CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 80

THE ARAB WORLD IN TRANSITION
ARAKS PASHAYAN
SAUDI ARABIA-QATAR. FROM COOPERATION
TO CONFRONTATION
Abstract
On June 5, 2017, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and its allies subjected
Qatar to a series of boycotts and blockades. The initiative came from KSA,
which was concerned over Qatar’s growing ambitions to become an infl uen-
tial state in the region. In these terms, the launch of the blockade was intend-
ed to diminish Qatar’s political autonomy and economic independence. Qatar
never saw its tiny population and territory as a barrier to an independent for-
eign policy or regional infl uence.
It should be noted that as early as in March 2014, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain,
Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recalled representatives of their
countries’ diplomatic missions from Doha, as Qatar authorities had not ac-
tually fulfi lled their set-forth demands. 1 At that time Qatar was accused of
supporting the Muslim Brotherhood 2 through the Middle East and North
Africa and beyond, as well as establishing dangerous cooperation with Tur-
key and Iran. The causes of the crisis are directly related also to the coming
to power new, young, and ambitious leaders in KSA, Qatar, and UAE who
have become the very architects of drawing new milestones of foreign policy
for their countries. Saudi Arabia and its allies after the turmoil of the Arab
Spring, pushed for Qatar to accept its subordinate status.
Keywords: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Iran, boycott, blockade, crisis, Mus-
lim Brotherhood, Arab Spring
1
2
“UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain recall their ambassadors from Qatar,” Gulf News, March
5, 2014, https://gulfnews.com/uae/government/uae-saudi-arabia-and-bahrain-recall-their-am-
bassadors-from-qatar-1.1299586, (accessed September 1, 2018).
The Muslim Brotherhood (al- Ikhwān al-Muslimūn) was founded in Ismailia, Egypt, in 1928
by Hasan al-Bannā (1906–1949) as a youth club committed to eff ecting moral and social
reform through information and propaganda. MB is the main inspiration for many Islamist
organizations in the MENA region and beyond. The movement was initially announced as
a purely religious and philanthropic society that aimed to spread Islamic morals and good
works. Its emergence, however, was part of a widespread reaction to alarming developments,
particularly colonialism, Zionism, secularization, etc, that swept through the Muslim world
in that period, Dilip Hiro, Тhe Essential Middle East. A Comprehensive Guide (Carroll &
Graf Publishers, New-York, 2003), 344-550.
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