Qatar, Energy Security, and Strategic Vision in a Small State

Abstract Since Qatar launched its gas strategy in the mid-1990s it has transitioned from an economic and political backwater into a relatively significant small state actor in the international system. In these few decades, this tiny country has established itself as a key player in the global financial, investment and property markets. In 2010, it became the world’s number one exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Over the same period, it also established itself as a diplomatic player with a pro-active and multidimensional, not to mention controversial, foreign policy engagement across the Arab and wider Muslim world. This paper will examine Qatar’s rise as a global gas power since the 1990s in terms of the country’s evolving strategic vision. In particular, it will assess the centrality of gas power to the decision of policy elites since the late 1990s to prioritize long-term strategic positioning over short-term stability. Finally, it will conclude with an assessment of the ways in which Qatar has used its gas power since the launch of the embargo against it in June 2017 to achieve its strategic objectives at a time of rapid change in the regional security system and the global energy market.