Qatar | Council on Foreign Relations

Middle East and North Africa

A Conversation With Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani for a discussion on the foreign policy challenges facing Qatar, its vision for the Middle East, and the future of U.S.-Qatar relations.

Event with Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani November 30, 2018
Turkey

Could A Coalition of the “Friends of Turkey” Ride to Turkey’s Financial Rescue?

Turkey is in a bit of financial trouble. It isn’t clear that today's rate hike on its own will be enough. The rate hike will make the lira a bit more attractive to foreign investors (and will raise t…

Blog Post by Brad W. Setser September 13, 2018 Follow the Money
Authoritarianism

Strongmen Are Weaker Than They Look

Authoritarians are on the rise around the world, but history shows they’re mostly helpless.

Blog Post by Steven A. Cook March 13, 2018 From the Potomac to the Euphrates

Qatar

Weekend Listening: The Gulf Crisis, Not Just My Hijab Part I and Part II

Marc Lynch and Kristian Coates Ulrichsen break down the crisis in the Gulf. Four stories about Middle Eastern women and their hijabs.

Blog Post by Steven A. Cook September 22, 2017 From the Potomac to the Euphrates
Qatar

The Other Gulf Conflict: How the Qatar Crisis Is Playing Out in D.C. Back Rooms

Well-fed lobbyists and think tank experts do battle over catered lunches—but it's not as sleazy as it sounds.

Blog Post by Steven A. Cook July 18, 2017 From the Potomac to the Euphrates
Qatar

How Al Jazeera Amplifies Qatar’s Clout

One of the world’s most-watched news networks is at the center of a geopolitical rift between a Saudi-led bloc and the broadcaster’s funder, Qatar.

Backgrounder by Zachary Laub July 12, 2017
Donald Trump

Qatar's Diplomatic Crisis

CFR's Steven A. Cook joins James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon in examining the causes and consequences of Qatar's diplomatic crisis with its neighbors in the region.

Podcast with Steven A. Cook, James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon June 30, 2017 The President's Inbox
Qatar

Understanding Qatar's Diplomatic Crisis

Experts discuss the breakdown in diplomatic ties between Qatar and neighboring Arab states, consequences for relations across the Middle East, and implications for U.S. foreign policy in the region.

Conference Call June 14, 2017
Qatar

Untangling the Qatar Kerfuffle

Sure, the tiny gulf state is a lousy ally — but so is everyone else in the region.

Blog Post by Steven A. Cook June 12, 2017 From the Potomac to the Euphrates
Middle East and North Africa

Guess Who’s Coming to (the GCC) Dinner?

On May 13 and 14, President Obama will be hosting a summit meeting with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation. The members nations are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar. The prob…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams May 8, 2015 Pressure Points
Egypt

Weekend Reading: Reading History in Doha, Egypt Intervenes in Libya, and Nervous Gulfies

Explore the Qatar Digital Library, an archive featuring the cultural and historical heritage of the Gulf and the wider region. Janet Basurto, writing for Egyptian Streets, explores the reasons behin…

Blog Post by Steven A. Cook October 24, 2014 From the Potomac to the Euphrates
Middle East and North Africa

Rebuilding Gaza Starts Slowly--Very Slowly

The Hamas claim of victory in last summer’s conflict with Israel was based largely on the associated claim that life in Gaza would now change to the great benefit of the people living there. A vast r…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams October 10, 2014 Pressure Points
Israel

The Kerry-Qatar Axis

Sympathy and support for Hamas are much lower in the Arab world than in past Israeli-Hamas conflicts--except in Qatar, whose government has a special relationship with Hamas. Indeed Hamas’s political…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams July 18, 2014 Pressure Points
Palestinian Territories

Arafat and al-Jazeera: Manufacturing Trouble

This week Russian experts added their voices to those of French experts who had examined Yasser Arafat’s remains to determine if he was poisoned. "French experts have ruled out a theory that Yasser …

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams December 26, 2013 Pressure Points
Middle East and North Africa

Al Jazeera Backs the Muslim Brotherhood

I’ve done several blog posts questioning the impartiality of Al Jazeera as a news source (for example, here), but even so I was amazed by a line in the Washington Post today. In an article entitled "…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams November 7, 2013 Pressure Points