To move beyond this arab spring legacy and regain a reputation for mediation and diplomacy, qatar may well have to step back from the regional leadership that was characteristic of dohas policies during and after the arab spring, and act instead as a facilitator of dialogue and quiet negotia. Qatar and the arab spring kristian coates ulrichsen. Five years after the arab uprisings, the gulf cooperation council gcc countries have developed an increasingly active posture in their foreign policies towards the middle east and north africa mena region. The arab spring and qatar s consistent position on it, as well as the positions of international and regional powers, such as the gulf. Down the foreign policy slope article pdf available in contemporary arab affairs 82 march 2015 with 2,301 reads how we measure reads.
Pdf aljazeeras relationship with qatar before and after. This article examines qatars activist foreign policy role in the arab spring and probes whether such a role is. The qatari spring qatars emerging role in peacemaking. Between the islamic state and the nationstate the brookings project on u.
To make matters worse, the economic situation, which has worsened in recent years because of illadvised decisions, is stoking fears of popular uprisings and widespread disturbances. Cnn aired the documentary only once in the united states and not at all on cnn international. Saudi arabia and the arab spring rene rieger 1 s audi arabias reaction to the arab spring has been labeled by several academics and the majority of western media as counterrevolutionary. Since its foundation in 1996 until the arab spring uprisings in 2011, the qatar based and funded channel, aljazeera, was considered by many media and politics scholars as a major element of a pan arab public diplomacy and even a virtual state.
This article examines qatars activist foreign policy role in the arab spring and probes whether such a role is sustainable in the future in view of the constraints qatar faces at home, in the gulf neighborhood and beyond. Northwestern university in qatar finding the right term to describe political and social upheaval sweeping across a whole region is a daunting challenge. Since its foundation in 1996 until the arab spring uprisings in 2011, the qatarbased and funded channel, aljazeera, was considered by many media and politics scholars as a major element of a panarab public diplomacy and even a virtual state. This chapter examines how qatar assumed an extraordinarily visible and interventionist role during the arab spring upheaval in 2011. Kristian coates ulrichsen, middle east fellow at the baker institute for public policy, associate fellow at chatham house and a visting fellow at the london school of economics lse published a paper titled qatar and the arab spring. For the first time in their history, gulf states have imposed a. Readers of all stripes, from scholars of the middle east to government officials to casual readers, will all find it informative. He holds that qatar s turn towards a more interventionist foreign policy during the arab spring shifted the countrys focus away from mediation, while backlash against the countrys. It argues that, after an initial period of caution in january 2011, qatari officials quickly recognised the changing contours of the arab spring and pragmatically readjusted their policyresponses. Qatar and the arab spring middle east policy council. Al jazeera centre for studies ajcs and brookings doha centre are organising a research seminar on june 18 in collaboration with al jazeera mubasher under the title, arab spring 2. Included are the results of a bibliometric study that compared the frequency in which various descriptors appeared in major englishlanguage news sources. Aljazeeras relationship with qatar before and after arab.
Likewise, earlier in 2015, qatar joined the saudiled coalition against the houthiled government in yemen. During the arab spring, qatar tended to support the muslim brotherhood and its affiliates, while the united arab emirates opposed them. Dr riham bahi this thesis examines the controversial role that qatar has been playing in the arab spring, specifically from 2011 to 20. This book provides a full examination of qatars startling rise to regional and international prominence and describes how its distinct policy stance toward the arab spring emerged.
Tensions between these gulf cooperation council members were nothing new, but few. In only a decade, qatari policymakers led by the emir, sheikh hamad bin khalifa althani, and his prime minister sheikh hamad bin jassim althani catapulted qatar from a sleepy backwater to a. Since qatar has had entirely different policies towards the uprisings in bahrain and syria, the article discusses whether or not aljazeeras coverage of these. Regional actors viewed qatars approach as overreaching, and skepticism of dohas policy motivations increased. This article argues that, despite these states ostensible similarities, their different political structures fostered contrasting experiences with an ascendant political islam. Behind the feud between qatar and its neighbors is an ideological split that goes back to the arab spring. The small but wealthy gulf state of qatar is striving to adopt a leading role in the arab world, and has readjusted its foreign policy in the wake of the arab spring. Saudi arabia and the arab spring gulf research center in search of stability. Nov 17, 2011 in this essay, we will examine the conception and function of al jazeera in the context of the arab spring and regional politics and the way the rulers of qatar have leveraged it for their advantage. However, the recent arab uprisings, better known as the arab spring, have intensified volatility. Between outreach, patronage and repression by silvia colombo.
