Research Coffee with Gerald Power

Research Coffee is a series of events aimed to be a platform for discussions about publications, projects, and working papers of AAU Faculty as well as AAU students. Prior registration is required for this event.

Our next session will be hosted by Gerald Power, Ph.D., who will present “Omani Royal Visits to Britain: The Evidence of Sultan Said bin Taimour’s Visit to Britain, 1953”. The discussant for this session will be Michal Šenk.

You can find the abstract of the paper below, but to receive the full paper and the link to the meeting, please register in advance. We look forward to seeing you!

Abstract:

This research paper is an attempt to map the contours of a new research area. Until now, scholars of the modern Oman have acknowledged the profundity of the relationship between the government of the United Kingdom and the Al Bu Said ruling dynasty of Oman, but research into this relationship has centred on the ‘hard’ aspects of politics, security, and oil. This paper takes a different tack, focusing instead on the ostensibly ‘softer’ aspects of the British relationship with the Omani sultans, through a study of sultans’ visits to Britain. It surveys the evidence generated by the visit of Sultan Said bin Taimour to Britain in 1953. It reveals a distinctly ‘hard’ edge to the visit, demonstrating that meetings with the Queen, ministerial talks and assistance with accommodation and transport were all inspired by very tangible political, security and economic considerations. Ultimately, the paper makes the case for treating sultans’ visits to the UK as a significant driver of UK-Oman relations at a crucial point in Omani history.