By Alexandre Hawath
The tiny, conservative gulf emirate Qatar, surrounded by the Iranian and Saudi giants, offered little promise of regional or world leadership even 20 years ago. Since then, however, Qatar has effectively manipulated its abundant resources, utilizing a dynamic leadership to reshape the Arab world through proactive foreign policy.
Qatar’s international status has rocketed sky-high in the past few years; they have expanded their reach as an international player, successfully bidding to host the 2022 World Cup, and generated even greater influence over the Arab world through the Al Jazeera news channel. As a result of their geopolitical hot streak, they have garnered the gusto to expand into other more intricate territory—brokering deals. They effectively negotiated the Doha Agreement in the Lebanese political standstill of 2008, as well as ongoing US negotiations with the Taliban (Doha just recently allowed the militant movement to open an office in their capital). Their increasingly important role in the Darfur conflict is yet another example of their legitimacy as a major player.
In contrast stands Libya: 150 times the size of Qatar, with the largest oil reserves in Africa, a geostrategic position between Europe, the Middle East and Africa, yet entirely unsuccessful in earning a significant role and prominent status in the international political sphere. Qatar furthered this contrast still by successfully influencing the outcome of the Libyan conflict against the Gaddafi regime—effectively backing the rebels, Qatar powerfully expanded its own pull and political capital in the region.
Like most other countries, Qatar considered Gaddafi to be an unreliable leader, and felt it could obtain more out of Libya with him out of the picture; Qatar advocated and funded the rebels’ cause from the very beginning. On the direct instructions of the Qatari Emir, Al Jazeera intensified its coverage of the Libyan conflict early on—aiding the spread of the insurgency and shaping the Arab world’s public opinion on Libya, all while simultaneously molding the rest of the world’s views as well.
Qatar was also a driving force in encouraging military action against the regime, and was instrumental in influencing French military intervention. By lobbying France and the rest of the European Union, the United States, and even Libyan officials, coaxing them to defect from the regime, Qatar was an indispensable actor of the conflict. In fact, they even provided crucial military support to the rebels. Qatari Special Forces were part of the very first offensives against the Libyan capital, sending planes out from France to bomb Gaddafi loyalists. Billions of dollars were offered throughout the various stages of the rebellion to help sustain it and maintain the Libyan populations.
In flexing their financial muscle to topple Gaddafi, Qatar was working in its own financial interest, as well, which were as important as its political ambitions. Post-conflict Libya will become one of Qatar’s largest financially rewarding investments. Thanks to its massive supply of natural resources, Libya can become a critical economic partner for Qatar, making the richest nation on earth in terms of per-capita income even richer than ever and reinforcing its already solidified position in the region. In a nutshell, the Libyan uprising is in part a financial investment for Qatar, and one that will bring the tiny nation billions in revenue.
Though miniscule in size, Qatar’s rise to the forefront of the recent Libyan uprising has proven that the tiny emirate is in fact a rather monumental force. The Libyan uprising has become the shining star of Qatar’s foreign policy, and one that could be the start of a new era with regards to Qatari influence in the region (and possibly the rest of the world). Qatar was the first country the head of the Transitional National Council (TNC) officially visited, in recognition of its leading role in lending support to the rebels. Having Libya as an ally will develop into an important asset for Qatar, adding further to the political gravitas they have cultivated in the MENA region.
Despite its conservative background, Qatar has managed to break free of the stereotype of a conservative Islamic state, adopting an extremely active role and a particularly modern image within the international community. It has similarly transcended the prejudices and paranoia other Gulf States usually possess for Iran: while other Gulf States have feared Iranian intervention in the gulf region and accused it of interference, Qatar has strived for better relations with its neighbor in the past few years. The emir of Qatar recently visited Tehran to acquire Iranian support against the Syrian regime, exposing a deepening of their relationship. While Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf States have been content with throwing untested inflammatory accusations at their Iranian neighbor, Qatar is proactively improving its relationship with Iran.
Libya, just like Qatar, is a country with a conservative background. However, just like Qatar, it is also full of resources it can use to its advantage. The new Libya can and must learn from its past regime’s stubborn behavior and mistakes and follow the Qatari’s independent, liberal leadership. Qatar today represents the promise of what Libya could achieve in the near future, granted it uses its resources dynamically enough to push for and protect its interests both at the national and an international levels, and granted it does not waste its energy on empty rhetoric and make-believe foes. Libya has the choice of becoming a follower of the Gulf foreign policy model strewn with conjecture and paranoia, or following Qatar’s example, becoming an independent and regional leader. In doing so, and engaging with all actors ranging from Iran to the Taliban, even Israel, Libya can ensure success in their new undertaking as a freer state.
Alexandre Hawath is a research analyst at the Gulf Institute.
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