An emotional analysis of the crisis in the relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar (2017-2021): The role of dignity and respect

Document Type : Original

Authors

1 Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of West Asian and African Studies, Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Emotional analysis of international phenomena is a new approach in international relations, which is interpreted as an "emotional turn". This approach considers states as actors whose emotional motivations affect their actions and behaviors. The current research seeks to examine the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, focusing on the 2017-2021 crisis from an emotional perspective. Therefore, the question of the research is how Saudi emotional understanding of Qatar's regional behavior has affected the crisis in their relations in the period from 2017 to 2021. The authors present the answer to this question based on the assumption that Saudi Arabia has a special "dignity" and "credibility" for itself, and therefore expects "subordination" and "respect" from other Arab actors in the region. Based on this assumption, the article hypothesizes that the independent policies of Qatar and the change of Doha's policy from a subordinate actor to an active actor damaged Saudi Arabia's perception of itself as a state with high status and credibility and forced this country to adopt a policy punished against Qatar. In other words, Qatar's independent activism caused Saudi Arabia to see its status as an older brother in danger from a younger brother who violated his sanctity. As a result, this perception led to a crisis in the relations between the two countries in the mentioned period.

Keywords

Main Subjects

حوزة موضوعی: عربستان سعودی و قطر

Scope: Saudi Arabia and Qatar

References

Albasoos H, Hassan G, Al Zadjali S. (2021). “The Qatar crisis: Challenges and opportunities”. International Journal of Research in Business & Social Scienc. 10(1): 158-167. doi: https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v10i1.1013.
Al-Jubeir A. (2017). “Saudi FM says 'brother state' Qatar must act to end crisis”. Daily Mail.  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4580824/Saudi-FM-says-brother-state-Qatar-act-end-crisis.html. (Accessed in Aug 2023)   
Al-Rawashdeh MS. (2016). “The regional competition for the leadership of the Middle East region”. Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. 4(3): 176-192.
Araman CK. (2018). The Growth and Development of The Qatar Oil Industry: Lessons for Kenya. Unpubished PhD Thesis. University of Nairobi-Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies.
Ariffin Y, Coicaud JM, Popovski V. (2016). Emotions in International Politics: Beyond Mainstream International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ashton-James C, Tracy J. (2013). “Pride and prejudice: how feelings about the self influence judgments of others”. Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 38(4): 466-76. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167211429449.
Attiyah KB. (2017). “Qatar's ‘so-called brothers’ have a long history of meddling”. Lennie S, Interviewer. https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/qatar-s-so-called-brothers-have-a-long-history-of-meddling-8900.  (Accessed in Aug 2023)
Bianco C, Gareth S. (2018). “The intra-GCC crises: mapping fragmentation after 2011”. International Affairs. 94(3): 613-635. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiy025.
Cole J. (2018). “David and Goliath: How Qatar defeated the Saudi and UAE annexation plot”. The Nation. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/david-and-goliath-how-qatar-defeated-the-saudi-and-uae-annexation-plot./. (Accessed in Aug 2023)  
Cooper A, Momani B. (2011). “Qatar and expanded contours of small state diplomacy', I”. International Spectator: Italian Journal of International Affairs. 46(3): 28-113.doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03932729.2011.576181.
Crawford NC. (2000). “The passion of world politics: Propositions on emotion and emotional relationships”. International Security. 24(4): 116-156.
Ehteshami A. (2009). “The Middle East's New Power Dynamics”. The Middle East. 108(722): 395-401.
Elster J. (1999). Alchemies of the Mind: Rationality and the Emotions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fearon J, Wendt A. (2002). “Rationalism v. Constructivism: A Skeptical View”. Handbook of International Relations. SAGE.
Fisher SN. (1990). The Middle East: A History. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Gerges FA. (1995). “The Kennedy administration and the Egyptian-Saudi conflict in Yemen: Co-opting Arab nationalism”. Middle East Journal. 49(2): 292-311.
Hammond A. (2014). “Qatar’s leadership transition: like father, like son: Qatar’s foreign policy after a sudden regime change”. European Council on Foreign Relations, 12.
Hobbes T. (2018). Leviathan. Translated by Bashiriyeh H. Tehran: Ney Publishing. [in Prersian]
House KE. (2013). On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines--and Future. Vintage, Reprint ed.
Houshisadat M. (2015). “Persian Gulf gas and LNG in the EU's goals for security of gas supply by 2030”. The Polish Quarterly of International Affairs. 1: 7-27.
Hymans J. (2010). “The arrival of psychological constructivism”. International Theory. 2: 461-467. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752971910000199.
Kahala A. (1949). Dictionary of Arab Kabyles. Damascus: The Hashemite Library. Introduction to the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences/ Al-Azhar University- Gaza (Middle East Studies Program). [in Arabic]
Kedar M. (2021). “Saudi Arabia vs. the Muslim Brotherhood”. Besa Center. https://besacenter.org/saudi-arabia-muslim-brotherhood/. (Assecce in Oct 2023)
