Qatar: a controversial country poised between welfare and political games

(To Sara Catalini)
16/03/17

Not a few Arabs are proud of the role that Qatar has played in the national revival of recent years, consolidating itself as a global financial superpower and a center of power in the Middle East. Given the exponential growth of the emirate and the general level of well-being, the squandering of public money on the part of the emir al-Thani, who has often fostered foreign adventures with the sole purpose of keeping himself in the balance between the strong powers with which he is compromise the country.

What really got the population from investing billions of dollars in the Syrian conflict? Qatar has failed in its attempt to dismiss Assad and left more than four million Syrians with impunity. This is just one of the questions that feed the ambiguity of the ruling elite in the country, not to mention another question: the balance between the puritanical Wahhabi vision of Islam long cuddled by the emirate and the Muslim Brotherhood is a dangerous game ?

Similar grumbles ignite over the larger public projects or foreign investments that Qatar is promoting. After the government announced the investment of 220 billion dollars in anticipation of the 2022 World Cup, it seems clear that the stratospheric figure could be reduced with more prudent choices and perhaps shared with the population. The squandering of large sums for monumental works that resemble more cathedrals in the desert than real opportunities for growth is impressive.

The Al-Thani family, which governs the country from the 1971, the year of national independence achieved, does the good and the bad weather; it is therefore not surprising that he dismantles and reconstructs the state, infrastructure and economic structure of the nation at will, without encountering obstacles of any kind. Political parties are banned in Qatar, as are demonstrations, trade unions and public affairs associations.

In the course of its political evolution, the small Arab country laid the foundations for developing around the principle of independent justice, guaranteeing freedom of worship and the establishment of a consultative assembly, a legislative body of the monarchy elected for two thirds by the people and for one third from the Emir. A mere representation of form. There has been a lot of talk about the elections to the National Advisory Council that should have taken place after the 2003 referendum, but to this day it seems that no one in Qatar is suggesting substantial changes to shift the concentration of political power, in fact the exclusive prerogative of the family reigning.

The population never openly expresses its disagreement with regard to internal policies; from time to time the state-owned television channel Al Jazeera intervenes, which encourages and exhorts consciences in a manner that is not always impartial.

To give an example of how there is no political debate in Qatar, just think of the book "People want a reform in Qatar too" written by the academician Ali Khalifa al-Kuwari, published in the 2011, it was banned as judged to be dangerous for national security. The text was designed to promote the vision of a truly democratic Gulf federation, supporting the need for change that would guarantee a different popular participation. In response, after censoring the work, its author was also sentenced to 15 years in prison for trying to spread subversive ideas.

Another worrying element is the social inequality that affects only the foreign population of predominantly Indo-Pakistani, Bengali and Nepalese origin, which constitutes the true workforce of the nation.

Few integration projects, indeed, many were the maneuvers aimed at accentuating the distance between Qatari and non-Qatar. In order to control the large influx of expatriate workers, Qatar has introduced the "Qatarization" program in the 2000, whereby government departments and joint venture industries have been encouraged to reserve high-level positions within the Qatari nationals of the company organization. As a result, a growing number of natives have returned to assume key positions previously occupied by foreign citizens, inevitably damaging the latter and creating even more serious imbalances.

How is it possible then that in this intricate network of oppression, disparaging social policies and questionable diplomatic choices, the State of Al-Thani enjoys strong stability? The calm in which it thrives is not the result of the success of a solid political structure in its entirety, rather it is the result of intertwining and balancing power between the different groups of families and tribes, where everyone aims to make satisfactory profits.

Within the Al-Thani family, Tamim bin Hamad has undertaken a series of significant changes, not least of which was the creation of new state institutions and offices throughout the country managed by supporters, faithful and relatives. In this way, tribal-family institutions have developed by interweaving their history with the backbone of the existing political system.

It must be said that the centralization of power within the Al-Thani family alone does not explain the weight it holds in the country, but there are other elements that contribute to fueling the phenomenon. In the first place, the juxtaposition between the incomes of the royal family deriving from oil and gas resources on the one hand, and the absence of significant centers of social resistance on the other. In a sense the Al-Thani have always been a pole of attraction, lacking even a truly influential religious institution in Qatar.

As mentioned, we arrive at the second node; the constant increase in oil and gas revenues has allowed the Emir to increase its power over society and to consolidate relationships of trust with social groups that are potentially able to mobilize resources in state coffers. But the most distinctive political aspect of the Arab Gulf monarchies, including Qatar, is that governments allow the population to have access to enormous wealth without necessarily having to make taxation on these assets more expensive, which is an anomaly in international panorama.

There is no personal income tax per capita, which means that employees can take their wages and salaries home, without any deductions. All this translates into a relationship between the State and social classes typical of petromonarchies like Qatar: autarchy centers on the concept defined by the term dimukratiyyat al-Khubz (bread democracy), a silent agreement between the regime and the people in which well-being is offered in exchange for political condescension.

This prosperity enhances the solidity of the monarchies; citizens, not paying dearly for any of the services they use, are inevitably dependent and dominated by the regents, who use a policy of benefits to strengthen authoritarianism and the centralization of power.

The prominent position that Qatar has gained in the world chessboard, preserving independence and stability within a territory torn in several points, is not the result of conjunctures or fortuitous events, but derives from a precise political strategy tested in similar regimes in the same geographical area. The real goals set by the emirate are clear, pointing to a confrontation with Saudi Arabia in the future to conquer the hegemony of the Gulf.

The country continues to invest heavily in its natural gas resources, as well as in mammoth infrastructure projects. However, there is no lack of heavy criticism of the government, which although it ensures a phase of growth, continues with often questionable choices: the interference of Qatar Holdings and the Qatar Investment Authority in terms of advertising is frowned upon in the world of football; the regimes in the region are too affected by Al Jazeera's media interference; the large American air base located near the capital Doha proves that Qatar has ties with Washington that not everyone likes.

Qatar is a country projected into the future, but it remains interesting to see if its controversial nature will mark its path of lethal traps.

(photo: Al jazeera)