The May 2024 edition of the IRMO Brief, authored by Rania Mohammad Ibrahim, deals with Qatar and its strategic diplomacy and mediating role in crisis resolution in the Middle East. This small but wealthy nation has become a rising power by using mediation and negotiations to reach solutions for a number of regional conflicts. Qatar played a crucial role as a mediator in negotiations between the United States and Iran for the release of American hostages in 2023 and in 2020 for the US–Taliban peace agreement known as the Doha Accord. During the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict that started in October 2023, this country also had a vital role as a mediator between the two sides. Qatar’s position in the region is delicate as it hosts Hamas’s political office, but at the same time, it is the foothold for the largest US military base in the Middle East. The author also analyses how, with the rising tensions between Iran and Israel, Qatar could once again have a crucial mediating role.
Qatar’s Strategic Diplomacy: Mediating Crisis Resolutions in a Complex Geopolitical Arena
