Your search
Results 220 resources
-
The foreign policy of the Sultanate of Oman has differed markedly from those of other Arab Gulf countries, let alone other Arab states. Many a time, governments and political leaders throughout the region have been bewildered by Muscat’s nonconformist stance. Perhaps nowhere was the independence of Oman’s foreign policy more evident than in its attitude toward Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The focus of this article is Oman’s policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict from 1970 to the present day. In arguing that it is just another component of the country’s multifaceted foreign policy, the discussion traces Oman’s political history and offers insights into how this foreign policy has been shaped. It identifies the logic behind Oman’s policy initiatives, and assesses its ability to adapt to changing regional and international environments.
-
Although the majority of Oman's population is Arab and either Ibadi or Sunni Muslim, the country exhibits a wealth of diversity in ethnic groups and native languages. While these other groups are often small in total size, they are represented in such areas as politics and commerce in numbers disproportionate to the weight of their communities and, although distinctive, are more or less woven into the social fabric of the country. Ethnic identity seems likely to decline as the various communities increasingly mix in education, the workplace, residential areas, social functions, the military, and elsewhere. This article provides brief “snapshots” of these groups and assesses their changing status in Omani society.
-
When Sultan Qabus issued Decree 101 on November 6, 1996, Oman was the last Arab country to implement a constitutional document. However, the political impact of this document is controversial: Whereas some consider the Basic Law a step towards democratization, others see merely a continuation of traditional policies. In this article I investigate the innovative potential of the Basic Law. Against the background of Omani and regional history and European and Islamic constitutional thought, I review the Decree with regard to authority and legitimation. I suggest that the law is mainly symbolic in character. It exploits tribal and Islamic concepts to create a historically unfounded notion of a homogeneous state. The civil liberties it grants do not extend to the public sphere. I conclude that Oman's Basic Law does nothing more than to freeze the status quo, according to which the Sultan remains the only recognized authority in the state.
-
The Sultanate of Oman is one of the few "good news" stories to have emerged from the Middle East in recent memory. This book traces the narrative of a little-known and relatively stable Arab country whose history of independence, legacy of interaction with diverse cultures, and enlightened modern leadership have transformed it in less than fifty years from an isolated medieval-style potentate to a stable, dynamic, and largely optimistic country.At the heart of this fascinating story is Oman’s sultan, Qaboos bin Sa’id, friend to both East and West, whose unique leadership style has resulted in both domestic and foreign policy achievements during more than four decades in office.Exploring Oman from a historical perspective, Funsch examines how the country’s unique blend of tradition and modernization has enabled it to succeed while others in the region have failed. Accounts of the author’s own experiences with Oman’s transformation add rich layers of depth, texture, and personality to the narrative.
Explore
Topic
Resource type
- Blog Post (3)
- Book (33)
- Book Section (43)
- Document (1)
- Encyclopedia Article (1)
- Journal Article (56)
- Magazine Article (5)
- Manuscript (6)
- Newspaper Article (11)
- Presentation (21)
- Report (9)
- Thesis (7)
- Web Page (24)
Publication year
- Between 1900 and 1999 (43)
-
Between 2000 and 2026
(176)
- Between 2000 and 2009 (48)
- Between 2010 and 2019 (77)
- Between 2020 and 2026 (51)
- Unknown (1)