Clerical associations in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates: soft power competition in Islamic politics

2021 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 945-963
Author(s):  
Kristin Diwan

Abstract In the wake of the 2011 Arab uprisings, the wealthy Gulf states of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates began hosting and establishing associations of influential Islamic scholars. These clerical associations, the Doha-based International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) and the Abu Dhabi-based Muslim Council of Elders (MCE) and associated peace initiatives, have afforded a platform for more credibly entering into religious and political debates, for cultivating new networks of influence among Muslim publics, and engaging non-Islamic countries and organizations. Drawing upon interviews and primary resources, this study investigates this exercise in religious statecraft, comparing the discourse and policy interventions of these associations, and analysing their improbable challenge to the predominant religious terms set by the traditional heavyweight in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia. It finds that the effectiveness, or resonance, of these religious soft power projects depends upon credibility—their alignment with national religious traditions and policy directions—and positioning—the targeting of particular audiences and stakeholders. It concludes that the UAE holds certain advantages over Qatar in its soft power positioning in the current nationalist moment, as states gain ground over transnational Islamic movements and relations with powers such as India, Russia, China and Israel—all hostile to independent Islamic movements—gain in importance. Policy-makers acknowledging the surprising hard power projection of these small states through military interventions and economic leverage may benefit from this study of their new religious soft power influence.

2021 ◽  
pp. 20-52
Author(s):  
Zoltan Barany

This chapter sets the stage for the study by calling attention to some of the key issues and turning points that are intrinsic parts of Arabia’s social and political history. The first is tribalism, which is integral to understanding these societies. The second is the atypical military force, the Ikhwan, that the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, King Ibn Saud (known in Arabia as Abdulaziz Al Saud), developed to conquer much of the territory that became the region’s largest country. The third is the British role in influencing the Gulf states’ security sector. The fourth is the creation of the United Arab Emirates and its military force. Finally, I probe two formative moments in recent history: the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the country’s liberation by a US-led coalition, and the military-security dimension of the Arab uprisings that began in late 2010 and have influenced subsequent related developments.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 596-608
Author(s):  
Ahmed Mansoor ◽  
Manu Luksch

In May 2016, artist, researcher and activist, Manu Luksch, travelled to the United Arab Emirates (USE) to conduct research on ‘smart city’ initiatives in the region, and also to interview renowned human rights defender, Ahmed Mansoor. In March 2017, Mansoor was re-arrested, and on May 28th 2017, he was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. Organisations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and many others are campaigning for his release and #FreeAhmed has become a call online and on the streets in the form of graffiti and posters. Meanwhile the UAE has been one of 4 Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, who have extended their authoritarian campaign against dissidence beyond their borders to target other states who they regard as threatening the status quo, in particular the small but very wealthy state of Qatar, home of the Al-Jazeera news network that has, like Mansoor, championed opposition movements in the Middle-East. In this context, Surveillance & Society decided it was important to publish this interview almost in full as it gives unique insight into the personal and professional experience of a human rights defender in an authoritarian state that is at the same time extremely wealthy, technologically advanced and highly integrated into global capitalism.


Author(s):  
Adam Krzymowski

This paper presents an analysis of the role and significance of Expo2020 Dubai for UAE soft power in connection with the current and future global strategic challenges. The New World Order that emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union, when President Bush Sr proclaimed a “new world order” at the time of the Gulf War in 1991. Now, we have a stage of global political and economic chaos with no grand winners and a greater number of losers. Fast forward 30 years later, in 2021, we need connecting minds, creating a future that frees the world of wars and political strife, and its promises to eradicate poverty, disease and hunger. The plethora of initiatives may have a positive impact on Asia, but there is also the risk that fierce competition may result in unprofitable projects, while the economic slowdown could cause a decline in funding. Expo2020 Dubai is a great soft power tool, as well as a contribution to the newly emerging international system. Therefore, the researcher put the main question: what is Expo2020 Dubai’ role and significance for UAE soft power strategy and dynamics of international relations. The accepted hypothesis is that Expo2020 Dubai has a great opportunity to be added value for building a new global order.In order to conduct scientific research, the author used many theoretical methods and tools, including the use of neorealist theory, analysis of constellations of interests, or neo-institutional theory. In addition, due to the researcher’s participation in many of the processes studied, the work is also based on personal experience. In this sense, the research study has scientific as well as practical importance. Keywords: Soft Power, Expo 2020 Dubai, International Branding, United Arab Emirates, International Relations.


