A diplomatic crisis is shaking the Arab world.
A rift between Saudi Arabia and its tiny neighbor to the east, Qatar, goes back decades but
recently reached a boiling point.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia and 3 other Sunni Arab nations cut all diplomatic relations with
the Qatar.
The nations, led by the Saudis, claims Qatar is a supporter of terrorist groups in the
region and has repeatedly interjected itself into their internal relations.
The nations cut ties and exports to Qatar, which receives 40% of all its food through
Saudi Arabia, sparking a mass food shortage in the nation unless it implemented a list
of 13 demands laid out by the Bloc of nations.
But what started this recent rift between Saudi Arabia & Qatar and why do the countries
have such a complicated relationship?
The tension goes back decades, when Qatar declared independence from Britain in 1971.
After becoming a state, Qatar and Saudi Arabia had a long-standing border dispute that was
only settled in 2001.
But more importantly, one key source of conflict between the countries was the launching of
Satellite TV Network Al Jazeera in 1996.
Although it was funded by Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, the network
was established as an independent news channel in the Middle East.
Since its inception, Al Jazeera has exposed its audience to stories from around the world
that many countries in the region have tried hard to block off from their citizens.
And while some praise the network's style of reporting, the Saudi’s and other Arab
governments, see Al Jazeera’s reporting as a source of politically motivated instability
in the region.
This fear among Arab governments became a reality in 2011 with the beginning of The
Arab Spring.
The movement was a wave of mass political protests in the region that called for government
reforms and long time dictators to step down.
Saudi Arabia was also not immune to such protests.
A small region in Saudi Arabia’s east called Qatif has experienced mass unrest over the
last few decades.
Qatif is a primarily Shia region in the Sunni country that has been violently suppressed,
especially in the wake of recent protests.
The Arab Spring, which was widely reported on Al Jazeera during the time and supported
by the Qatari-government, led to the ousting of multiple leaders in the region.
Tunisia’s president fled his country and sought haven in Saudi Arabia, Egypt’s president
stepped down from power, Yemen’s president was injured in an attack and sought treatment
in Saudi Arabia before returning to Yemen only to step down from power, & Libya’s
president was captured and killed by rebel fighters in his hometown.
All of these power shifts in the Middle East, happened within just ONE year.
Regional leaders who remained in power, or gained shortly after the protests, have blamed
Qatar for supporting a number of islamist groups who took part in the protests.
Qatar’s close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and its affiliate throughout the
region are a particular area of concern for the bloc of nations.
While some see the Brotherhood as a legitimate political movement, a number of these countries
consider it to be a “terrorist” organization due to the group's desire to overthrow most
governments and establish a global “islamic state” under its leadership.
Because of this, most of the countries in the region have harshly crack down on the
group.
Qatar’s support for the Brotherhood is the primary reason behind the Sunni nations’
claim that Qatar “supports terrorism.”
Another point of tension between the two nations is Qatar’s growing cooperation with Saudi
Arabia’s primary regional enemy, Iran.
Qatar is one of the richest nation on earth per capita, due to being the world’s largest
exporter of liquified gas.
Its vast oil resources come from the South Pars or North Dome gas field in the Persian
Gulf, which it shares with Iran.
But Qatar’s relationship with its Persian neighbor has also been tumultuous.
In 2016, Qatar recalled its ambassador to Iran after a Saudi Arabian diplomatic mission
was attacked by Iranian protestors.
The diplomatic strain lasted for over 20 months.
But following the Saudi led blockade of Qatar, the nation announced it was restoring full
relations with Iran, further angering the Saudis.
This brings us back to today’s political stalemate between the Saudis & Qataris.
While the source of tension between the neighbors are those of long lasting political differences,
the recent escalation of this diplomatic conflict is rather unprecedented.
Some experts have even suggested that President Donald Trump’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia
and sharp criticism of Qatar on twitter is what might have emboldened regional leader
to reach this boiling point in the first place.
While the blockade seems to place enormous pressure on Qatar, some analysts say that
the current crisis might only backfire on the Sunni Coalition, pushing Qatar to further
broker alliances with Iran, Turkey, and even Russia.