Qatar has over the past three decades mediated several high-profile conflicts that have brought it unparalleled attention. It’s been said that this is remarkable given the commonly accepted assumption that small states, particularly from the Global South, are inherently limited in their power to act as third parties during conflict (Barakat, 2024). Qatar’s rise as a mediator didn’t happen overnight. According Wirtschafter (2024), Qatar started to play a regionally important role in the years after the the launch of Al Jazeera, “which gave the small Gulf state an outsized influence” .
Qatar’s strategic importance is further reinforced by its hosting of Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military installation in the region, and the presence of six major U.S. universities at Doha’s Education City.
“Al Jazeera helped create Qatar’s maverick image but also repeatedly got it into hot water. During the Iraq War, President George W. Bush, in a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, reportedly contemplated bombing the Doha headquarters of the broadcaster, which was airing video of the fighting in the Iraqi city of Fallujah that the Pentagon said was misleading. The White House dismissed the report at the time, and the British government denied it.”
References
Kalin, S. (2023, November 25). Gaza Diplomacy Cements Qatar’s Global Mediator Role. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/gaza-diplomacy-cements-qatars-global-mediator-role-29e0ffb7
Milton, S., Elkahlout, G., & Tariq, S. (2023). Qatar’s evolving role in conflict mediation. Mediterranean Politics, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2023.2266665