Keohane R, Naye J. (1987). “Power and interdependencep”. International Organization. 41(1): 725-753.
Khatib L. (2013). “Qatar's foreign policy: the limits of pragmatism”. International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944). 89(2): 417-431. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12025.
Lebow RN. (2010). Why Nations Fight. Cambridge University Press.
---------------. (2008). A Cultural Theory of International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
---------------. (2003). The Tragic Vision of Politics: Ethics, Interests and Orders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mahmoud MS. (2020). “Isolation in Saudi foreign policy towards Qatar”. International Studies. 81: 227-266. [in Arabic]
Markwica R. (2018). Emotional Choices: How the Logic of Affect Shapes Coercive Diplomacy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Matthiesen T. (2015). “The domestic sources of Saudi foreign policy: Islamists and the state in the wake of the Arab Uprisings”. Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World: 1-12.
Mercer J. (2005). “Rationality and Psychology in International Politics”. International Organization. 59(1): 77-106.
Mitchell JS, Curtis S. (2018). “Old media, new narratives: repurposing inconvenient artifacts for the National Museum of Qatar”. Journal of Arabian Studies. 8(2): 208-241. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/21534764.2018.1556873.
Mitchell JS, Notes A. (2021). “Transnational identity and the Gulf crisis: changing narratives of belonging in Qatar”. International Affairs. 97(4): 929-944. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiab013.
Mohammadzadeh B. (2017). “Status and foreign policy change in small states: Qatar’s emergence in perspective”. The International Spectator. 52(2): 19-36. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03932729.2017.1298886.
Musaed AB. (2014). “Prince Abdul Rahman bin Musaed: The song ‘I am the Khaleeji’ is a trivial song”. Hawamer, https://hawamer.com/vb/hawamer2766412-4. (Accessed in Nov 2023) [in Arabic]
Qasim JG. (1997). The Modern and Contemporary History of the Arabian Gulf. Cairo: Dar Al-Fikr Al-Arabi. [in Arabic]
Qatar General Petroleum Corporation. (1992). “Oil and Gas Industry in Qatar”. The Public Relations Department.
Reiche D. (2010). “Energy policies of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—possibilities and limitations of ecological modernization in rentier states”. Energy Policy. 38(5): 2395-2403. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.12.031.
Reuters. (2017). “Qatar gas asks suppliers to set up local offices amid Arab boycott”. https://www.reuters.com/article/gulf-qatar-qatargas-idINL8N1K34RC. (Accessed in Aug 2023)
Reuters Arabic. (2013). “The new Emir of Qatar says he is not waiting for ‘direction’ in foreign policy”. https://jp.reuters.com/article/oegtp-qatar-emir-speech-mm5-idARACAE9B2YDD20130626. (Accessed in Jul 2023) [in Arabic]
Roberts D. (2014). “Qatar and the muslim brotherhood: Pragmatism or preference?” Middle East Policy. 5(3): 84-94. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/mepo.12084.
Roberts DB. (2012). “Understanding Qatar’s foreign policy objectives”. Mediterranean Politics. 17(2): 233-239. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2012.695123.
Rythoven EV, Sucharov M. (2019). Methodology and Emotion in International Relations: Parsing the Passions. Routledge.
Sabga, P. (2018). “Qatar quits OPEC as Saudis walk tightrope on oil prices”. AlJazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2018/12/3/qatar-quits-opec-as-saudis-walk-tightrope-on-oil-prices. (Accessed in Jan 2023)
Sastry G. (1993). “Qatar's economy transition from oil based economy to gas based economy”. Ministry of Energy & Industry. 16(24), Lecture delivered at the training course on "Industrial Planning" on 7th February 1993 at Dept. of Industrial Development, Ministry of Energy & Industry.
Sharab MA. (2014). Qatari foreign policy in light of political transformations. Gaza: Unpublished Master’s Thesis. [in Arabic]
Soltaninejad M. (2019). “Iran and Saudi Arabia: Emotionally constructed identities and the question of Persistent tensions”. Asian Politics & Policy. 11(1): 104-121. doi: 10.1111/aspp.12435.
Thomas W. (2002). The Ethics of Destruction: Norms and Force in International Relations. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Tracy JL, Mercadante E, Hohm I. (2023). “Pride: The emotional foundation of social rank attainment”. Annual Review of Psychology. 74: 519-545. doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-032720-040321.   
Tracy J, Robins R. (2007). “The psychological structure of pride: A tale of two facets”. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 92(3): 506-25.
---------------. (2003). “Death of a (narcissistic) salesman: An integrative model of fragile self-esteem”. Psychol. Inq. 14(1): 57-2.
Ulrichsen KC. (2012). Qatar and the Arab Spring. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Weber A. (2012). “The Muslim brotherhood following the ‘25 January Revolution’: From the ideals of the past to the political challenges of the present”. Journal of the Higher School of National Defense Studies. 183-211.
Wendt A. (2005). The Social Theory of International Politics. Translated by Moshirzadeh H. Tehran: Publishing Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [in Persian]
Youmans WL. (2012). The Media Economics and Cultural Politics of Al Jazeera English in the United States. University of Michigan.
 
Journal of Countries Studies
Volume 2, Issue 3
2024
Pages 379-406

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 06 December 2023
  • Revise Date: 04 January 2024
  • Accept Date: 08 January 2024

Share

How to cite

Statistics