Political Reforms in Qatar: From Authoritarianism to Political Grey Zone

In the past decade, Qatar has emerged as one of the world’s most proactive mediators in the international arena. It has also experienced a number of domestic changes to its economic infrastructure, welfare system and political system, along with material improvement in its citizens’ standard of living. Nonetheless, despite such radical and rapid advances, political reform in Qatar has proved to be relatively tentative. This book examines political reforms in Qatar from an analytical, normative, ideological and empirical perspective. It applies the main concepts and theories found in the literature on democratic transition. The book also presents different aspects of political reform in Qatar, including those prior to the formation of the state. Firstly, in order to demonstrate the emergence of political reforms, causes and reformers, it analyses the early reforms in Qatar during the 1960s until the mid-1990s. Secondly, it examines the pro-democratic political reforms during the first decade of Sheikh Hamad’s rule. Thirdly, it argues the ways in which the reform process has slowed after 2005, particularly during the turmoil years of the Arab Spring. There is also a discussion on the first years of the rule of the new Emir, Sheikh Tamim, and his political performance during the post-Arab spring years and after. This book also focuses on the issues behind the stagnation of the political reform process in Qatar.