Ajcs, brookings doha to host seminar on arab spring 2. Qatars emerging role in peacemaking sultan barakat abstract once a littleknown gulf peninsula, the tiny, gasrich emirate of qatar has in recent years undergone a remarkable transformation to emerge on the global scene as a heavyweight power in contemporary peacemaking. The persian gulf emirate of qatar is tiny, but its made a name for itself by placing big bets. Qatars actions during and since the arab spring have damaged its reputation as a neutral actor, engendered increasingly hostile public reactions to its policies in countries such as libya.
The daily beast answers six key questions about the uprising. Dec 28, 2015 qatar and the arab spring by kristian coates ulrichsen london. The purpose of this article is to examine the causes, features, and transition processes of. View enhanced pdf access article on wiley online library html view download pdf for offline viewing. Qatar and the arab spring offers a frank examination of qatar s startling rise to regional and international prominence, describing how its distinctive policy stance toward the arab spring emerged.
However, contrary to popular national narratives, the althani family is a relatively young dynasty and was never historically entitled to regional political power, unlike other nearby fam. Qatar, a backwater state in regional and international politics until 1995, has in recent years pursued a highprofile foreign policy in the areas of dispute mediations, maintaining balanced relations with allies and adversaries alike, adept use of soft power tools, and even military interventions in fellow arab states, libya in particular, to aid the arab prodemocracy forces. Qatar and the arab spring free ebooks download ebookee. A bumpy road ahead pdf by hassan hakimian, director of the london middle east institute and reader, economics department, soas underscores the underlying importance of the economic conditions facing the new republics, such as egypt and tunisia, which are emerging as a result of the arab spring. The delay in this prophecy for two decades motivates us to question whether the arab spring is part of huntingtons third wave of democratization or a new fourth wave of democratization, or even a false start to democracy, as described by larry diamond. Cnn produced a documentary about the use of internet technology and social media in the arab spring, including a minute segment on the bahraini uprising that reported repressive conduct by the government. Readers of all stripes, from scholars of the middle east to government officials to casual readers, will all find. The arab spring and qatars consistent position on it, as well as the positions of international and regional powers, such as the gulf. Jan 29, 2018 the arab spring represented a rejection of the secular, socialist, panarabism, nationalist, military regimes that had come to power in the period from the 1950s through the 1970s, and which have since devolved into little more that corrupt, crony governments ruling by brute force and a pervasive security apparatus. What explains its recent actions, and how might it emerge from the arab spring. Qatar and its neighbors have been at odds since the arab.
Arab spring provoked, particularly the role of the media new and otherwise in empowering and even causing the uprisings. While both states have primarily sought to keep the revolutions away from the gulf and ensure their own regime survival, doha and riyadh have been extensively diplomatically. Sep 24, 2014 during the arab spring, qatar moved away from its traditional foreign policy role as diplomatic mediator to embrace change in the middle east and north africa and support transitioning states. Gulf neighborhood and playing a more proactive role in the arab world. Al jazeera satellite channel has been an important source of news for the arab masses since it was launched in 1996. Saudi arabia and qatar are both responsible for the proactive regional diplomacy of the gcc in the context of the arab spring. Why has qatar experienced such a different trajectory to much of the rest of the arab world in recent months.
On june 5, 2017, saudi arabia and the united arab emirates launched a campaign against qatar. The middle east and north africa mena have long been laden with tensions and instabilities. Qatar and the arab spring 2015 middle east policy wiley. Qatar, a backwater state in regional and international politics until 1995, has in recent years pursued a highprofile foreign policy in the areas of dispute mediation, maintaining balanced relations with allies and adversaries alike, adept use of. Apr 12, 2011 why has qatar experienced such a different trajectory to much of the rest of the arab world in recent months.
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