CC BY
16
the government forces of President Hadi moved closer to the capital Sanaa captured by the Houthi insurgents. Meanwhile, the number of victims and destroyed military and civilian objects in Yemen is constantly growing.
The researcher concludes by saying that the irreconcilable confrontation between the Sunnites and Shi'ites, with the participation of the international coalition headed by Saudi Arabia continues against the backdrop of almost futile negotiations. The pro-Saudi coalition does not wish to resolve the Yemeni conflict by peaceful means, hoping that its forces will be able to smash the Houthi Shi'ites. But this can happen only after prolonged bloody battles between the Arabian coalition, on the one hand, and the Houthi units and Saleh's armed forces, on the other.
Author of the abstract - Natalia Ginesina
2017.04.007. BAGRAT SEIRANYAN. THREE PILLARS OF GROWTH. (Introduction to book) // V. Isayev, A. Filonik. Qatar: Three Pillars of Growth (socio-economic essay). Moscow, 2015, P. 5-8.
Keywords: Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Britain, U.S.A., Wahhabism, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Bagrat Seiranyan,
Dr.Sc. (Hist.),
Institute of Oriental Studies, RAS
At the beginning of this century Qatar was mentioned in articles and reports on the developments in the Middle East ever more frequently.
Meanwhile, in the mid-19th century Qatar was a God-forsaken territory fully dependent on Bahrain and an object of expansion and rivalry of the ruling Arabian families of Bu Said (Oman) and the second Saudi state, the Ottoman Empire and
Iran. The Saudis and Wahhabi ideology spread by them exerted the greatest spiritual influence on the Qatar population. But the leading role in the principalities of North-East Arabia was played by Britain.
By the beginning of World War I Britain fully controlled North-East Arabia. In 1916 the United Kingdom recognized Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani (1913-1949) as the ruler of Qatar and signed a treaty with him by which the ruler of Qatar could not enter in any agreements with foreign countries, except Britain, and the latter guaranteed the protection of his country from outside aggression.
The establishment and expansion of the "exclusive rights" of Britain in the Gulf countries led to the period of early modernization of the region at the turn of last century, which was due to two basic reasons. The first was the establishment of a relatively stable peace and political stability connected with a ban on intertribal conflicts, piracy, slave trade and slavery. And the second - the creation of objective conditions for the accumulation of material resources and organization of economic activity in the hands of able entrepreneurs. From the political point of view, the British contributed to the transformation of a traditional tribal sheikh into a national leader and the main symbol of power.
In the epoch of the early modernization the economy of Qatar was centered on fisheries, sea trade, oasis agriculture, traditional cattle breeding and handicrafts, but the main role in the economic and social spheres was played by the production of pearls, which provided a considerable share of the national income. A new stage in Qatar's life was connected with the discovery of oil deposits by the "Petroleum Development of Qatar" (filial of the British "Petroleum Concession") in 1939. But due to World War II the commercial mining of liquid hydrocarbons began only in 1949. During the 1950s - 1960s the oil incomes were growing very rapidly and stably, but the first dollar flows were appropriated by the ruling elites in the Gulf countries. Qatar's oil prosperity and joining the world economic
system have led to a collapse of the traditional economy, transformation of foreign trade, and growth of import, while export was replaced by re-export. The flow of foreign commodities led to the ruin of the traditional social strata of the urban population and nomadic people, and the disintegration and polarization of Qatar society. Under the impact of the protest movement in the latter half of the 1960s considerable means began to be channeled to the development of the infrastructure and implementation of social projects.
On May 16, 1968, Britain announced its intention to withdraw its armed forces from the Persian Gulf zone before the end of 1971, renounce its protector rights, and grant political independence to the countries east of Suez. Following Bahrain, Qatar proclaimed its independence on September 3, 1971, and its ruler accepted the title of Emir.
The first temporary Constitution of Qatar, which determined the specific features of the structure of state power in the country, was adopted on April 2, 1970. According to the Constitution, the head of state and supreme executive power was the Emir from the Al Thani family, and all legislative and executive power was in his hands. He appointed the Council of ministers and Consultative council which had only deliberative functions. Nevertheless, even such consultative body limited in its rights consultative was an important step forward. The Constitution also guaranteed the basic democratic rights.
