Qatar: An Emerging Player in the Middle East and Beyond
DEVELOPMENTS
Qatar’s successful bid to host the World Cup in 2022, announced by FIFA in December 2010, has shined a spotlight on a small nation with a population of a mere 840,000 people. Despite Qatar’s small size and population, FIFA’s decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar reflects the nation’s growing clout in regional and global affairs. Qatar’s emergence as an international power broker raises interesting questions about its unique approach to foreign policy, which transcends the traditional divide between moderate and extremist ideologies in Middle Eastern and global politics.
The U.S. generally views Qatar as a key ally in a volatile region, and the U.S. Department of State recently characterized U.S.-Qatari relations as “strong and expanding.” At the same time, Qatar also maintains overt ties with Iran, Syria, Sudan, Cuba, Venezuela, Hamas, and Hezbollah, and has taken positions on international issues that have sometimes conflicted with those of the United States. Qatar has developed a reputation as a nation with an independent and assertive foreign policy: its strategic decision to pursue strong relations with countries across the political spectrum has opened doors to significant investment opportunities abroad, and has increased its political influence across the region and globe.
BACKGROUND
A key moment in Qatar’s political and economic development occurred in 1995, when Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani seized power from his father in a non-violent coup. The Emir embarked on the process of modernizing Qatar, which was greatly aided by the country’s abundant oil and natural gas reserves. Today, Qatar boasts the second highest per-capita income in the world, and the IMF has projected that Qatar’s economy will grow by 19% in 2010, making it the world’s fastest-growing economy.
Qatar has succeeded in translating its domestic prosperity into increased international influence. In the past few years, Qatar has become more active in regional and world affairs, and has taken actions that both conflict and align with U.S. foreign policy positions in the Middle East and elsewhere.
On the one hand, Qatar has pursued political and economic ties with nations and groups that the U.S. considers hostile or extremist. Specifically, Qatar has provided funding to Hamas, following its election victory in Gaza, and has provided financial aid to Syria. Qatar has engendered a troublingly close relationship with Tehran: it has not only provided financial assistance and signed defense cooperation agreements, but rejected sanctions against Iran, while on the U.N. Security Council. Qatar also supported Hezbollah in its 2006 war against Israel, and helped rebuild southern Lebanon after the war’s end. In addition, Qatar has hosted and funded al-Jazeera, a news channel that has often drawn complaints from the U.S. over its programming.
And yet Qatar has also conducted its foreign relations in ways that reinforce U.S. policy objectives. In particular, Qatar has been credited with brokering a 2008 political agreement between rival Lebanese factions during talks in Doha; and Qatari diplomatic outreach has fostered peace talks between warring groups in Sudan and Yemen. In addition, it has pursued engagement with Israel (though Qatar broke off relations in December 2008, following Israel’s military incursion into Gaza). Perhaps most notably from Washington’s perspective, Qatar has hosted U.S. military forces at the Al-Udeid military air base since 1996, a base that has been, and continues to be, crucial to U.S. war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Qatar’s political engagement abroad has also opened doors to significant new business opportunities, allowing it to serve as a stakeholder in economic projects and companies abroad. Qatar’s investments include a $1.5 billion refinery project in Zimbabwe, a residential housing complex in Sudan, and a $350 million tourist development in Syria. In addition, in 2010, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, which is financed solely by the State of Qatar, purchased U.K.-based Herrod’s department store, and a stake in the Agricultural Bank of China.
ANALYSIS
The award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar represents a significant milestone in Qatar’s emergence as a regional and global power broker. Qatar’s leaders have clearly determined that the country stands to benefit from both an increased international presence, and a more assertive and independent foreign policy. However, this simple conclusion prompts related – but more difficult – questions: what exactly are Qatar’s objectives in pursuing this foreign policy, and how should the U.S. react to Qatar’s foreign policy positions?
Qatar’s diplomatic efforts have included promoting friendly relationships with countries and groups of all political stripes; serving as regional conflict mediator; maintaining and deepening an alliance with the U.S.; and expanding its investment opportunities abroad. Through these actions, Qatar has adopted a new conception of security: rather than allying with Western powers or an axis of states hostile to the West, it has fostered cordial relations with all nations, and seeks to bolster its own reputation and open doors to new investment abroad. As a result, Qatar’s political, economic, and military interests are diversified, and are not reliant on any one country or group of countries.
The U.S. faces a dilemma in crafting a foreign policy towards rising regional powers that adopt assertive and independent foreign policies, like those of Qatar and Turkey. Indeed, as traditional U.S. allies in the region – such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia – are losing influence in the region and support domestically, in spite of and because of their closeness to the U.S., relations with countries like Qatar take on increased importance.
Ultimately, U.S. interests in the region more often coincide than conflict with those of Qatar. U.S. security in the region improves when Qatar embarks on its conflict mediation forays or when it increases regional prosperity through foreign investment and trade. Furthermore, the U.S. may also someday benefit from Qatari ties with countries with which the U.S. does not maintain open and clear lines of communication, like Iran. Thus, the rise of Qatar as an international player presents an interesting, but not unqualified, opportunity for the U.S., and Washington should encourage rather than resist Qatar’s independent foreign policy.
Robert Walters holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. He currently works in the Office of University Counsel at Georgetown University.
