Joseph Kechichian, Liverpool University Press, 2023
420pp. ISBN 17899762065 $60, 978-1789762068 $150
A Book Review by Dr. John Duke Anthony
Joseph A. Kechichian’s latest tome on Oman stands head and shoulders above what went before. It offers an unparalleled examination of Oman’s political evolution, diplomatic strategy, and enduring stability. Through meticulous research and exclusive interviews, the book provides a deep understanding of the leadership transitions from Sultan Qaboos to Sultan Haitham and the country’s critical role in regional and global affairs.
Whenever the name of Kechichian is mentioned in reference to published works regarding the Arab region, the Middle East, and the Islamic world, scholars and foreign affairs practitioners alike take notice, or should. His writings have long earned him widespread admiration and respect. Most of his books have dealt with the region encompassing Iran, Iraq, Yemen and the six GCC countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. This is his eighteenth book with two more in the works.
A Sultanate that Endures is a companion volume to an earlier book, Oman and the World: The Emergence of an Independent Foreign Policy (RAND, 1995). Almost 30 years later, that work remains the most comprehensive reference volume in English on the Sultanate’s position and role in regional and global affairs.
A central theme of A Sultanate That Endures is the leadership transition. Kechichian’s current work covers the reign of the late Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Bu Said (r. 1970-2020) and his cousin successor, HM Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al Bu Said. Rooted in empirical research and heavily documented, the volume provides hard-to-come-by context necessary for understanding the domestic and external forces at play during the transition in governance from Qaboos to Haitham. Indeed, so enlightening are the footnotes that they deserve to be read as an integral part of the book. Kechichian’s methodology and approach to research and documentation make it an exemplar for future researchers and scholars.
A Sultanate That Endures is significant not least because of Oman’s place in the world, literally and figuratively: where it is and what it does. It is through Oman’s waters that more than a quarter of all internationally traded oil and gas traverses daily. This makes Oman a vital player in the world’s economies, affecting all of humanity’s material wellbeing.
In addition to what the country does on the world stage, Oman has continuously played extensive behind-the-scenes diplomatic roles: among warring groups in Somalia and Yemen; in a range of contentious issues involving Iran and Iraq; and little-known but invaluable liaison roles in the Arab Israeli conflict. These and other issues are handled with the Sultanate’s renowned and characteristic finesse.
The number of scholars and others who appear to be aware of Oman’s importance in these and related matters is limited. So too are those who have met, even briefly, either Oman’s current or former ruler. The number who have interviewed both, as Kechichian has done, is miniscule.
What makes the book more valuable are the author’s sources. With extensive access to Oman’s political and religious establishments, Kechichian won the respect of government and private leaders, becoming a trusted outsider among insiders. This penetrating account of the reign of the late Sultan Qaboos and of Sultan Haitham is therefore a one-of-a-kind resource for anyone studying, working in, or visiting Oman and for all those seeking deeper knowledge of the Arab Gulf’s regional geopolitics.
The first part of the book covers historic and modern roles that religious, political, economic, social, and cultural factors have played in Oman’s domestic development. This includes the role of al-Ibadiyyah Islam—elsewhere known as the Ibadi sect of Islam or Ibadism—which is the faith of the majority of Omanis, along with much smaller populations in Tanzania (Zanzibar), Algeria (Mzab), Tunisia (Djerba), and Libya (the Nafusa mountains).
Predating the theological schisms between Sunnis and Shia and Islam’s third largest sect, al-Ibadiyyah emphasizes the practice of tolerance and the prevention of injustice. Informed by his meetings with Oman’s Grand Mufti, Kechichian indicates how al-Ibadiyyah Islam’s beliefs have helped shape the Sultanate’s foreign relations.
The author indicates how al-Ibadiyyah inspires the faithful to work towards the well-being of not only their fellow Omanis but of all humanity. Its ideals arguably promote a sense of responsibility for the civic union, including, many believe, in popular participation in Oman’s Majlis Ash-Shura (Consultative Council).
The book’s second part explores the interconnection of religion and foreign policy by arguing how al-Ibadiyyah affects Oman’s international affairs and its credo of “friends to all, enemies to none.” In this regard, Kechichian discusses the lengthy and largely salutary legacy in Oman of Great Britain and more recently and less extensively, the United States. So beneficial have Oman’s international diplomatic efforts been globally that in 1998, Sultan Qaboos was presented the first and only Arab International Peace Award, sponsored by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and presented by former President Jimmy Carter.
The book’s documentation and credibility are more extensive than anything known to this reviewer, largely due to the support led by Sultan Haitham prior to his becoming the ruler. Kechichian had a dozen meetings with Sultan Haitham, most of them while he was Minister of Heritage and Culture.
Also providing substantial assistance was Sayyid Badr Bin Hamad Bin Hamoud Albusaidi, Oman’s current Foreign Minister. Many of these meetings occurred while he was the Ministry’s Secretary General. Another was former Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Bin Alawi Abdallah. Yet another exceptionally helpful source was the at times seemingly larger-than-life Abdalaziz Bin Muhammad Al-Rowas, Oman’s and the region’s longest-serving Minister of Information, with whom Kechichian would meet a dozen times. Rowas would later serve as Sultan Qaboos’ Director of Cultural Affairs and would facilitate the establishment of Oman’s world-class museums and an extraordinary array of publications about the Sultanate.
Also assisting Kechichian were former GCC Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Sayf bin Hashil Al Maskary, Minister of Oil and Gas Dr. Mohamed bin Hamad bin Saif Al Rumhi, and State Council President Dr. Yahya bin Mahfuz Al Manthari, among others.
Foreign policy issues confronting Oman and the world during those years were the war in Afghanistan; the Iran-Iraq conflict; Iran’s ongoing attempts to influence Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen; Tehran’s ongoing efforts to destabilize the GCC region; and the seemingly incessant conflicts between Israel and Gaza, occupied East Jerusalem, and the West Bank, on one hand, and Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, on the other.
Included in the Appendix to the book are speeches by Sultan Haitham, which are remarkable for their range of coverage of contemporary issues and challenges, as well as for their candor and humility. Rarely does one see any country’s head of state acknowledge their administration’s shortcomings. Sultan Haitham’s speeches serve the national interest of elevating the level of public involvement by the citizenry.
Overall, A Sultanate That Endures is an essential resource for residents and visitors to Oman and for scholars, policymakers, and professionals engaged with the Middle East. Its rigorous research, exclusive interviews, and structured analysis make it a definitive reference on Oman’s governance and diplomacy. As Oman continues to navigate the choppy seas of an evolving region, this book will remain a crucial text for understanding its vital role. Like the country and its rulers, this book is slated to endure.
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John Duke Anthony, PhD, was the Founding President and CEO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations from 1983 to 2023.