Over the summer, Oman’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, led by Crown Prince Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham al-Said, launched the Military Discipline Program, supported by the Ministry of Education and military, security, and government institutions. As with similar initiatives in other Gulf states, the program aims to use military means to boost self-discipline among young Omani men in the workforce to advance economic and social transformation goals, as well as patriotism, while it also accentuates the rising public role of the crown prince.

The volunteer program, hosted in Dhofar, targeted 700 Omani men between 18 and 30 years of age from various governorates. The program encompassed “activities that promote patriotic values and cultural, sports, and social practices aimed at fostering self-discipline and individual commitment.” The Royal Army of Oman oversaw the military training program, while the Royal Air Force handled the transportation of trainees.

The first week of the program included lectures on military discipline, health and first aid, communication skills, teamwork, and leadership as well as workshops on the values of citizenship and belonging, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship. The program then continued with military training activities.

The Ministry of Defense pitched the organization of the military discipline program “as a sample to be evaluated, studied, from all aspects,” an experiment that will “push other initiatives in the future.”

Vision 2040

The military discipline program is first and foremost a cultural, nation-building initiative: It uses military codes to promote top-down objectives, such as strengthening social cohesion, responsibility, and a sense of national belonging among young Omanis, in the context of the Vision 2040 economic and social transformation process.

Presenting the initiative, the crown prince stressed that, in implementing  the Military Discipline Program, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth is focusing on “citizenship, identity, heritage, and national culture,”  which are identified by Vision 2040 as national priorities. Vision 2040 stresses Oman is “a society that is proud of its identity and culture, and committed to its citizenship” and is working toward the formation of “a society of responsible members who are aware of their rights and committed to their duties.” The government is therefore promoting youth-oriented initiatives aimed at strengthening the sense of national community and identity particularly for times of regional and global threat and preparing citizens for a changing labor market in which the private sector, entrepreneurship, and adaptation skills are key.

Militarized Nationalism

Oman’s Military Discipline Program is part of a “militarized nationalism” trend across the Gulf states over the last decade. Militarized nationalism has been defined as “a system of military-related values promoted ‘from above’, including symbols, collective experiences, role models and memoirs, aimed to foster sense of national belonging and cohesion ‘from below’.”

Examples of militarized nationalism include the introduction of conscription in Qatar in 2013 and the United Arab Emirates in 2014, the celebration of “martyrs” or fallen soldiers (mostly in Yemen), and the display of military symbols and rhetoric during national day festivities. The UAE and Qatar, like Oman, are conducting top-down nation-building processes to build social cohesion and sentiments of national belonging to support the post-hydrocarbon economic and social transformation. Also, Saudi Arabia has employed a military-grounded narrative – particularly since the beginning of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s de facto rule – to support nationalism while disempowering the religious component of traditional Saudi identity.

But Oman’s initiative is different from its neighbors’ path, for two reasons. First, Oman’s national identity is already strong and rooted in the historical legacy of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. Second, the Omani armed forces are a professional force based on volunteers, and conscription has never been imposed. Furthermore, the military has historically played a nation-building role in the country: The Sultan’s Armed Forces, which evolved from earlier military units, were a driver of unification between the interior and coastal regions. In the 1960s and 1970s, it became a tool of national socialization among different tribal, ethnic, and religious groups under the decisive leadership of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. However, decades have passed since the armed forces’ foundation and younger generations of Omanis will need to have new, collective experiences to boost a sense of national belonging. For the Omani government, a specifically militarized nationalism is being used as a first step toward reshaping a new generation of Omanis, or “remaking citizens,” to achieve Oman’s Vision 2040 goals.

Regarding military principles and discipline, in 2017 Oman introduced a five-week optional military program for male students, in public and private schools. The program includes courses on discipline and marching, and earning a certification from the program qualifies participants for the military.

The Rising Role of the Crown Prince

The launch of the military discipline program sheds light on the rising role the crown prince is playing in the sultanate’s institutional and public life as well as representing his country abroad during official visits. As minister of culture, sports and youth, he has not only patronized the initiative, but he has also highlighted the program and its goals in national media.

This support from the top has conveyed two messages to the Omani public. First, Vision 2040 reforms can’t be detached from the strengthening of national and community bonds, tying the achievement of future objectives to a widespread sense of duty and national awareness among Omanis. Second, the crown prince, a recent graduate from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom, speaks directly to young Omanis, himself embodying the next generation, those who are specifically called upon to embrace the national transformation effort. In contrast to his father, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, Theyazin has first-hand experience at Sandhurst with how powerful military discipline and related values can be in shaping young people, and he is promoting these values in efforts to achieve Oman’s national transformation goals.