The GCC Crisis

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar. The first three are members – along with Qatar – of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional political and economic union that also includes Kuwait and Oman. This situation has become known as the GCC Crisis, or the Qatar blockade, and stems from a variety of issues between Qatar and its powerful Gulf neighbors. The Saudi-led coalition accused Qatar of sponsoring terrorism, and ordered them to comply with a list of demands including curbing ties with Iran, shutting down Al Jazeera, and align more with the rest of the GCC neighbors. As for the accusations of terrorism, Qatar has admitted its assistance to Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, but denied any support for groups such as ISIS.

Even before the crisis, Qatar was notably independent and not as likely to tow the GCC line. Its foreign policy was especially different given its relationship with Iran (disliked by many of Qatar’s neighbors) and its uncommonly open media landscape, particularly the Doha-based media outlet, Al Jazeera. Some have argued that the severing of relations was less about curbing alleged terrorist funding and more about pressuring Qatar to confirm to the GCC.

Over three years later, the issue is still not resolved. Evidence of the crisis was everywhere during our visit. Our flights in and out of Doha threaded narrowly through the Persian Gulf and Iraq in order to avoid crossing into Saudi or Bahraini airspace. Qatari flights are not permitted to enter the airspace of countries participating in the blockade, which has been a major problem for air travel in the region.

Qatari flights have to avoid prohibited airspace

At a briefing with the Ministry of Defense, we heard that Qatar is still committed to the Gulf, but trust with the GCC has been broken. This was a comment we heard frequently: that trust was important and the Qataris felt betrayed by the blockade. Even if a political resolution was eventually reached, it’s evident that scars will remain. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we heard some very frank commentary about Qatar’s relationship with Iran, which was a major source of tension that led to the blockade. The Ministry representative who spoke with us explained that Qatar’s relationship with Iran is one of necessity. The two countries share a massive natural gas field in the Persian Gulf, which requires some kind of relationship. I had the opportunity to ask a question about how this relationship with Iran worked with Qatar’s close relationship with the U.S., given U.S.-Iran tensions. The answer was that Qatar sees itself as in the perfect position to mediate between the U.S. and Iran and is genuinely concerned with collective security. The differences between Qatari and Iranian policy were also emphasized, such as their differing views on Syria.

A common refrain that we heard when our hosts spoke about the crisis was that it was “a blessing in disguise.” The blockade initially caused massive strain on the Qatari economy which had relied heavily on trade with its neighbors.

Part of an exhibit at the NMOQ on the crisis

However, in the three years since the crisis began, Qatar has been focusing on becoming more economically self-sufficient and has been rather successful. We heard one particularly amusing story about how Qatar – which used to import nearly all its dairy from Saudi Arabia – flew 4,000 cows into the country to create its own dairy farm and is now almost entirely self sufficient when it comes to dairy. This was a funny story but also a good example of how Qatar has quickly adapted to its new isolation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative also pointed out how even if relations were restored with the GCC, Qatar is so economically independent now that supply chains and trade would be irrevocably changed. The blockade has also allowed Qatari to pursue a more independent foreign policy and continue to grow its media influence from Al Jazeera. We had the chance to visit the sprawling Al Jazeera campus, and it was easy to see how influential the media giant could be.

If the blockade was intended to pressure Qatar in complying with the GCC, it has not been effective; Qatar is now more independent than ever.

Title image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/vobios/312269565