من الغريب دراسة العلوم السياسية في عمان. و أشعر بقلق كل مرة عندما أدخل مكتب استاذ في الجامعة, او شركة استشارية, و خصوصا في الوزارة, و يتبع السؤال الطبيعي: و ماذا ركزتِ عليه في الكلية؟ و بالخوف أتمتم: "العلوم السياسية و الشرق الاوسط و اللغة العربية." و ما هو سبب لتوتري؟ في اسباب. اولا, هل توجد أي مقولة أقرب من وصف منصب ال"سي اي ايه"؟ قد يفكر الناس بأنني أعمل للحكومة الامريكية او الاستخبارات, بدون هذا التشجيع. ثانيا, في اي بلد, توجد الافتراضات المتعلقة بكلمة "السياسة," مثل الافكار المتصلة بسمع كلمة "محام" او "بائع السيارات." و يتساءل الشخص: "و ماذا تريد أن تفتّش هنا؟..." و إذا كان هذا لا يكفي, السبب الثالث استكشافي قبل و خلال وقتي في عمان عن غياب كلمة "السياسة" في السلطنة. لما كنت في الجامعة الامريكية في القاهرة, و جعل عضو صفي اللغة العربية جملة سخيفة عن الرئيس هسني مبارك, قالت الاستاذة ابتسامة, "حذرا! الكاميرات!" اشارة إلى الزوايا و تظاهرَت بأن كانت توجد اجهزة الاستخبارات في الغرفة. بينما كان جزء من الخطورة في كلامها, لدى السياسة دور في المجتمع المصري. بالعكس, في عمان لا توجد الاحزاب (حتى ليس هناك حزب حكومي) و ما في قسم العلوم السياسية في الجامعة. مناقشة المواضيع السياسية الواضحة ممنوعة, في الحقيقة, بسبب الرغبة في استمرار الاستقرار بين الناس و الخوف المتفرع عن الثقة أو انعدامها بالشخص الاخر. و عندما أريد أن أتكلم عن جزء سياسي من بحثي عن تشريعات المياه, توجد الضغوط طبعا علي و على الشخص الاخر في المقابلة و معظم المناقشات تصبح "خارجة من التسجيل." ظروف عمان الآن غير خطيرة جدا إذا اعتبرنا نوع حاكمها و الاقتصاد و الخ. لكن في مشاكل تلوح على الافق و مناقشة الاشياء السياسية (ا.ي. كل شيء) علنا, مهمة لمستقبل و استقرار عمان. It is odd to study political science in Oman. And I feel worried every time I enter a professor’s office at Sultan Qaboos University, or a consulting company, and especially in a ministry, and the natural question follows: And what did you focus on in college? And with fear I mutter: “Political science and the Middle East and the Arabic language.” And what is the reason for my tension? There are reasons. First, is there a phrase closer to the job description of the CIA? People already think that I work for the American government or intelligence, without this encouragement. Second, in any country, there are assumptions connected to the word “politics,” like the ideas linked to hearing the word “lawyer” or “car salesman.” And the person wonders: “and what does she want to investigate here?” And if this wasn’t enough, the third reason is my discovery before and during my time in Oman of the absence of the word “politics” in the Sultanate. When I was at the American University in Cairo, and a member of my Arabic class made an absurd sentence about President Hosni Mubarak, my smiling teacher said, “Careful! Cameras!” pointing to the corners and pretending that there were the intelligence’s apparatuses in the room. While there was an aspect of seriousness in her speech, politics has a role in Egyptian society. On the contrary, in Oman there are no political parties (not even a government one) and there is no department of political science in the university. Discussion of obviously political topics is forbidden in reality because of the desire for the continuity of stability between people and the fear stemming from the trust or lack of trust in the other person. And when I want to speak about a political part of my research on water legislation, there are pressures of course on me and on the other person in the interview and most of the conversations become “off the record.” Oman’s circumstances are not very dangerous now if we consider her type of leader and the economy etc. But there are problems looming on the horizon and discussing political things (ie everything) openly is important for the future and stability of Oman.
Actually the only issue that can put in danger the stability of Oman is Yemeni war
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't compare Egyptian repressive regime and the way it depends completely from America to Omani situation
Really? I think that the long term issues of education, economic diversification away from the oil sector, power transfer after the passing of the Sultan, all amount to larger threats then Yemen. Also, my anecdote about Egypt was meant to show that although there is fear about government crack downs on politically active oppositionists, there are in fact political factions in Egypt and you will find newspapers and pamphlets and individuals discussing politics and organizing into parties. That was the sole basis of my comparison. Do you disagree however with my basic claim that it is odd to try to talk about or organize around politics in Oman?
ReplyDeleteAll those issues are being handled by H.M. himself and are not easy to tackle, I agree
ReplyDeleteYemen can turn upside down the entire region
It's not odd but it's not in their genes and in the political system they have, not in the way it's being done in Egypt or in a western country