Contemporary Qatar

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Contemporary Qatar Through the State and Society: An Introduction

   • Mahjoob Zweiri, Farah Al Qawasmi

   Pages 1-7

3. Qatar: From a Tribal Confederacy to a Modern State

   • Ahmed Ibrahim Abushouk

   Pages 9-22

4. Governance and the State in Qatar

   • Khalid Al-Jaber

   Pages 23-38

5. Political Participation in Qatar: The Central Municipal Council Elections (1999–2019)

   • Luciano Zaccara

   Pages 39-57

6. Foreign Policy: Discourse, Tools, and Implications

   • Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

   Pages 59-71

7. Qatar Mediation: From Soft Diplomacy to Foreign Policy

   • Mirdef Alqashouti

   Pages 73-92

8. On Qatar’s Pragmatic Foreign Policy: The Palestinian Case

   • Lubna Naser Eddin, Eltigani Abdelgadir Rahma

   Pages 93-116

9. The Gulf Crisis and Qatar’s Pursuit of Self-Sufficiency in the Military Domain

   • Andreas Krieg

   Pages 117-135

10. Sport at Home, Sport in the World: Evaluating Qatar’s Sports Strategy from Above and Below

    • John McManus, Mahfoud Amara

    Pages 137-152

11. Conceptualising Qatar’s Political Economy as a Developmental State

    • Steven Wright

    Pages 153-170

12. Navigating Troubled Waters: Geopolitics of Qatar Natural Gas in the Age of Shale Revolution and COVID Pandemic

    • Nikolay Kozhanov

    Pages 171-193

13. Contemporary National Identity in Qatar: Strong Foundations and Growing Challenges

    • Majed Al-Ansari, Ismail Zahirovic

    Pages 195-210

14. Remembering ‘The Blockade on Qatar’: National Memory and the Assemblage of the Event

    • Erick Viramontes

    Pages 211-229

15. Women Workforce Participation in Qatar: Oil, Culture and Demographic Trends

    • Zarqa Parvez

    Pages 231-245

This book addresses critical topics and unanswered questions on the contemporary state of Qatar. Drawing together a unique combination of authors that have researched the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in general, and the state of Qatar specifically, each author provides an in-depth empirical analysis of Qatar’s current social, political, and economic landscape against a historically informed backdrop. Cognizant of its rapid state of flux, the contributors collectively provide a comprehensive overview of the intersection of these respective areas, delving into the historical creation of Qatar as a state, its politics and systems of governance, its economic strata and reliance on natural resources, its society and national identity, its new and thriving sports culture, and, most topically, matters of diplomacy, the 2017 blockade, and its armed forces. Owing to the contributors’ invaluable firsthand experience and knowledge of Qatar, this book provides valuable insights into this nation, at once old and new, and its intertwined trajectories in its socio-political and economic positionality within the region. This book is an invaluable resource for students and scholars researching the Middle East generally, and the Gulf, specifically, with interests in topics such as politics and international relations, political economy and foreign policy, development, sources of social change, societal activism, popular culture, and the various elements of identity. 

• Rentierism and Post Renstierism
• Constitutional Rights
• Legislative Elections
• Foreign Policy Discourse
• Political Interventionist Nature
• Knowledge Based Economics
• Economic Sustainability
• Welfare State
• National Identity
• Political Diplomacy
• Modern History
• Contemporary History
• State and Society
• Blockade
• Armed Forces
• Political Economy
• Governance

"In the fourth volume of Springer’s Gulf Studies series, 14 contributors offer their research, knowledge, and personal expertise on contemporary Qatar. … Each chapter fits into one of three categories — politics, economics, or culture and society — and provides background and a new contribution to the existing literature. Meant for a diverse audience of students, academics, and experts, the chapters cover topics such as Qatari political participation, foreign policy, sports strategy, military self-sufficiency, and more. (DC)" (The Middle East Journal, Vol. 76 (1), 2022)

• Gulf Studies Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

  Mahjoob Zweiri, Farah Al Qawasmi

Mahjoob Zweiri is Director of Gulf Studies Center. He is Associate Professor in Contemporary Politics of the Middle East at Qatar University. Before joining Qatar University in 2010, Dr. Zweiri was Senior Researcher in Middle East Politics and Iran at the Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan. He was also Visiting Professor at the School of Government & International Affairs at Durham University. From March 2003 to December 2006, he was a research fellow and then Director of the Centre for Iranian Studies in the Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Durham University. Dr. Zweiri has more than 60 publications in the areas of Iran and Contemporary Middle East History and Politics. In addition to Arabic, Dr. Zweiri is fluent in Farsi and English.

Farah Al Qawasmi is Research Assistant at the Gulf Studies Center. She received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown’s Schoolof Foreign Service in Doha with a degree in International Politics. She continued her studies at SOAS, the University of London, where she pursued a Master of Science degree in Cooperate Globalization and Development. 

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