Yemen and Oman: Similar Countries, Different Trajectories

A Kuwait Program Distinguished Lecture with Dr. J. E. PETERSON, KSP Visiting Professor, PSIA

Discussed by
Dr. Franck MERMIER, Research Director, CNRS

Until some 50 years ago, the political, social, and economic similarities between Yemen and Oman were obvious and almost remarkable. But since then, major shocks – Yemen’s revolution of 1962 and Oman’s palace coup d’état of 1970, have whirled the two countries along vastly different trajectories. Oman has used its oil income to develop quietly as one of the Gulf oil monarchies. Yemen, however, is beset with myriad political and economic dilemmas and seemingly inches closer to becoming a “failed state.” Their divergence can partly be explained by fundamental differences that were masked by their apparent similarity, but even more so by a mix of dissimilar and unique internal forces and external impacts.

Dr J.E.  PETERSON is currently a KSP Visiting Professor at PSIA for the Spring semester 2014 under the Kuwait Program at Sciences Po (KSP), teaching a course on ‘Political and Social Change in the Arabian Peninsula’. Dr J.E. Peterson is a historian and political analyst specializing in the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf. He is affiliated with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona. Among his many publications are: Saudi Arabia and the Illusion of Gulf Security (2002); Historical Dictionary of Saudi Arabia (2003); Defense and Regional Security in the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf States, 1973-2004 (2006); Oman’s Insurgencies: The Sultanate’s Struggle for Supremacy (2007); and Historical Muscat (2007).

Dr. Franck MERMIERis a Research Director at CNRS since 2009. Previously he served as the director for contemporary studies at the French Institute for the Middle East in Beyrouth and as the director of the French Center for Yemen Studies. His publications include: Le livre et la ville. Beyrouth et l’édition arabe (2005), and Le cheikh de la nuit. Sanaa : organisation des souks et société citadine (2005).

 

The Kuwait Program at Sciences Po is a partnership between Sciences Po and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), supporting a range of initiatives in the fields of education and research.