{"product_id":"qatars-foreign-policy-geography-politics-and-strategy-since-1971-9780755655205","title":"Qatar's Foreign Policy: Geography, Politics and Strategy Since 1971","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis study offers an analysis of Qatar's foreign policy since its independence from Britain in 1971\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLocked between two vying powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia, and lacking the traditional elements of influence in the regional and international state system such as land, human capital, and advanced industry, Qatar nevertheless wields a disproportionately large amount of regional influence with an assertive foreign policy approach. Here, Marwan Kabalan highlights the strategies pursued by the ruling Qatari elite, especially during the last two decades, and delves into the methods Qatar has used to deal with the structural challenges to its foreign policy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThese strategies include financially leveraging its access to crucial resources, such as natural gas, and its manipulation of existing regional frictions. The book also addresses Qatar's soft power influence - positioning itself as an alternative cultural and intellectual hub in the Arab world, enabling it to take a leading role, particularly as a mediator, in the region. By highlighting Qatar's foreign policy strategies and outcomes, Kabalan illustrates how the Qatari case challenges key assumptions of international relations theory which assumes that wealthy small powers tend to pursue passive foreign policies, and that structural forces minimize the role of ruling elites in foreign policymaking.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarwan Kabalan\u003c\/b\u003e is Director of Policy Analysis at the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies, Qatar. He previously served as Dean of the Faculty of International Relations and Diplomacy at Kalamoon University in Damascus, Syria. He is a co-editor of\u003ci\u003e Turkey-Syria Relations: Between Enmity and Amity \u003c\/i\u003e(2013) and \u003ci\u003eSyrian Foreign Policy and the United States, From Bush to Obama\u003c\/i\u003e (2009).\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"I. B. Tauris \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51213080068370,"sku":"9780755655205","price":125.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_fe4388b0-0018-4edf-809d-9c7d533f4a08.jpg?v=1745358781","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/qatars-foreign-policy-geography-politics-and-strategy-since-1971-9780755655205","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}