The Creation of Qatar

by Rosemarie Said Zahlan

The first political and social history of Qatar, in the context of the entire Gulf region.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Eric Steere · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good and short introduction not only to the specific economic and political (conditioned by British concessions, external, and domestic) developments, but as a reminder that Gulf states rarely figured in scholarship, and Qatar specifically, until massive petroleum resources and exports. Now known to have a high level of reserves, especially in natural gas, and especially w/ its mediation in nearly every conflict across the world (Darfur; Doha Agreements, etc), Qatar has attempted to make a bigger play in the international system of states as a nexus for MNCs, financial flows, and diplomacy. Zahlan seems to have written on every Gulf state. It is particularly striking (and neglected in most other books on Qatar more recently written) that over half of the 27,000 working population were engaged in pearling until mid-century. Now energy rich Qatar has the highest per capita income in the world (again, could not be foreseen at the time of writing [late 70s]) and reserves of natural gas that could supply the UK's entire energy needs for 250 years (according to QatarGas hehe). The autocratic leadership is an exceptional case of a state buoyant in rents, and seemingly the most stable of the Gulf monarchies due to its geopolitical importance to the West and the seemingly interminable benefits for nationals and ex-pats alike. It will be interesting to see in the coming months how Qatar deals w/ its somewhat confused foreign affairs, w/ Doha's Al Jazeera promoting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt seeming to have come on the wrong side of history. Regional hatred for Qatar is at peak levels, and w/ the US condemning its supply of arms to opposition groups in Syria and its weak but vocal stance on terrorism, we are wondering what if there is a plan at all or just a brand. Qatar Inc.

[Daphne]

Det her er en overraskende god bog om Qatar. Det er tydeligt at Rosemarie Said Zahlan går fortrop her i slutningen af 1970'erne og det er sikkert også dét der gør bogen så overskuelig, men alligevel må det siges: sikke koncist. 160 sider – og det er inklusiv appendix med fredstraktaten fra 1916 OG et fremtidskapitel om "Qatar i 2000".

Bogen har for mig den grundlæggende udfordring at den foregår centreret om en en geografi, historie og sprogområde jeg ikke kender særligt godt. Dette gør årstallene, de arabiske navne og stednavnene i og omkring den Arabiske Halvø altid er lige på nippet til at kamme over i full-on vuggevise. Det er selvfølgelig et problem for en bog der ønsker at introducere. Men hvis man tager sig tiden og læser opmærksomt med (eller er så heldig at være bekendt med bare lidt af fx den lokale tidslinje eller det arabiske sprog) så er bogen faktisk ganske venlig. Jeg mener det! Strålende nøgtern indføring i beduinernes sociale og økonomiske struktur, de historiske forhandlinger med briterne, etc.