The Omani Constitution: Critical Analysis

Abstract

According to Migdal a strong state is one that is highly capable of penetrating society, regulatingsocial relationships, extracting resources, and appropriating or using these resources indetermined ways. By applying this definition to Oman, Manea concludes that Oman, under therule of Sultan Qaboos, provides a good example of strong state.This thesis attempts to understand how the strength of the Omani state had shaped thecountry's constitutional experience. It argues that because Oman is a strong state, itsconstitutional experience was determined to a large extent by the regime rather than by thesociety.To verify this argument, the thesis examines important decisions and critical junctures thatshaped the country's constitutional experience, and the reasons behind them. These decisionsand junctures include: (i) the failure of Oman's first experience with the idea of a formalconstitution, namely the attempt of Sayyid Tariq bin Taimour in 1967, (ii) the refusal of SultanQaboos to introduce a constitution in 1970, and (iii) the introduction of the Basic Law in 1996.It also examines the constitutional text to understand how the state had influenced its content. Itconcludes that the content of the constitution displays clearly the strength of the state and itsability to penetrate society and impose its new rules and values. In fact, the Basic Law is in itselfa tool for this penetration and a manifestation of its depth. It shows the ability of the state tounilaterally define the political and legal landscape and impose "rules of the game" successfullyon its people.The thesis therefore concludes that the state, represented by the Sultan, has to alarge extent, dictated the constitutional experience of the country excluding the society almostcompletely from the process.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2012
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Rodney Brazier (Supervisor)