Bridging The Gulf Episode 7 — Qatar: Small State, Big Politics, and the Road to Diversification

Qatar, a young state with a commensurately small population has emerged as an influential powerbroker in the Middle East. What are the tools that have enabled it to project power, soft or otherwise, on the international stage? How can we better understand Qatar’s “maverick” diplomacy that has enhanced its branding? Since its independence in 1971 and following a period of “high modernism,” the Qatari state has also deepened domestic ties with important social actors, bringing them into its orbit by forging lucrative financial ties. How did the acumen of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who became Emir in the mid-90s, take the country further forward and what was the rationale behind transferring power to his young son, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani (then 33 years old), in 2013? Despite the challenge arising from the Gulf crisis from 2017 to 2021, Qatar has proven resilient and hastened processes of economic diversification. Besides liquefied natural gas, how has the state addressed the questions of energy transition and sustainable development? More importantly, self-sufficiency is key to Qatar’s resilience. These are the questions that our guest speakers will tackle in this webinar. Speakers: Ms Zarqa Parvez, Durham University and Mr Omran Hamad Al-Kuwari, Qatar Foundation International (QFI) (This episode was recorded on 11 June 2021. Click on the following link for more information: https://mei.nus.edu.sg/event/bridging-the-gulf/)