Qatar’s support for Hamas and the vehement opposition by Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia to the US attempt to let Qatar play a role in the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have stirred the debate about Qatar’s conduct in the regional and international arenas and its position, influence, and ambition. The longstanding support by the tiny and very wealthy emirate for rogue elements in the Middle East and the use it makes of al-Jazeera, its popular and influential broadcasting station, reveal its negative, even dangerous effect on the region’s stability and security.

Qatar’s policy and conduct can be described as two-pronged. Alongside support for terrorist organizations and the challenge to the moderate Arab coalition (led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia), Qatar enjoys US support and sponsorship, serves as a mediator between the West and Iran, has the ability to influence Hamas, and together with Western nations, is (some claim) engaged in covert efforts against Iran and other elements viewed by Western nations as hostile. This duality seems to be the keystone of the survival strategy of the emirate, which is militarily weak and potentially threatened by several powerful regional players, be they states or non-state entities. At the same time, the duality makes it difficult for Western nations, especially the United States, to take action against Qatar’s dangerous, sometimes subversive conduct.

The logic that dictated Qatar’s survival strategy has proved itself over almost two decades. Emir Hamad ibn Halifa al-Thani, who ousted his father in June 1995, led Qatar to political and economic prosperity and turned his country into an influential regional player. However, through its conduct in recent years, especially since the Arab Spring, with emphasis on its support for Muslim extremists in Syria, Iraq, and Libya, alongside overt support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Qatar has unsettled other regional players and threatened their vital interests. As such, Qatar seems to have overplayed its hand.

Economic Power as a Survival Strategy

Immense oil wealth (in terms of per capita GNP, Qatar is the world’s richest nation) and a willingness to use it to intervene in conflicts from the Maghreb to the Levant have put Qatar on the map. More fundamentally, Qataris believe that financing and other support for Hizbollah, Hamas, the Taliban, and their ilk buy them immunity against these elements, as in: “We’re willing to support you and help you, as long and you and your ideologies remain far removed from our palaces.” Al-Jazeera, the network owned by the royal family, operates similarly: it criticizes the lack of democracy in Egypt while the royal household remains firmly in control domestically. In other words, undermining stability elsewhere maintains stability at home.

In the past Qatar had some influence in Jerusalem. Doha took great pride in the open relations with Israel, a sort of de facto normalization, which distinguished it from the general Arab landscape. But Operation Cast Lead (2008-9) and Qatar’s ties with elements such as Iran and Hamas, which was awarded a check for $400 million by the previous emir during a media-saturated visit to Gaza, eventually led to the severing of relations between Israel and Qatar.

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