Stepping Out of the Shade Qatari-Saudi Relations Amid the Rise of Cosmopolitan Qatar

Since the coup of 1995 in which Qatar’s former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani overthrew his father Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al Thani, Qatari-Saudi relations have further soured. The coup resulted in a transformation of Qatar’s domestic and foreign policy, as the younger Sheikh Hamad initiated a process geared toward modernity and nurtured a Qatari state identity that highlighted cosmopolitan elements. This enabled the country to distance itself from the Saudi-dominated regional fold and enhance its policy autonomy. This chapter explains the factors that contributed to the transformation of Qatar’s state identity and examines the impact on Qatari-Saudi relations. It reveals how the reformulation of Qatar’s state identity has helped it to differentiate itself from its bigger neighbor and contributed to its international recognition, while simultaneously straining Qatar’s relationship with Saudi Arabia as its active diplomacy undermines the Saudis’ regional hegemony.