福利看片二区

AAU congratulates Chair of the Department of History and Philosophy, on his recent publication in the journal Diplomacy & Statecraft: The Making of a Client? The British Education of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman, 1954鈥�64 which examines the role British educational and political networks played in shaping the outlook and leadership of Oman鈥檚 ruler.

While the close relationship between the British state and Sultan Qaboos is widely recognised, this article tells the story of his education in Great Britain in the 1950s and 1960s which, in a broader scope, helps explain Oman’s position as a moderate regional actor in the Gulf today.

Here is what Power has to say:

What does the article present?

The article explores the British experiences of the future Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said, who ruled Oman from 1970 to 2020. As a teenager and young man, Qaboos was sent to Britain to be educated and to gain general experience of the world. This period seems to have been really important in his formation as a person and later as a ruler.

I suppose one of the key takeaways from the article is that it is not simply a case of an imperial power like Britain moulding a future client. One of the things I found was that Qaboos鈥檚 father, Sultan Said, still had a big influence on his son鈥檚 life and educational choices. The story of Qaboos鈥檚 education is a very subtle one of interconnected but different interests and motivations.

Why did you decide to do this research?

This period of the Sultan鈥檚 life hadn’t been looked at before in any great detail, and I had a hunch that there was an interesting story to tell. I was also attracted to the topic because of the many complex personalities that were involved in the process. Qaboos and his father, Qaboos’s tutor in England Philip Romans鈥攖hese were eccentric individuals in many ways and their individual ideas and tastes were of major importance in determining what Qaboos was exposed to in Britain. I enjoyed getting to know the personal stories behind the ostensibly impersonal foreign affairs problem.

Does the article tell us anything about contemporary Oman and Britain?

Even though the events I looked at happened in the 1950s and 1960s, I think it does. Under Qaboos’s rule, Oman shifted towards full independence, controlled modernisation, and a foreign policy based on being a friend to all, although definitely more Western-aligned. I think that exposure to Britain gave Qaboos a sense of how the wider world operated, politically, economically, and culturally. He learned to accept and trust foreigners.

For Britain, Qaboos鈥檚 story continued. Middle Eastern elites continue to send their sons and daughters to the UK for education and cultural experience. It is an important aspect of the country鈥檚 ‘soft power’.

Some criticize Britain for ‘cosying up’ to absolutist regimes, but it is clear that it works for Britain, and they are going to continue to leverage this connection with the Gulf and the Middle East for as long as they can. It is a kind of bridge between the West and the Middle East. Today, Omani foreign policy still revolves around the principles of engagement and flexibility rather than extremism and violence, as we can see in their efforts to mediate in the recent and ongoing Iranian crises. 

Read the full article here.