International Quarterly of Foreign Relations

International Quarterly of Foreign Relations

The Evolution of the Qatari-Saudi Arabia Model of Relations from Partnership to Strategic Competition (2011-2021)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mohammad Baqer Khodadadi 1
Mohammad Nasehi 2
Seyed Morteza Oreizi 3
1 Ph.D. in Political Science, Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran.
2 Ph.D. student in Political Science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.
3 Ph.D. student in Regional Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
In recent years, relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar have shifted from cooperation and interaction to confrontation. The Disputes that seriously affected their relations after the evolution in the Arab world in 2011 until their severance in 2017. Despite the resumption of relations after the Al-Ula meeting in January 2021, the two sides have not been able to normalize their relations. The hostility between Doha and Riyadh at the neighborhood and regional levels can be analyzed based on structural theories propositions. Because the two actors' different perceptions of Islamic and Arabic identity and tribal social construction have acted as a key element in the consolidation or divergence of the two. Accordingly, the main question of the present article is "how the perception of Saudi Arabia and Qatar on national and regional issues has led to a change in the political pattern of relations in the two time periods (2017-2011) and (2021-2017)? In this regard, the hypothesis is that, the different perceptions of Saudi Arabia and Qatar of political Islam, their role in the regions and inter-family rivalries, have led them to challenge each other in the field of identity, territorial and regional issues. The present research is of descriptive-analytical type and the required information has been collected by library and internet methods.
Keywords
Saudi Arabia
Qatar
Structuralism
Arabic Identity
Political Islam
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