Small States, Big Influence: Assessing the Strategic Role of Qatar and the UAE in Middle Eastern Conflict Mediation and Regional Stability
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55559/ijchss.v2i1.11Keywords:
Small States, Conflict Mediation, Regional Stability, Gulf Diplomacy, Soft Power, Middle East PoliticsAbstract
This paper is an analysis of the disproportional influence of small yet strategically ambitious nations such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the mediation of conflicts in the Middle East and the stability in this region. It seeks to evaluate the instruments, motivations as well as the results of their foreign policies using qualitative case studies that concentrate on the mediation efforts of Qatar in Afghanistan and Sudan as well as the UAE in Yemen and Libya. Through the process tracing and discourse analysis, the research establishes that the two states use wealth, media and strategic alliances to reflect soft and smart power. Whereas Qatar tends to be a more diplomatic and dialogue-based country, UAE tends to be more military demanding. The research makes a contribution to the literature that traditional views confine small states to passive participants and emphasizes the various ways in which niche diplomacy and strategic adaptation can produce a huge regional effect and provide an overview of how Gulf foreign policy may be changing in a multipolar order.
References
Almezaini, K., & Rickli, J.-M. (2017). The foreign policies of small Gulf states: Security, diplomacy and regional order. Routledge.
Barakat, S., & Milton, S. (2020). Qatar as a humanitarian donor: Strategies and motives. World Development, 139, 105281.
Bercovitch, J., & Houston, A. (2000). The study of international mediation: Theoretical issues and empirical evidence. In J. Bercovitch (Ed.), International conflict mediation: New approaches and findings (pp. 11–36). Palgrave Macmillan.
Bueger, C., & Stockbruegger, J. (2020). Maritime security and the UAE’s port diplomacy. The International Spectator, 55(3), 28–44.
Cooper, A. F., & Shaw, T. M. (2009). The diplomacies of small states: Between vulnerability and resilience. Palgrave Macmillan.
Dorsey, J. M. (2021). Qatar’s diplomacy in Afghanistan: Mediating between peace and power. Middle East Policy, 28(1), 123–135.
El-Hokayem, E. (2008). Qatar and Lebanon’s Doha agreement: Small state diplomacy at work. Mediterranean Politics, 13(3), 435–441.
Grix, J., & Brannagan, P. M. (2016). Of mechanisms and myths: Conceptualising states’ “soft power” strategies through sports mega-events. Diplomatic History, 40(3), 445–463.
Guzansky, Y., & Marshall, Z. (2020). The Abraham Accords and the UAE’s diplomatic transformation. Middle East Review of International Affairs, 24(1), 15–28.
Ingebritsen, C. (2006). Small states in international relations. University of Washington Press.
Juneau, T. (2020). The UAE and the war in Yemen: From surge to disengagement. Middle East Policy, 27(1), 90–101.
Kamrava, M. (2011). Qatar: Small state, big politics. Cornell University Press.
Kamrava, M. (2013). The evolution of Qatar’s foreign policy. Middle East Journal, 67(3), 339–354.
Krieg, A. (2019). Divided Gulf: The anatomy of a crisis. Palgrave Macmillan.
Krieg, A. (2022). Elite power and political capture in the UAE. Routledge.
Lake, D. A., & Morgan, P. M. (1997). Regional orders: Building security in a new world. Pennsylvania State University Press.
Neumann, I. B., & Gstöhl, S. (2006). Lilliputians in Gulliver’s world? Small states in international relations. Centre for Small State Studies.
Nye, J. S., Jr. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. PublicAffairs.
Nye, J. S., Jr. (2011). The future of power. PublicAffairs.
Panke, D. (2010). Small states in the European Union: Structural disadvantages in EU policymaking and counter-strategies. Journal of European Public Policy, 17(6), 799–817.
Roberts, D. B. (2012). Qatar’s foreign policy: The limits of pragmatism. The International Spectator, 47(1), 61–75.
Roberts, D. B. (2017). Qatar’s role in the Arab Spring: Mediating conflict and shaping regional order. International Affairs, 93(5), 1167–1184.
Roberts, D. B. (2021). The UAE and the recalibration of regional power in the Middle East. International Affairs, 97(6), 1681–1699.
Thorhallsson, B. (2006). The size of states in the European Union: Theoretical and conceptual perspectives. European Integration, 28(1), 7–31.
Ulrichsen, K. C. (2020). Qatar and the Gulf crisis. Oxford University Press.
Wendt, A. (1999). Social theory of international politics. Cambridge University Press.
Published on:
Also Available On
Note: Third-party indexing sometime takes time. Please wait one week or two for indexing. Validate this article's Schema Markup on Schema.org
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mohammed Kabeer Garba (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
