The Influence of American Foreign Policy on Qatar’s External Behavior

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the influence of United States foreign policy on Qatar’s external behavior as an explicit example of the relationship between great and small states to predict the future trajectories of such influence based on an investigation of the tools and determinants of both foreign policies.

Design/ methodology/ approach

The rational choice approach is used based on which decision-makers are considered rational and purposeful in their actions, and consequently, state behavior will be rational towards other states or events. The Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) is provided to explain how states respond to external threats according to internal factors and to the most influential large states in the international system.

Findings

All the successive American administration’s foreign policy towards the GCC in general, and Qatar in particular, is constant despite their different implementation mechanisms. The close relationship between Qatar and the U.S. has not prevented Qatar from developing its own foreign policy, which is activist, independent, and provides economic and political gains, besides security. Qatar remains an important ally to the U.S., due to its gas reserves, being a source of U.S. energy supplies and a strategic military base of operations, and a site of U.S. foreign policy.

Originality/ value

The key contribution is to investigate the direct influence of U.S. foreign policy on Qatar from the perspective of international relations. In addition, refute the realist theory which argues that small states participate less in international issues, and have limited foreign policy due to their limited capabilities, compared to great powers.