deliberate about who and what they trust. Insularity here does not take the form of rejection; it shows up as discernment, shaped by expectations of credibility, relevance and shared values.
Insularity cuts across age, income and gender, influencing how people relate to one another and how they engage with institutions. Yet even among those with a more insular mindset in the UAE, there is no wholesale withdrawal of trust. Business, government and NGOs continue to be trusted and leaders retain public confidence. Notably, more than half of UAE residents (56 per cent) say they regularly get information from sources with a different political leaning from their own.
Globally, trust is shifting. Confidence is moving away from distant institutions and abstract authority towards those closest to us: employers, colleagues, neighbours and familiar local voices. While we also see this shift in the UAE, trust here overall remains broadly shared, with all institutions widely seen as competent and ethical, giving leaders a strong foundation from which to act.
Even among people with a more insular trust mindset, familiar figures like “my CEO” and “my neighbours” command greater trust than distant institutional leaders, with about three in four expressing trust in both.
This makes clear that trust isn’t being switched off, it’s becoming more personal and more closely tied to whether people feel seen and understood. Avoiding difference doesn’t build trust, but engaging with it thoughtfully and consistently does.
Through this lens, the UAE’s trust profile offers insight into how trust can function in diverse societies. Trust here is not built on sameness, but on institutions and leadership that enable difference while sustaining confidence. Where trust elsewhere is fragmenting along ideological or cultural lines, the UAE experience suggests cohesion can endure when people feel institutions are present, responsive and rooted in shared purpose.
In a world where trust is quietly narrowing and becoming more personal, leadership increasingly shapes whether societies pull inward or find ways to stay connected. The global shift from “we” to “me” has made proximity, shared experience and credibility more important than distant assurances, placing greater emphasis on how institutions show up in people’s daily lives.
Against this backdrop, the UAE’s experience offers an important reminder: trust does not sustain itself. High trust is a strength, but it also brings responsibility. It requires continuous attention, credible leadership and a willingness to engage across difference, not retreat from it. The UAE’s trust advantage has been shaped by deliberate choices, consistent delivery and proximity between institutions and the people they serve.
At a time when many societies are struggling to hold cohesion together, this shows that trust can be actively maintained, not simply hoped for, and that progress does not have to come at the expense of openness.
