The Saudi-qatari Relationship

Hamad bin Khalifa became the dominant voice in Qatari politics with the development of the 1980s, Saudi Arabia's relations became worse. The changing nature of their relations, for example, referred to the State of Qatar, which admitted diplomatically to the Soviet Union and China in 1988 without waiting for Saudi Arabia to do so first (Krahl, 2013), as expected. Also, after initial approval of the plan, Saudi Arabia has prevented country attempts to build a regional gas pipeline (Wright & Krane, 2014).

But it was the invasion of Kuwait that proved to be a turning point in the Saudi-Qatari relationship. This was, after all, an example of another small, energy-rich country, but a country unable to defend itself (Kuwait), invaded by a larger neighbor (Iraq) amid wider difficulties in bilateral relations. The events of the Black Swan can clearly occur. Qatar was unable to avoid seeing the invasion as a warning, but the kingdom's inability to call for Western military intervention in the face of the invasion was not only embarrassing, but any idea of Saudi Arabia providing Qatar with any remnants of protection exploded.

These issues have been combined with Hamad bin Khalifa in an attempt to evoke the practice of the country's historic foreign policy in the search for a central alliance on which to rely. Operation Desert Shield and Storm have profoundly changed the international context in the Persian Gulf region. Instead of looking at America as a dubious ally (largely because of Israel's close ties), it has become an indispensable ally and tacit security guarantor. Thus Qatar began to keep pace with the United States, not least by building a $ 1 billion air base to encourage more US cooperation.

By 1992, the two countries had signed various defense agreements for joint military exercises and basic arrangements (Blanchard, 2007). Not earlier, because the deadly skirmishes that broke out in late 1992 broke out on the Saudi-Saudi border, signaling a deterioration of bilateral relations. Hamad bin Khalifa later discussed these issues, noting that at the time Qatar was "not prepared to face the burden" facing Saudi Arabia (Salman, 2009). From now on, Saudi Arabia's relations deteriorated only, culminating in Saudi Arabia with the support of one, perhaps two, failed coups to re-establish Khalifa bin Hamad after a bloodless 1995 coup installed by Hamad bin Khalifa (Weaver, 2003).

Although the main argument of Hamad bin Khalifa's foreign policy of establishing Qatar's security on one central alliance has been a fundamental thread of consistency in Qatar's foreign policy since the late 18th century, he has followed new and innovative strategies and policies as well. Indeed, Hamad bin Khalifa has revolutionized many aspects of the State of Qatar and has re-established the entire state internationally.