The ruling emir Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali bin Abdullah was not interested in state affairs. His cousin and actual co-ruler Sheikh Khalifa had all state power in his hands. He used the rejection of the emir to convene the Consultative Council as a pretext, and on February 22, 1972, with the support of the ruling family and the army, staged a coup when Sheikh Ahmad was on a visit to Europe. He overthrew Sheikh Ahmad and proclaimed himself Emir. With a view to easing the political tension in the country he convened the Consultative Council, which now received the right to discuss the budget and financial questions.
The system of drawing the state budget was put to order, and the incomes of the ruling family were separated from it. The Administration of monetary management and the Council on investments were set up. In connection with the growing oil incomes after 1973 and the organization of the national "Qatar General Petroleum Corporation" in 1974 oil extraction and incomes from it were placed under control of the state.
These and other measures have created favorable conditions for the implementation of effective economic, social and institutional transformations. Considerable means have been channeled to the sphere of social services, housing construction, health service and social welfare, which have brought qualitative changes in the life of the state and society. In May 1989, on the initiative of Crown Prince Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, the Supreme Council of planning was set up, whose task was to help diversify industry and agriculture. It had the task to reduce the country's dependence on the oil sector.
The Persian Gulf countries occupy a special place in Qatar's foreign policy. It concerns primarily the biggest and most influential country - Saudi Arabia, which is close to Qatar because of common official religion - Wahhabism. It also helps settle contradictions in territorial demarcation, which arise from time to time. Important influence on the political and ideological position of Qatar was exerted by the Iranian-Iraqi war of 19801988), the Kuwait crisis (1990-1991), American occupation of Iraq, and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
One of the important consequences of the Iranian-Iraqi war was the setting up of the Council of cooperation of Arab states of the Persian Gulf in May 1981. It envisages coordination, integration and cooperation of its member-countries in all spheres and, above all, in joining efforts for the strengthening of the defense capability of the region. Within the framework of the Council of cooperation Qatar rendered assistance to Iraq in the war with Iran, and the period of preparing and carrying on the war in Iraq in 1990 it offered its territory for the deployment of
the forces of the anti-Iraqi coalition, and in June 1992 Qatar agreed with the United States on the setting up of an American military base on the peninsula.
On June 27, 1995, the crown prince Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani who held the main levers of power and had support of the ruling family and people staged a bloodless coup and overthrew his father, who spent most of his time in Switzerland. Emir Hamad pursued an effective economic policy. In the first years of his staying in power he concentrated efforts on the stepped-up development of gas-exporting potential of the country, and drawing foreign investments to it. In a few years' time the emirate turned into one of the biggest exporters of gas in the world and became a member of the "big gas trio", along with Russia and Iran.
One can argue about the results of the economic policy of Emir Hamad, but two facts are worth mentioning. First, in 2013 Qatar held first place in the world in the per capita GDP. And secondly, the growth of the country's population, which numbered 5,000 in 1945, grew to 744,000 in 2004. According to official figures, of 33,800 public sector office employees, government officials and special service and army personnel) 66.3 percent were people of Qatar origin. Thus, the upper and middle sections of Qatar society consisted of indigenous people.
Among the emir's achievements in the social sphere mention should be made of important legislative acts, which made the rights of men and women equal, despite the fact that the country adhered to the Wahhabi trend of Islam.
After the endorsement of the new Constitution by a national referendum on April 29, 2003, its text was approved by the emir. According to Article 8 of the Constitution, the state is ruled by the Al Thani family and power is passed on to men of the family. Executive and legislative power belongs to the emir who is the head of state and is vested with wide powers. His person is immune and he is the head of executive power and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The 45 members of the
one-chamber parliament (Shura Council) have the right to wield legislative power, endorse the general policy of the government and the country's budget, control executive power and even send the government to retirement. Two-thirds of the Shura members are elected by direct universal and secret ballot, the rest are appointed by the emir. He has the right to turn down any law adopted by parliament and is bound to endorse it if it was adopted by the chamber for the second time. The emir appoints the crown prince after consultations with members of the ruling family and the Council of Sages of the state.
