The Four Eras of Qatari Foreign Policy

Speaker: David Roberts, King's College London Chair: Courtney Freer, LSE Kuwait Programme Qatar’s reputation as an uncontroversial, peaceable, quasi-neutral state was undermined as its leadership systematically chose sides during the Arab Spring. Without the capacity, resources, or experience to effectively involve itself in the intractable conflicts that emerged from the Spring, Qatar gained a reputation as a dangerous dilatant, stoking anger among key allies in the Arab and western worlds. David Roberts looks at the challenges that face Qatar’s Emir as he navigates a hazardous path, stuck between path dependency promoting the maintenance of old associations and the reality that Qatar struggles to control and use these relations effectively. Recorded on 22 March 2016. Image Credit: Wikipedia. Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.