On Qatar’s Pragmatic Foreign Policy: The Palestinian Case

Abstract

The Palestinian cause continues to represent a major concern for Arabs and Muslims around the world and is considered one of the main reasons for instability in the Middle East. Traditionally, large Arab States, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, were the key players regionally and internationally when it came to the Palestinian cause. Qatar, on the other hand, followed the direction of the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) and the Arab League regarding Palestine. The demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, as well as the Second Gulf War in 1991 and the failed coup attempt against Qatar’s leadership in 1996, signified critical junctions in Qatar’s foreign policy. These events forced the nation to reconsider its foreign policy and adopt an independent and pragmatic approach in international politics to protect its security and sovereignty, as well as to play a regional role. Furthermore, Qatar’s visionary leadership effectively utilized the significant financial resources and wealth generated from liquified natural gas (LNG) production and export to prosper in the dynamic geopolitical landscape and to develop influential tools to enable Qatar to be a key player in regional affairs, including with regard to the Palestinian cause. In this chapter, we shed light on the main parameters and events that led Qatar to follow a new, independent approach in international politics. Our focus is the main drivers and tools that Qatar employed to play a role in the Palestinian cause. The study demonstrates the impact and influence that, despite its small size, Qatar has on the Palestinian issue. Driven by its solidarity with the Arab and Muslim causes and to protect its own interests—particularly those of security and sovereignty, given its geographic and demographic vulnerability, and in pursuit of a regional role—Qatar has wisely employed its soft power tools to play a role in the Palestinian issue. This is evidenced by humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, Al Jazeera’s coverage of the conflict, and mediation between the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas. This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part addresses Qatar’s foreign policy drivers, which are geopolitical location and the economy, while the second part addresses Qatar’s soft power tools towards Palestine, in particular, financial aid, Al Jazeera, and mediation.