Qatar , livre ebook

253

pages

English

Ebooks

2015

Écrit par
Mehran Kamrava

Publié par
Cornell University Press

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253

pages

English

Ebook

2015

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Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus

Publié par

Cornell University Press

Date de parution

15 juin 2015

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9780801454318

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

The Persian Gulf state of Qatar has fewer than 2 million inhabitants, virtually no potable water, and has been an independent nation only since 1971. Yet its enormous oil and gas wealth has permitted the ruling al Thani family to exert a disproportionately large influence on regional and even international politics. Qatar is, as Mehran Kamrava explains in this knowledgeable and incisive account of the emirate, a "tiny giant": although severely lacking in most measures of state power, it is highly influential in diplomatic, cultural, and economic spheres.Kamrava presents Qatar as an experimental country, building a new society while exerting what he calls "subtle power." It is both the headquarters of the global media network Al Jazeera and the site of the U.S. Central Command's Forward Headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center. Qatar has been a major player during the European financial crisis, it has become a showplace for renowned architects, several U.S. universities have established campuses there, and it will host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Qatar's effective use of its subtle power, Kamrava argues, challenges how we understand the role of small states in the global system. Given the Gulf state's outsized influence on regional and international affairs, this book is a critical and timely account of contemporary Qatari politics and society.

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Publié par

Cornell University Press

Date de parution

15 juin 2015

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9780801454318

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

Qatar

SmallState,BigPolitics

WithaNewPreface

Mehran Kamrava

CornellUniversityPressIthacaandLondon

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2013 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, with a new preface, 2015

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 9780801456770

The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:

Kamrava, Mehran, 1964– author. Qatar : small state, big politics / Mehran Kamrava. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 9780801452093 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Qatar—Politics and government. 2. Qatar—Foreign relations. I. Title. DS247.Q35K36 2013 953.63—dc23 2013003359

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood ﬁbers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

Paperback printing

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Cover฀design:฀ Frances฀ Baca Cover฀ photograph:฀ Doha฀ skyline.฀ ©฀ ISTOCKPHOTO

ToMelisa,Dilara,andKendra

P E R S I A N G U L F

Dukhan

Doha

UAE

Ar Rayyan

Al Wakrah

20 mi

30 km

Al Khawr

Umm Salal’ Ali

Ar Ruways

Al Khuwayr

Umm Sa’id

Umm Bab

Hawar Islands

S A U D I A R A B I A

BAHRAIN

G U L F O F B A H R A I N

UAE

Iraq Iran Kuwait Persian Gulf Bahrain Qatar

Saudi Arabia

D a w a t a s S a l w á

Oman

Pakistan

Gulf of Oman

Contents

PrefacetothePaperbackEdition

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1.SettingtheStage

2.TheSubtlePowersofaSmallState

3.ForeignPolicyandPowerProjection

4.TheStabilityofRoyalAutocracy

5.StateCapacityandHighModernism

6.Qatar’sMomentinHistory

NotesBibliographyIndex

ix xxv

1 16 46 69 105 140 165

175 203 219

Preface to the Paperback Edition

Much has changed in Qatar since this book was ﬁrst released in the sum mer of 2013. As the book was making its way through the printing press, in June 2013, the country’s ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, sur prised longtime observers of Qatar, myself included, by announcing his retirement from the position of emir and passing on power to his son and heir apparent, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad. He was only sixtyone years old when the announcement was made, and Sheikh Hamad’s voluntary depar ture from ofﬁce was nothing less than revolutionary in a region where lead ers of all kinds, including supposedly elected presidents, seldom relinquish power voluntarily and are often forced out of ofﬁce through coups or mass uprisings. Across the Middle East, in what one scholar has called “a veri table kingdom of the old,” PresidentsforLife have historically competed with octogenarian kings and sultans in hanging on to power in their presi 1 dential palaces and royals compounds. The timing of Hamad’s retirement was particularly surprising given the continued unfolding of the conse quences of the Arab Spring, and the ensuing multiple entanglements in

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