DE-ESSENTIALISING JAPAN-GCC STATES RELATIONS BEYOND THE HYDROCARBON TRADE: JAPAN'S COMPLEX INTERDEPENDENCE WITH OMAN

Abstract

The international relations of the GCC states have strengthened and developed multifaceted ties with East Asian countries-including Japan-over the last two decades. While experts have studied these developing policy orientations and relationships, there is sometimes an essentialising assumption that reduces the links between the two sides as those of mere hydrocarbon trade partners. Previous research on Japan-GCC states relations is no exception to this trend. Notably, this excessive analytical focus on the hydrocarbon trade has led to a paucity of scholarly work on Japan's relations with hydrocarbon-poor Oman. This significant gap in the literature leads to this study's key research question: What are the dynamics underlying Japan-Oman relations between 2001 and 2023 despite Oman's limited hydrocarbon resources? Contrary to the assumption that Japan-GCC states relations can be essentialised into those of mere hydrocarbon trade partners, this study argues that Japan's ties with Oman can be theoretically framed within Keohane and Nye's neoliberal conception of complex interdependence, suggesting that the hydrocarbon trade is not the sole independent variable driving the development of Japan-Oman relations. The case study elucidates the complex interdependence between Japan and Oman, highlighting the conceptual limitations of the essentialising lens