Qatar
Qatar is a Gulf state exhibiting low range performance across all four categories of the Global State of Democracy framework. It falls among the world’s top 25 per cent of performers with regard to Basic Welfare but within the bottom 25 per cent on multiple other factors, especially related to Rights. Qatar is the world’s largest exporter of liquified natural gas, making it among the richest countries per capita in the world and allowing it to maintain expensive citizen benefits. The country, ruled by the Al Thani family since the 1860s, concentrates most power in the hands of the Emir but provides for a mostly-elected Shura (consultative) Council.
Qatar was an Ottoman territory until 1917 and then a British protectorate until 1970. As a small country, Qatar’s domestic politics are tied to its relations with its neighbors. Its support to the Muslim Brotherhood across the region over the years, which has been a strategic move to camouflage its own pro-Western policies and keep the Muslim Brotherhood out of Qatari politics (the group voluntarily disbanded in 1999), has led to regional tensions. Since the Arab Spring in 2011, Qatar has also supported Islamist groups in Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, including through positive news coverage on its popular channel, Al-Jazeera. This support led Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt to place an embargo on Qatar from 2017 to 2021.
Questions of citizenship are a prominent part of Qatar’s politics. Qatari citizens make up only about 13 per cent of its population and five per cent of its labor force. Non-citizen migrant workers come from many countries, especially in South Asia, the Philippines, and Egypt. Despite the announcement of the abolition of the kafala system of worker sponsorship, migrant workers in the country face wage theft and unsafe working conditions. Even those who have lived in the country for multiple generations, such as members of the Al-Murrah tribe, lack full citizenship rights. For example, protesters from the Al-Murrah tribe were arrested and made to sign pledges to stay silent in the future after they were excluded from Shura Council elections in 2021. Non-Muslim faiths are restricted in their public worship, with the Baha’i faith especially repressed.
Male guardianship laws mean that women lack the ability to travel, obtain government IDs, and make independent decisions for their children. In the 2021 elections, no women candidates were elected, and only two were later appointed by the Emir. Qatar hosted the World Cup in 2022, leading to intense international scrutiny of its policies relating to migrant labor, women’s rights, and treatment of LGBTQIA+ people. The Qatari government took limited steps to compensate victimized migrants, but otherwise this scrutiny did not motivate policy change in the country.
After numerous delays, Qatar’s first elections were finally held in 2021, albeit with no political parties permitted to participate. In the future, it will be important to watch any signs of progress with regard to the Rights-related issues raised around the World Cup. It will also be important to watch the Shura Council, which is dependent on the Emir for most of its functions. Any changes here could impact Representation scores in the years ahead.
Monthly Event Reports
December 2022 | Qatar implicated in EU Parliament corruption scandal
In Belgium, investigators looking into graft in the European Union (EU) have alleged that several MEPs accepted bribes from Qatar in return for furthering the country’s interests in EU communications and decision-making. The scandal has spurred increased scrutiny of the EU institutions and their vulnerability to corruption and foreign influence. The scandal was uncovered in an investigation by the Belgian State Security intelligence aimed at identifying instances of interference in public decision-making.
October 2022 | International media restricted during the Football World Cup
A contentious provision has been added to the conditions for granting foreign media accreditation, ahead of the 2022 Men’s Football World Cup. The provision prohibits journalists from filming or photographing in “residential properties, private businesses and industrial zones”. A previous ban on reporting which would harm “Qatari public discipline, behaviour or Islamic customs” had been lifted. However, with Qatar in the spotlight over its documented mistreatment of LGBTQIA+ individuals and migrant workers, the new provision has been criticized as an attempt to prevent interviews with those groups and thereby coverage of sensitive topics.
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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022
Basic Information
Human Rights Treaties
Performance by category over the last 6 months
Global State of Democracy Indices
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Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time
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