This chapter provides a synthesis and overview of the literature about Oman under the rule of Sultan Qaboos bin Said (1970–2020). It aims to bring the leadership of Sultan Qaboos and his successful modernization of Oman into the proper context, while engaging with substantial scholarly works on the Sultanate during this period.

It would be natural to start with the legendary scholar and analyst of Middle Eastern politics, Fred Halliday. Halliday’s wide knowledge of southern Arabia, particularly Oman, was expressed in his work Arabia Without Sultans. The book dealt with the peculiarities of “Arabian regimes” and the opposition movements ranged against them. Halliday's intellectual outlook was grounded by the “new left,” which was in vogue among academic circles in London, and by his considerable travels in Arabia, particularly in the Democratic People’s Republic of Yemen (South Yemen). He supported the Dhofari rebels, objecting to the military backing that Sultan Qaboos, the young Sultan who replaced his backward-thinking father, Sultan Said, received from the late Shah of Iran and Britain’s Royal Air Force (from its base in Salalah). However, Halliday was comfortable changing his ideas when findings contradicted his beliefs. Two decades later, Halliday realized that Qaboos, who modernized Oman, brought it prosperity, and continued to move it steadily towards the twenty-first century, was on the right side of history. He also provided political unity and secure borders. When Sultan Qaboos overthrew his father in July 1970, few expected him to survive long. Educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and backed by the British, the young and relatively unknown Sultan took the throne of an extremely underdeveloped country which was plagued by civil war. The “New Oman” (Uman al-Jadida) that was created was a united country. Until then, Omani society was split between the Imamate of Oman and the Sultanate of Muscat, and was relatively isolated until Sultan Qaboos’ seizure of power in 1970.

General treatments of post-1970 developments in Oman include studies by John Towsend (1977), Calvin H. Allen, Jr. (1987), and Ian Skeet (1992). These studies were well-detailed and served as a point of departure for later studies.