Two Years On: The Impact of the Qatar Crisis

Discussing whether we are witnessing the demise of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the US’s potential role in brokering an agreement, and what might happen in the lead up to Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Explainer Video Updated 22 October 2020 18 minute watch

Two Years On: The Impact of the Qatar Crisis

Jane Kinninmont

Policy and Impact Director, European Leadership Network

Since 2017 Qatar has been subject to a boycott by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt (The Arab Quartet), creating a deep rift in a region already beset by civil wars and insurgencies.

Jane Kinninmont and Neil Quilliam explore reasons behind the rift and how the boycott has created ripple effects across the Middle East and Horn of Africa, and has divided the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), hitherto one of the only functioning regional organizations in the Arab world.

Read the research paper