The Benevolent Dictator? Demands for Democracy and Authoritarian Resilience in Oman

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: Oman saw 50 years of rapid economic development under the autocratic rule of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The state’s simultaneous advancement and authoritarian resilience puzzled proponents of modernization theory. Even when the Arab Spring triggered waves of protests, the so-called benevolent dictator appeared unshakable. In this work, I identify challenges to authoritarianism and sources of state strength in Oman between 2000 and 2019. First, where did pressures for democratic reforms originate and how did they manifest? Analyzing recent protests, I find that educational cleavages are more relevant for understanding dissent today than the ethno-sectarian divides that historically mobilized critics of the regime. Second, how has state spending related to democratic pressures and authoritarian stability? Evaluating state responses to unrest, I conclude that the Sultanate has relied on oil rents to reward key protest groups. In response to new demands from educated citizens, the state has also made symbolic reforms and increasingly relied on repression. As higher education expands and oil rents falter, democratic demands may reemerge and force the state to either pursue democratization or forgo its benevolence.

Author	Ashford, Sylvie
Degree granting institution	Stanford University, Fisher Family Honors Program in Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law
Thesis advisor	Blaydes, Lisa

Subject	authoritarianism, democratization, development, Gulf states, oil rents, Oman, popular uprising, rentier state theory, repression, Sultan Qaboos, timocracy
Genre	Text
Genre	Thesis

DOI	https://doi.org/10.25740/jd531wp2678, https://doi.org/10.25740/jd531wp2678
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/jd531wp2678

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY).

Preferred citation: Ashford, S. (2021). The Benevolent Dictator? Demands for Democracy and Authoritarian Resilience in Oman. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/jd531wp2678

Stanford University, Fisher Family Honors Program in Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. (CDDRL)

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