This study examines the foreign policy of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and its member states, in particular Qatar, towards the peace process in the Middle East between 1991 and 2005. The study aims to identify, and critically engage with, a set of internal and external determinants, which influenced the foreign policy orientations of the GCC states towards the Middle East peace process after the Madrid conference in 1991 and until 2005. This time frame was selected because significant changes took place in the patterns of alliances among leading Arab states after 2005. Moreover, the study focuses on the extent to which Qatar’s foreign policy has been consistent, or inconsistent, with the rest of GCC foreign policy, and the reasons for both consistencies and inconsistencies. The study posits three main questions. First, what are the main determinants, internal and external, facing the GCC states while formulating their foreign policies towards the Middle East peace process, particularly between 1991 and 2005? Second, what was the overall foreign policy agreed between the GCC states towards the Middle East peace process during the same period? Finally, to what extent was Qatari foreign policy convergent with, or divergent from, the foreign policy of the Gulf Cooperation Council with regard to the peace process? To explore these questions, the study adopts a qualitative research methodology and archival document analysis strategy. A wide range of documents was used throughout the study, including UN documents, media data, official statements made by GCC ministers of foreign affairs, closing statements of GCC summits, speeches by the Emir of Qatar, and statements by Qatari diplomats and officials. The data analyses revealed, first, that the foreign policies of the GCC states and Qatar have converged when it ultimately came to supporting Palestinian rights and the US efforts on the peace process, and, second, that the foreign policies of Qatar and the GCC states have diverged on two significant issues: first Qatar’s desire to normalize economic and diplomatic ties with Israel, and, second, US and Qatari initiatives to push political reform agenda (democratization came first, among other objectives) in the region as a possible policy to resolve the Middle East conflict.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:739291 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Al Thani, Ahmed Nasser |
| Contributors | Sahin, Abdullah |
| Publisher | University of Gloucestershire |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/5388/ |
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