This dissertation gives a cultural explanation to Oman's negotiation behavior during Oman's border negotiations with its neighbors, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, with particular attention paid to the role played by Oman's Arab/Islamic culture in its negotiation strategy. To accomplish this, the dissertation distinguishes between the distributive and integrative models of negotiation and argues in favor of the latter as being more equitable and appropriate to a lasting settlement between the parties. The dissertation then distinguishes between a culture-free conception of negotiation and a culture-dependent one, insisting on the importance of including culture in any comprehensive model for negotiation studies to capture the richness and nuances of the negotiation process. The dissertation then develops this emerging idea of a culture-dependent integrative negotiation model into a framework for understanding Oman's negotiation behavior and its successful outcome.
In constructing a framework to explain Oman's negotiation behavior, the dissertation uses a number of principles derived from Oman's Arab-Islamic culture and Ibadhi ideology (prevailing Sect in Oman). From the Arab-Islamic tradition, the relevant principles were those of: "la darara wa la derar" (no harm to all parties), "la ghalib wa la maghloob" (no winner, no loser principle), "hosn al-nawaya" (good intentions), "at-tafahum al-akhawy" (the brotherly understanding), and "good neighborliness" (hosn aljewar). These principles are then coupled with Ibadhism's emphasis on pragmatism, tolerance, equality, and reconciliation. The result is a culturally influenced, integrative model for the strategy Oman adopted in its successful border negotiations with its neighbors.
Three case studies, based on a qualitative case study research were used to demonstrate how Omani negotiators behaved, in fact, according to this strategy. In the three cases, the dissertation has shown how Omani Arab Islamic values and Ibadhi ideology shaped Omani negotiators' views of the issues during the negotiations, the negotiation process, the relationship with the other party, and the outcome of negotiations. In addition, the dissertation shows the impact of these cultural roles on the perception of Omani leadership, in the person of Sultan Qaboos, of the country's economic, security, and developmental needs and the context in which these needs were to be successfully met. Further confirmation of these concepts was obtained from the empirical data based on the interviews, documents, and focus groups, which were collected and analyzed for this study. The dissertation also identified ten areas in which negotiation culture affected Oman's behavior during border negotiations.