ABSTRACT
Qatar is a tiny Gulf emirate that plays an outsized international role, activist in both its diplomatic and commercial dealings in the Middle East and globally, and bold in its use of soft power, especially Al-Jazeera media network but also its airline, major sporting and cultural events, and education services, among others. Its foreign policy has been both motivated and funded by the enormous oil and gas wealth that it possesses, which has made it probably the wealthiest country in the world, letting its government use these resources for domestic survival and consolidation, and in pursuit of international influence. Qatar’s engagement in the international arena has seen it, among other things: (1) play a strong role in regional peace-making; (2) fund and otherwise support an array of political forces in the region; (3) seek to enhance its international image; and even (4) commit military forces abroad. Since the late-1990s, this has amounted to an activist, and at times even aggressive, foreign policy. While at times effective, it has made miscalculations as well, especially in its bolder support for Islamist opposition groups after the 2011 Arab uprisings. This has angered its Arab neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia but also the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and at times others, and led to diplomatic crises in 2014 and again, more seriously, with the so-called Qatar crisis that erupted in June 2017. This chapter provides an analysis of Qatar’s foreign policy. It addresses and explains the overarching foreign policy imperatives, drivers, setting, and dynamics that have seen the tiny emirate become an important regional and international actor under Emirs Hamad (r. 1995–2013) and then Tamim (r. 2013–). It is primarily a foreign policy analysis, grounded in both international relations and political economy arguments. The core argument is that Qatar has developed a sophisticated foreign policy that mixes diplomatic, military, and economic components, each reinforcing the other in the ultimate goal of regime maintenance and consolidation. It is impossible to separate its rentier and state capitalist economic structures from its ambitious, soft power-driven foreign policy, while foreign policy actions that sometimes seem enigmatic are, in fact, a manifestation of its attempt to use diplomacy and international economic engagement to ensure the survival of both the regime and the country, and to build the regime’s and state’s wealth through an incorporation of key states and commercial actors into its political and economic orbit. While Qatar seemingly frustrates attempts to explain its foreign policy, and elements of this policy are unique and at times have faltered, Qatar nonetheless possesses a rational, determined, considered, and farsighted foreign policy.
