A cultural study of modern Qatar and how it navigates change and tradition Qatar, an ambitious country in the Arabian Gulf, grabbed headlines as the first Middle Eastern nation selected to host the FIFA World Cup. As the wealthiest country in the world—and one of the fastest-growing—it is known for its capital, Doha, which boasts a striking, futuristic skyline. In Changing Qatar, Geoff Harkness takes us beyond the headlines, providing a fresh perspective on modern-day life in the increasingly visible Gulf. Drawing on three years of immersive fieldwork and more than a hundred interviews, he describes a country in transition, one struggling to negotiate the fluid boundaries of culture, tradition, and modernity. Harkness shows how Qataris reaffirm—and challenge—traditions in many areas of everyday life, from dating and marriage, to clothing and humor, to gender and sports. A cultural study of citizenship in modern Qatar, this book offers an illuminating portrait that cannot be found elsewhere.
A cultural study of modern Qatar and how it navigates change and tradition Qatar, an ambitious country in the Arabian Gulf, grabbed headlines as the first Middle Eastern nation selected to host the FIFA World Cup. As the wealthiest country in the world—and one of the fastest-growing—it is known for its capital, Doha, which boasts a striking, futuristic skyline. In Changing Qatar, Geoff Harkness takes us beyond the headlines, providing a fresh perspective on modern-day life in the increasingly visible Gulf. Drawing on three years of immersive fieldwork and more than a hundred interviews, he describes a country in transition, one struggling to negotiate the fluid boundaries of culture, tradition, and modernity. Harkness shows how Qataris reaffirm—and challenge—traditions in many areas of everyday life, from dating and marriage, to clothing and humor, to gender and sports. A cultural study of citizenship in modern Qatar, this book offers an illuminating portrait that cannot be found elsewhere.
Bachelor Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Politics - Region: Near East, Near Orient, grade: 1,0, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: Conventionally, politicians and diplomats defined power as the control over a territory and its population, the possession of natural resources, economic size, military force, and internal political stability. Today, this emphasis on using military force to exert control over a territory, its population and its natural resources which marked earlier eras is losing significance. Factors such as technology, education and economic growth are becoming more important in the international struggle for power. As the great powers of today are less able to use their traditional power resources to achieve their goals, private actors and small states have become more powerful. Joseph Nye identified five trends which contributed to this diffusion of power: economic interdependence, transnational actors, nationalism in weak states, the spread of technology and changing political issues. He argued that these trends suggest a second, more attractive way of exercising power than traditional means, and called this aspect of power “co-optive” or “soft” power. Since the end of the Cold War, the concept of soft power has been used extensively in discussions about US foreign policy and has more recently also been used to describe China's foreign policy. But far less attention has been given to how this term can be used in other cultural contexts to describe intra-regional politics, such as in the Middle East. Turkey and Qatar are two countries that try to navigate through this dangerous region in a different way. But what they have in common is that they both managed to improve their reputation and increase their visibility in the past decade. This has translated this into increased policy impact on the regional and global stage. Is the concept of soft power useful to explain the increased power of attraction that emanates from these countries? (...) This bachelor thesis will use the concept of soft power to explain Turkish and Qatari foreign policies over the past decade, as well as the most recent developments. It also aims to elucidate why both of the countries have built up their soft power resources, and does so by focusing on the concept of “human security”.
'A wonderful and sometimes devastating book ... sophisticated, nuanced, fair-minded and yet very hard hitting' SIMON KUPER, author of SOCCERNOMICS 'This will transport you to Qatar and teach you with humanity and empathy some of the dark truths about globalisation' BEN JUDAH, author of THIS IS LONDON 'John McManus is a remarkable, compelling writer' RORY STEWART, author of THE PLACES IN BETWEEN 'Wise, well informed, fair-minded and honest' PETER OBORNE, author of THE ASSAULT ON TRUTH AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF LIFE IN ONE OF THE WORLD'S RICHEST NATIONS AHEAD OF THE FIFA 2022 WORLD CUP Just 75 years ago, the Gulf nation of Qatar was a backwater, reliant on pearl diving. Today it is a gas-laden parvenu with seemingly limitless wealth and ambition. Skyscrapers, museums and futuristic football stadiums rise out of the desert and Ferraris race through the streets. But in the shadows, migrant workers toil in the heat for risible amounts. Inside Qatar reveals how real people live in this surreal place, a land of both great opportunity and great iniquity. Ahead of Qatar's time in the limelight as host of the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup, anthropologist John McManus lifts a lid on the hidden worlds of its gilded elite, its spin doctors and thrill seekers, its manual labourers and domestic workers. The sum of their tales is not some exotic cabinet of curiosities. Instead, Inside Qatar opens a window onto the global problems - of unfettered capitalism, growing inequality and climate change - that concern us all.
This book is the first volume to explore, in breadth and in depth, the field of mental health in Qatar. The development of mental health services and the support of mental health research are currently priority areas in the strategic vision of this country. Bringing together the voices of experts in the field working in service of this vision, this volume covers everything from the history of mental health systems, administrative and academic growth and challenges, and the treatment of all ages and special populations, to mental health challenges at schools and in the workplace. Within each section, contributors drawn from across the range of mental health disciplines in Qatar discuss the developments and the challenges faced in this rapidly developing country. The book will appeal to practitioners, researchers, administrators, academics, students, and the general reader both within Qatar and beyond.
This study offers an analysis of Qatar's foreign policy since its independence from Britain in 1971. Locked 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. These 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.
The tiny nation of Qatar on the Arabian Peninsula has made a big impact on the world, especially economically. With large reserves of oil and natural gas, its economy is strong, and it’s developed into a nation of wealth and power beyond what its size would suggest. Readers discover these facts and more as they explore the geographic, political, and cultural landscape of Qatar. With the help of informative sidebars, maps, vibrant photographs, and recipes for national dishes, the detailed text presents a comprehensive picture of life in this exciting part of the world.
This book offers the first, full academic analysis of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. Adopting an international relations perspective, the authors critically interrogate the politics and controversy that has surrounded arguably the most controversial sports event ever. In doing so, this text offers up an imperative examination of Qatar’s desired objectives through their investment in global sport and sports events, as well as provides readers with an academic explanation on why major event hosts – such as Qatar – receive so much international scrutiny in the pre-event stage of the event hosting process. On the back of this international scrutiny, this text also provides the first full analysis on how such negative scrutiny has forced Qatar to implement various social-political changes at home.
The Business Year has charted the course of the Qatari economy for the best part of a decade, including every development since it won the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. As the first Middle Eastern country to host the tournament, Qatar has focused much effort on making sure it not only puts on a good show, but that its legacy extends well into the future. It is in this atmosphere that we carried out research for this publication, The Business Year: Qatar 2022, World Cup Special Edition.
