Qatar’s mediation in the recent Israel-Hamas conflict, which helped bring about the ceasefire agreement in January, has drawn significant attention abroad. However, this is not the first time the tiny Gulf emirate has been in the spotlight— from Afghanistan to the Horn of Africa, Qatar has built an impressive mediation record, though with mixed success. Although it plays an influential role in international politics today, this was not always the case. Not too long ago, Qatar was, for all practical purposes, a vassal state of Saudi Arabia. It began asserting itself only after the exploitation of its vast gas reserves in the 1990s, followed by the 1995 coup that brought Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa to power. Since then, mediation has become a key pillar of Qatari foreign policy. Its frequent engagement in mediation raises several important questions: Why does Qatar mediate? Is it driven only by national security concerns, international prestige, branding, and soft power, as most studies suggest, or is there more to it? Moreover, how does Qatar mediate?
Qatar has engaged with a variety of actors, including civil society organisations as well as proscribed groups such as the Taliban, Hamas, and various offshoots of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Palestine, and Syria. It has also engaged with governments, including those in Venezuela, Russia, Ukraine, and Israel. This willingness to interact with diverse and often competing actors is driven by its identities and enabled by its domestic political system and stability, which allow it to conduct foreign policy with minimal domestic scrutiny
This article argues that Qatar’s motivations are not just financial or security-related but also shaped by its three main identities: as an Arab nation, an Islamic country, and its self-definition as a bridge between the East and West and a reliable international partner. These identities are as important as material factors in motivating Qatar’s mediation efforts. The emirate’s mediation approach has been marked by flexibility, agility, and adaptability to changing situations, but its success depends on the level of support it receives from regional and global powers.
