National Identity And Its Impact On Shaping Oman's Contemporary Foreign Policy

Abstract

The aim of the thesis is to investigate the concept of national identity and its impact in the process of foreign policy decision-making by using a constructivist approach, with a particular focus on Oman’s foreign policy. The thesis attempts to demonstrate the degree to which the components of national identity in the Omani case are highly influential in foreign policy decision-making. The reason of choosing national identity in this research refers to the fact that it might be difficult to understand Oman’s contemporary foreign policy which is characterized by an independent and neutral approach, without first mapping the role of identity that shaped this approach. The main question of the thesis is that; to what extent does national identity and its components influence Oman’s foreign policy? In doing so, the study has conducted a qualitative research method and employed both primary and secondary resources. The findings of the study confirmed the argument that Oman’s contemporary foreign policy is driven largely by the national identity and its components which include (historical dimension, geographical location, cultural and civilizational heritage, religious aspect). The research concluded by arguing that although the succession process in Oman is problematic and there is uncertainty of whether Oman will maintain its foreign policy orientation after Qaboos’s reign; however it is unlikely that it will change its foreign policy dramatically as the components of its national identity will continue to determine the action of any future leader in Oman.