According to the Constitution of April 29, 2003, the people are the main subject and object of power. The Constitution guarantees them freedom of expression, religious tolerance, independent court procedure, and basic democratic rights. It allows the setting up of associations, but forbids the formation of political parties. All citizens of Qatar have the right to vote, including women aged 18 and older.
Soon after coming to power Emir Hamad expressed confidence that his country would remain stable and prosperous facing Islamic fundamentalism. The latest five years of the 20th century were marked by the dangerous stepping-up of the activity of the "Moslem Brotherhood" in all countries of the Persian Gulf. Each one of these monarchies has chosen its own way of fighting Islamic extremism. Emir Hamad preferred an original method taken from the arsenal of the diplomacy of tribal aristocracy. In 1999 he reached an agreement with the "Brotherhood" under which the latter's activity in Qatar was terminated. In exchange the emir promised to support the Association politically and financially in other countries. Another factor of Qatar's foreign policy is the operation of an American military base on its territory. Washington does not pay too close attention to the foreign policy of the emirate, which looks independent, but the last word in the key questions belongs to the latter.
One of the notable achievements of Sheikh Hamad and its main trump card was the popular Arab TV channel "Al Jazeera" founded in 1996. It succeeded in combining the professional western level of journalism with an analysis of conflicts reflecting different points of view in assessing current developments, freedom of expression, including critical remarks concerning the activity of certain regional governments. The support by the Qatar government of this TV channel and its refusal to impose censorship on its work have caused irritation and antagonism on the part of repressive regimes. As a result, the "Al Jazeera" has become a powerful ideological weapon and a means of exerting pressure to bear on the neighboring countries.
At the beginning of the 2010s certain negative trends in the policy of the Qatar emir became evident, stemming from his great ambitiousness and thirst for power and the desire to turn Doha into one of the main centers of the Greater Middle East, taking a place for itself between Egypt and the financial might of Saudi Arabia. The Qatar ruler has decided to use the "Arab spring," which was largely financed by him, for he supported the Islamists in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and other countries. He decided to turn the traditional course of his country to support security to a dangerous rivalry for leadership between the heads of the Middle East countries. Such active participation in regional conflicts proved counterproductive and led to a serious exacerbation of Qatar's relations with several influential countries of the region. Bagrat Sairanyan emphasizes that it is too early to give an assessment of such energetic activity of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa, which has definite ups and downs. He is an original and controversial figure in the Arab history of the late 20th - early 21st century. On June 25, 2013, the 61-year-old emir unexpectedly abdicated in favor of his 33-year-old son Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The new monograph by V. Isayev and A. Filonik analyzes the economic changes, which occurred in Qatar during the reign
of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, concludes Bagrat Seiranyan.
Author of the abstract - Valentina Schensnovich
2017.04.008. ANDREI FEDORCHENKO. FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION: PROBLEM OF SUCCESSION OF POWER IN ARABIAN MONARCHIES // "Ezhegodnik IMI" Moscow State University of Foreign Affairs, Moscow, 2015, № 1. P. 165-179.
Keywords: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, UAE, monarchy, succession of power.
Andrei Fedorchenko,
Dr.Sc. (Economics), Professor, the Middle East Studies Center,
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
There are absolute monarchies in three Arabian countries (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar), in Kuwait and Bahrain there is dualistic constitutional monarchy, in the UAE usually reckoned in constitutional monarchies there is a peculiar symbiosis of republic form of government and an absolute monarchy writes the author.
Arabian monarchies (excluding Bahrain) still stay out of Arab "thaw." Authorities of these countries could preserve political and social stability based on combination of three factors. First, export revenues of hydrocarbons gave an opportunity to eliminate real and potential social protest hotbeds. Secondly, the regimes supported friendly relations with conservative religious sectors and leaders of tribal clans. Thirdly, national security was guaranteed for all Western countries primarily the USA.
