Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
All topics-
Political correctness in the Gulf
Qatar's textbook spring-clean
With World Cup 2022 around the corner, Qatar has embarked on a campaign to clean up its school system. Distracting from grievous shortcomings in other areas by highlighting a willingness to reform on "soft" issues remains a stubborn trend across the Islamic world. By James M. Dorsey
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Turkish foreign policy
Ankara – new guarantor of stability on the Hindu Kush?
Ankara's foreign policy apparatus is currently running at top speed. While politicians in the West busy themselves with evacuating Kabul and analysing the chaos, which not even optimists would term effective crisis management, Erdogan's Turkey seems to be one step ahead. By Ronald Meinardus
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Promoting human rights in the Middle East
The U.S. and Arab hearts and minds – an impossible task?
As the Biden administration attempts to promote democracy and human rights in the Middle East, it will confront the deep-seated belief among Arabs that U.S. policies are unfair to their central causes and biased in favour of the ruling elite of their countries. By Rafiah Al Talei
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2022 FIFA World Cup and human rights
Pointing the finger at Qatar's rulers is not enough
As Qatar prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the country has come under fire for its treatment of migrant workers, with some nations calling for a boycott of the contest. But this simply misreads the realities of the situation and the underlying problems associated with international migration. By Sebastian Sons
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Reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Qatar
A turning point for the whole Middle East?
Saudi Arabia and its allies have agreed to set aside their differences with Qatar at a summit meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The restoration of diplomatic relations could have strategic resonance far beyond the Gulf nations and change the entire region. By Karim El-Gawhary
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DW documentary on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi
Seeking answers to a heinous crime
Did the Saudi state plan the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi? Was Khashoggi so much of a threat to the Saudi regime that it was prepared to commit a terrible crime to get rid of him?
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Arab states
Pandemic shines a light on the Gulf's three-way split
With Ramadan over and coronavirus hopefully on the wane, Bader Al-Saif takes a look at how divisions dating back to the June 2017 blockade of Qatar shaped the region's contrasting approaches to political messaging and public health in a time of both crisis and observance
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Weathering the Saudi blockade
Qatar thrives under pressure
The blockade of Qatar led by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in the summer of 2017 was a shock for the small emirate. Meanwhile, however, it seems to have more than recovered: the economy is growing and the leadership is bursting with determination and self-confidence. By Anchal Vohra
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The Khashoggi aftermath
The inconvenient truth about Saudi Arabia
Following the massacre of protesting students in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, U.S. President George H.W. Bush’s administration limited its sanctions and kept lines of communication open, owing to China's strategic importance. Richard N. Haass asks whether a similar policy toward Saudi Arabia would prove viable?
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Western diplomacy in crisis
What to do about Khashoggi?
The abduction or even murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi would constitute a dangerous escalation in the Saudi government's campaign to clamp down on its critics. According to Guido Steinberg, the West should react with as much determination as it did towards Moscow following events in Salisbury
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Geopolitical alliances in the Middle East
Religionʹs waning role
Todayʹs turmoil in the Middle East is rooted largely in historical legacies and poor leadership, but the influence of religion hasnʹt helped. So it is good news that, from Saudi Arabia to Israel to Iraq, religion is increasingly being superseded by strategic and security interests in shaping regional affairs. By Shlomo Ben-Ami
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Qatari foreign relations
The point of no return?
The crisis between Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on the one hand and Qatar on the other appears to be approaching tipping point. The possibility of Doha's departure from the GCC and new alliances with Turkey and Iran is likely to trigger major shifts in the regionʹs balance of power. By Stasa Salacanin