Oman : politics and society in the qaboos state / Marc Valeri.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-267) and index.

1. Foundations of the modern state - The primary political role of Ibadism - Tribes and tribal confederations - The demographic legacy of the Omani maritime empire - The pax Britannica -- 2. Two legitimacies and no state - The break with the principle of the Sultan as primus inter pares - A new economic order - The Imamate : the myth of traditional democracy -- 3. The founding conflicts of the modern national identity - The end of the Imamate (1955–59) - The Dhofar war (1965–75) - The 1960s : the decade of remoteness -- 4. Legitimisation by the welfare state - Oil as fuel of the development war - Building a new framework of collective references - The state as a driving force in economic development - Consolidation of business positions inherited from the twentieth century -- 5. National identity building - The standardisation of cultural references - The staged national heritage -- 6. The reinvented political tradition - The encapsulation of local legitimacies into the state - The Council of Oman (Majlis 'Uman) - A sultanistic regime? -- 7. Laborious renewal of the basis of the regime - The ambiguities of the political opening up - Nationalisation of employment (ta'min) - What substitutes for oil? -- 8. National identity challenged? - Deepening cleavages - In quest of more state - Modern asabiyyat -- 9. The Omani Spring : Testing the Qaboos State - Unheeded pleas for help - Breaking the fear barrier - The Sohar paradox - Resorting to the coercive methods of the past - Limited political concessions - From high expectations to disillusionment - The need to open a new chapter.