Qatar : Small State, Big Politics / Mehran Kamrava.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kamrava, Mehran, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politics and government.

Diplomatic relations.

Qatar.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 p.)

Edition:

With a New Preface

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Setting the Stage

2. The Subtle Powers of a Small State

3. Foreign Policy and Power Projection

4. The Stability of Royal Autocracy

5. State Capacity and High Modernism

6. Qatar's Moment in History

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Originally published: 2013.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-217) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 04. Sep 2019)

ISBN:

9780801454301

0801454301

9780801454318

080145431X

OCLC:

1132226146