Governance under Decentralization: Oman and in the Arab Region
Short description
This two-year study of Omani governance under decentralization sought to better understand the many challenges facing the decentralization process in transitioning states. It was runned by Co-Principal Investigator Marwa Shalaby (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Co-Principal Investigator Ellen Lust (GLD, University of Gothenburg), participating researcher Chagai Weiss (University of Wisconsin, Madison), and Professor Kristen Kao (University of Gothenburg). This project was funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
About the Project
This two-year study of Omani governance examined the challenges of decentralization in transitioning states. Originally designed to explore the impacts of decentralization through a multi-method approach, the project aimed to deepen understanding of Omani decentralization and build sustainable scholarly and policy networks.
Following Covid-19, the focus shifted to investigating how the gender composition of deliberative bodies in the MENA region influences citizens’ perceptions of government outcomes. This is crucial for understanding how gender representation affects views of local governance, especially under decentralization. Telephone survey experiments were conducted in Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia.
This project is a collaboration between GLD and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Principal Investigators: Ellen Lust, Kristen Kao, and Marwa Shalaby.
Survey Partners: NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions (Jordan), One to One for Research and Polling (Morocco), ELKA Consulting (Tunisia).
Related Publications
Lust, Ellen; Kao, Kristen; Weiss, Chagai; Shalaby, Marwa; Vollmann, Erik; Bergh, Sylvia I., Karmel, Ezra; Bohn, Miriam; Kherigi, Intissar and Kadirbeyoglu, Zeynep. (2020). "The Dynamics of Decentralization in the MENA: Processes, Outcomes, and Obstacles." Governance and Local Development Working Paper Series, No. 31. Available here.
Worrall, James. (2020). "Power and Process: Decentralisation in Oman." Governance and Local Development Working Paper Series, No. 32. Available here.
Kao, Kristen and Lust, Ellen. (2025). Decentralization, Local Governance, and Inequality in the Middle East and North Africa, University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.14328063
Acknowledgments
This project was supported by the Local Governance under Decentralization: Oman in Comparative Perspective (Carnegie Corporation of New York - G-18-56248), PIs: Ellen Lust and Marwa Shalaby.