How Much (Dis)credit Can We Give Culture?

I met with an expat water and soil expert today who blamed many of Oman’s political problems on her culture. Not in a critical or mean-spirited way. More in the I’m-depressed-and-I’ve-lived-here-13-years-and-I-just-don’t-expect-any-changes-soon, kind of way. His beef with culture lies with the political implications of Oman’s famed hospitality and moderate inclination to “do no harm.” The primacy of preserving internal peace in Sultanate will, in his eyes, prevent full implementation of laws and the enactment of new regulations (not simply those aqua related) that would disadvantage a fellow citizen.

This is not the first time culture has entered my free flowing research. Since being here, I’ve heard excuses ranging from the history of tribal conflict, to religious considerations, to the heritage of a farming culture, in response to the question: What are the obstacles in the path of proper water administration and restriction in Oman?

Though I value Omani hospitality when offered a home cooked meal or a thimble sized cup of coffee at meetings, I do see the down side of being non-confrontational and pleasant to a fault.

And I admit that it is not easy to incorporate all stakeholders (religious, tribal, and more) in a debate on restricting water use. Indeed, there is no single case study that can be applied to each country in order to bring about Integrated Water Resource Management over night. I am not, however, convinced that culture is the largest obstacle in the path of public policy creation in the Sultanate.

Though my interviewee did recognize that in the end personal economic interests will drive behavior, he did not give economics a large enough role in the discussion. In my opinion, culture is simply a complicating factor when managing water, but political-economic realities are the true drivers of public policy creation.

The way that water is priced does not alert the citizen that water is a precious resource. When you are not paying for water, or paying a small cost, you do not sense that the crisis is occurring today. Instead, citizens and even ministry members can feel as though water scarcity is years off, instead of looking the costs of desal and recharge, and diminishing groundwater levels and quality, in the face.

As no one feels in the midst of a crisis, why not continue upon the friendly path of maintaining the status quo? If Oman was feeling immediate pressure on water reserves (if demand outpaced supply, or if prices increased), or if the government did not have the money to build desal plants/recharge dams, then you had better believe that Omani government officials would be pressing for greater restrictions on water use, or people themselves would have the incentives to consume less. It is not the culture that is the issue, it is the delusion that Oman is on the perfect path to water security.

Though Oman’s super relaxed culture may help fuel ministerial inertia, objectives are not met by these institutions for larger reasons. Because no crisis is felt, and because it is assumed that the government has the funds to confront any future crisis with technological solutions, the poor governance issues of lack of inter-ministerial coordination and lack of accountability perpetuate the status quo. The largest cultural phenomenon I would add here is the lack of a meritocracy within the public sphere (wasta).

So although I see how culture influences what kind of political system we see in Oman, and the disposition of those populating ministries, I remain unconvinced that cultural and social elements are what stand in the way of good policy and its implementation. More so, it is the delusion that Oman has everything under control, and therefore no change need be imminent, that is stalling reform.