Qatar: Small State, Big Politics

Originally looking for a travel guide, I bought this book a few weeks before I took off to Doha, Qatar. A travel guide it was – even though in a much different way than I had expected. This book has led me to discover one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever been to. Not only that I enjoyed walking the palm tree boulevards facing the stunning skyline of highrise buildings gleaming in the sun, the Museum of Islamic Art, or the historic downtown of Souq Waqif – this book helped me to see what is underlying: a society led by a royal autocracy that has the vision, the determination, and the means to be one of the most influential countries in the Middle East and on the world stage.The more I read, the more I got intrigued by what seems to be a massive genius masterplan being rolled out, securing rapid economic development, high modernism, regime/state survival, and power and influence projection. When you drive the busy roads of Doha, glancing at the gigantic construction sites, it is important to remember: this is just a tiny fraction of the massive force that this country is directing in multiple areas of trade, investment, security, culture, and international diplomacy. Its ambition has led Qatar to be outstanding in many fields, e.g.:- Declared cultural capital of the Arab world- The world’s largest exporter of liquified natural gas- The world’s wealthiest nation per capita- Home of global leaders in media (Al-Jazeera), education (world-class universities), aviation (Qatar Airways)- The Gulf’s first country to ever host a Football World CupBesides of discussing these very visible achievements, the book uncovers Qatar’s hidden yet extremely influential role in international relations. Protected by one of the largest US airbases, Qatar is involved in what the author calls “hyper-active diplomacy” following a strategy of hedging to build stable working relationships with countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arabic Emirates, the Palestinians, Israel, and France. It may be hard to overemphasize the importance of this chapter, especially after the USA recently opted out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. Qatar may well play a key role in trying to solve this crisis, being both a close ally of the United States and a neighbor of Iran with which it shares its gas field.In summary, I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is truly interested in understanding Qatar, its culture, and international relations of the Middle East. Nobody else but Mehran Kamrava may be the best person to tell this story: he is the Director of the Qatar Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University, one of the world’s leading universities in International Relations. What’s more, Kamrava has researched and lived in Qatar for many years, allowing him to make very vivid descriptions, speaking from his own view. Theory, data, and evidence are presented to make his points while still written in a way that I find easy to read. Kamrava provides clear judgment, not shying away from criticism. I even found myself smiling about occasional humor between the lines. Thank you, Professor, for an entertaining yet extremely insightful read!If you are reading this book, the following might help you to enhance your experience:1. On YouTube, watch “Mehran Kamrava: Small State, Big Politics” to get a first introduction to the book2. If you have little time, I recommend first reading the chapters: ‘Introduction’, ‘Preface’, ‘Setting the Stage’, ‘Qatar’s Moment in History’3. Travel to Doha and hit the roadsHope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

This book is very well written, argued, and supported. Mehran Kamrava does a great job of dissecting what seem, at times, like completely random foreign and domestic policies of the small Gulf state.

Excellent transaction and book.

Excellent book. Delivered in good time.

A+++

great

Interesting read that is not just informative about the country and where it sees itself today but also provides scholarly information and explanations of the political science behind the themes.

While interesting, the content did not need a book and could be easily summarized in an essay. This book has little history of Qatar, does not get into the regional politics, has not been updated to reflect major changes in last 10 yrs, and focuses too much on academic foreign policy constructs rather than history/politics. Author appears to be trying extremely hard to justify his own theory about Qatar (again with a lens that is too academic-y) and is obsessed with aspects of Qatar that neither inform us about its importance to global politics/economics nor form an interesting narrative.Numerous great books show how such non-fiction content can be made engaging and informative. Sadly, this was a major disappointment especially because there are hardly any good books focused on this tiny but important nation.

Decepcionada pois não há fotos coloridas.

Gives an understanding as to how this state seems to work but no-one will ever get into the minds of the Qataris and the 2.5million people that live there - a very very strange place. good and informative read though.

Exactly as described.