Author(s):  
Hani Albasoos ◽  
Gubara Hassan ◽  
Sara Al Zadjali

This study reviews the challenges and opportunities encountered by Qatar because of the blockade imposed by the neighboring countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt. It endeavors to highlight potential scenarios of the crisis. This paper employs a secondary source of information to achieve the objectives, such as books, articles, reports, and academic research, which were later subjected to thematic analysis. The findings of this research reveal that crisis management was an effective strategy implemented by the Qatari Government. It helped Qatari officials to change and transfer the negative impacts to a positive force. The crisis management strategy encouraged Qatar to rely on their local industries, improve education and media institutes, and use Qatar’s soft power internationally. Although 2017 was a challenging year for Qatar due to the crisis, yet the national economy showed an accelerated growth of 5% in the second half of the same year. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 5-22
Author(s):  
Alia Yunis ◽  
Dale Hudson

Abstract This special issue engages the historical and contemporary heterogeneity of the Gulf, which was a transcultural space long before the discovery of oil. Over the past two decades, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have actively begun to harness the media’s power, while at the same time grassroots productions—online, through social media and in regional festivals—reframe assumptions about film and visual media. With resident expatriate population comprising up to 90 percent of the population in Gulf states, film and visual media complicate conventional frameworks derived from area studies, such as ‘Arab media’, ‘Middle Eastern and North African cinema’, or ‘South Asian film’. These articles also unsettle the modernist divisions of media into distinct categories, such as broadcast television and theatrical exhibition, and consider forms that move between professional and nonprofessional media, and between private and semi-public spaces, including the transmedia spaces of theme parks and shooting locations. Articles examine the subjects of early photography in Kuwait, the role of Oman TV as a broadcaster of Indian films into Pakistan, representations of disability and gender in Kuwaiti musalsalat, tribal uses of social media, and videos produced by South Asian and Southeast Asian expatriates, including second-generation expatriates.


Author(s):  
Rochana Bajpai

What role does secularism have in the governance of religious diversity in an age marked by the assertion of religio-cultural identities across the world? India, with its long history of religious pluralism, a state ideology of secularism, and the ascendancy of Hindu nationalism, is a key site for examining the disposition of secularism towards religious identities and diversity. Secularism and multiculturalism are often seen as opposed in political debates involving religious minorities, notably the well-known French headscarf case. Several scholars have suggested that religious traditions offer better resources for toleration than modern secularism (for India, see, for example, Madan 1998: 316; Nandy 1998:336–7). Others, more sympathetic to secularism, have also suggested that it may be deficient in the normative resources required for the accommodation of religious practices, particularly in the case of minorities (Mahajan, this volume; Modood 2010).


2020 ◽  
pp. 095892872095062
Author(s):  
Ilze Plavgo ◽  
Anton Hemerijck

Over the past decade, the notion of ‘social investment’ (SI) has gained considerable traction in the political debates over welfare state futures. The multifaceted character of SI policy interventions, the effects of policy complementarities and interactions for different social groups and generational cohorts, and the challenge of delineating effects across different time dimensions, we argue, are not (yet) properly addressed by current empirical research. This paper contributes to reorienting the measurement of SI returns into a longer-term perspective, conceptualising them as people’s work- and welfare- related outcomes. It operationalises in a novel fashion macro-level data across OECD countries to analyse the medium-term aggregate effects of SI stock, flow and buffer policies with a focus on arguably the most critical stages in the post-industrial life-cycle course: transition into employment and family formation. Our findings imply that the so-called ‘Matthew effects’, following the biblical proverb ‘to him that hath shall be given’, identified in previous research stem from a measurement of SI returns conceptualised in a short-term redistributive perspective. Moving on to longer-term returns to SI policies at the societal level reveals positive outcomes for families with children.


2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Common

States in the Middle East tend to be overlooked by researchers in comparative public administration. However, these states offer potentially useful insights into the nature of administrative change as they defy standard assumptions about pressures for reform. The aim of the article is to provide an account of reform by analysing important contextual factors in Bahrain and Oman. Given the large gap in the literature regarding the Gulf States, this article is supplemented by observations and evidence gathered on regular visits to both countries by the researcher. The analysis reveals systems of public administration highly resistant to international reform trends. Many of these factors are situational; including highly centralized political systems, tradition and strong national and administrative cultures. It is concluded that while reform processes are emerging in these countries, they are slow and evolutionary and are more adapted to the domestic rather than the international context. Points for practitioners The article may be of interest for practitioners working for international consultants, not only in Bahrain and Oman, but also in the wider Gulf Region (Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have similar political and social contexts to those of Bahrain and Oman). In addition to providing contextual information, the article discusses the institutional and cultural barriers to reform in terms of providing Western-style administrative solutions. The article also alludes to the different time horizons in the Gulf States, and the slow (by Western standards) and evolutionary nature of the reform process.


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