Qatar
Rise to Power and Influence
Published on 27. January 2012
Book
Hardback
216 pages
978-1-84885-167-2 (ISBN)
Description
What role does Qatar play in the Middle East and how does it differ from the other Gulf states? How has the Al-Thani tribe shaped the history of modern Qatar? And how is a traditional tribal society adapting to its status as a burgeoning economic superpower? Qatar plays a crucial part in the Middle East today. With the second greatest natural gas resources in the region, Qatar's economic clout is considerable. At the same time the Qatar story is replete with paradoxes: the state hosts the Al-Jazeera media network, an influential expression of Arab nationalism and anti-Americanism, while also hosting the principal US naval base in the region. Its leaders, like Saudi Arabia's, adhere to the Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam, yet Qatar eyes its Saudi neighbours with suspicion. It is a fervent champion of the Palestinian cause, yet welcomes the Israeli Foreign Minister to present the Jewish state's case in its capital, Doha. With this groundbreaking modern history, Allen Fromherz presents a full portrait which analyses these paradoxes and Qatar's growing regional influence within a broader historical context.
Drawing on original sources in Arabic, English and French, as well as his own fieldwork in the Middle East, Fromherz offers a multi-faceted picture of the political, cultural, religious, social and economic make-up of modern Qatar, its significance within the GCC states and the wider region.
Drawing on original sources in Arabic, English and French, as well as his own fieldwork in the Middle East, Fromherz offers a multi-faceted picture of the political, cultural, religious, social and economic make-up of modern Qatar, its significance within the GCC states and the wider region.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Illustrations
2 maps, 1 bw integrated
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
499 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84885-167-2 (9781848851672)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Allen J. Fromherz is Associate Professor of History at Georgia State University. He was previously Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern History at Qatar University. He received his PhD from the University of St Andrews in Scotland after graduating from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and was awarded a Fulbright Research Scholarship in Morocco. In 2010 he was awarded the Gerda Henkel Stiftung fellowship to pursue research on the history of nationalism in the Middle East. He is also the author of The Almohads: The Rise of an Islamic Empire (I.B.Tauris) and Ibn Khaldun, Life and Times.
Content
Chapter 1: Qatar - A new Model of Modernity?
Chapter 2: Qatar - Geography of a Near Frontier
Chapter 3: The Origins of Qatar - Between "Emergence" and "Creation"
Chapter 4: Creating Social Realities - Qatar and the British in the Twentieth Century.
Chapter 5: Sheikh Khalifa and The Enigma of Independence
Chapter 6: Sheikh Hamad and the Future of Qatar
Chapter 7: Qatar's Political Economy: A Classic Rentier State?
Chapter 8: The Emir and the Exercise of Authority in Qatar
Conclusions: Change or Continuity?
Chapter 2: Qatar - Geography of a Near Frontier
Chapter 3: The Origins of Qatar - Between "Emergence" and "Creation"
Chapter 4: Creating Social Realities - Qatar and the British in the Twentieth Century.
Chapter 5: Sheikh Khalifa and The Enigma of Independence
Chapter 6: Sheikh Hamad and the Future of Qatar
Chapter 7: Qatar's Political Economy: A Classic Rentier State?
Chapter 8: The Emir and the Exercise of Authority in Qatar
Conclusions: Change or Continuity?