A Virtual Majlis 

The first Majlis for this year will now be virtual one.  We invite CAIS staff and students to join us online via Zoom. 

Qatar: Small State, Big Ambitions and a Rapidly-Growing Role in the Middle East  with Ian Parmeter

Abstract 

Qatar is a small fishing, pearling and minor farming community that hit the jackpot in the second half of the 20th Century when it was found to have the world’s third largest proven natural gas reserves.  Ruled by Amirs of the House of Thani since the 1860s, it claims to be a constitutional monarchy, though the Economist’s Democracy Index rates it an “authoritarian regime”.  That does not seem to bother the 300,000 Qatari citizens, who per capita rank among the richest people on the planet, or the 2.7 million expatriate residents, who do the physical work to keep the country going.     

The current Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, assumed power in 2013 when his father, Sheikh Hamad, made way for his son and took on the new position of “Father Amir”.  This was apparently entirely at Hamad’s initiative as he wanted to enable his son to establish himself as ruler while Hamad was still around to guide him.  Tamim, at 39, is the youngest formal ruler of any of the Gulf states. 

The regime has huge ambitions. The capital, Doha, a sleepy desert town 30 years ago, has the most striking skyline in the Middle East, with public and private buildings designed by leading international architects in amazing shapes and sizes.  It is becoming the region’s leading educational and cultural centre. 

However, Qatar has major problems with its Arab neighbours.  Its foreign policy is substantially at odds with theirs – especially in being closely aligned with Turkey, dealing pragmatically with Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, and taking an active role in conflicts in Syria and Libya.  This approach started under Hamad, who shocked his neighbours by establishing the Al Jazeera media network in Doha in 1996.  Al Jazeera revolutionised the till-then torpid media scene in the Arab world through investigative reporting covering the whole region (with the notable exception of Qatar).  Not surprisingly, that has greatly angered authoritarian regimes across the Middle East.  In 2017 Saudi Arabia and the UAE, having cleared their approach with a naïve President Trump, gave Tamim an ultimatum: cut ties with Iran, Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood and shut down Al Jazeera.  If not, face a diplomatic and economic boycott.  Tamim refused, and the boycott remains in place. 

All this might be of marginal interest to Australia were it not that Qatar has literally bought the right to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.  If Australia is among the 32 nations that reach the tournament phase, thousands of Australians (many of whom could not now locate Qatar on a map) are likely to be among the million-plus international soccer fans to descend on this tiny country.  This will be an enormous logistical and cultural challenge for a small conservative society. 

This Majlis will examine the Qatari leadership’s ambitions for the country, the domestic and external challenges it faces, and the impact Qatar is having on the Middle East. 

Biography 

Ian Parmeter, who worked for 37 years in DFAT and ONA, is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies.  He visited Doha in November 2019 and February this year to present papers at conferences hosted by Qatar University. 

Logistics 

The Majlis, hosted by the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, ANU, will be held online via Zoom 

Please email if you wish to join via zoom.