There are quite a
few countries in the Middle East that have put forward practical diplomacy.
Since disputes are so frequent and the conflict structure between countries is
complicated, the calculation to find a balance point is in operation without
being turned away from other countries as much as possible, standing on either
side. These countries also mediate conflicts between Israel, Palestine, Israel,
and Iran, and Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi
Arabia are representative.
In particular, Qatar has grown its presence over the past five years by
mediating various conflicts within and outside the region under the banner of
pragmatism, adjusting the crisis phase. It successfully brokered peace
negotiations between Trump's first-term government and the Taliban in 2020 and
helped the remaining U.S. civilians there escape after the Taliban returned to
power in 2021 and U.S. troops withdrew in extreme chaos. Immediately after the
outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, gas supplies were increased at the
behest of Europe, allaying market instability caused by the Russian gas vacuum.
In 2024, it provided an arbitration channel with Switzerland in the process of
transferring about $6 billion of Iranian funds, which had been frozen in South
Korea, to humanitarian funds. Even after the Israel-Hamas War broke out in
October 2023, he served as a key mediator in the ceasefire negotiations.
Qatar's diplomatic achievements are completely dependent on pragmatism to get
along with anyone. Qatar is a representative pro-U.S. country that has the
largest U.S. military base in the region, and at the same time has Hamas and
Taliban political offices calling for anti-American and anti-Israel. It also
maintains a close channel of dialogue with Iran and is providing great help to
Iran's economy suffering from sanctions. Of course, energy, advanced
technology, and security cooperation are actively continuing with China. Behind
maintaining such conflicting relationships at the same time is a wealth of royal
finances based on enormous natural gas imports. In particular, the Qatar
Foundation is famous for continuing cooperative relationships through long-term
donations to major educational institutions and think tank communities in the
United States. So, the Doha Forum, an annual international conference hosted by
Qatar's foreign ministry, features a fun scene in which former U.S. and
European officials and experts participate with Iranians or Taliban
representatives.
Qatar was shocked by two missile attacks from neighboring countries this year.
It was the first time since the founding of the country. In June, Iran directly
attacked a U.S. military base in Qatar in retaliation for the U.S. strike on
its nuclear facilities. Immediately after Iran's attack, a video of people
running around in shopping malls in downtown Doha spread, clearly showing the
fear of the time. Qatar was blocked by Arab Gulf brethren Saudi Arabia, the
UAE, and Bahrain in 2017 for maintaining good relations with Iran.
Nevertheless, Iran violated Qatar's sovereignty by using only the justification
for retaliation against the U.S., and Qatar strongly protested. In September,
Israel struck the Hamas political office outside Doha in the name of removing
the Hamas leadership. According to the announcement, Israel conducted an attack
by bypassing U.S. air defenses, and Qatar fiercely protested. The United States
expressed regret, but it seemed difficult to appease Qatar's shock and unrest.
The fact that Qatar was bombed twice shows how weak the conventional wisdom
that practical diplomacy is safe is. The international order and security
environment can be reversed in an instant, and diplomacy that wins everyone's
trust in harsh international politics is difficult to exist. In particular,
many countries are forced to make clear choices as strategic competition
between the U.S. and China intensifies and the offensive moves of authoritarian
solidarity, which is tied to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea (CRINK). A
firm alliance based on clear principles can serve as a shield for national
interests as a nation sandwiched between belligerent countries. At this point,
Qatar's pragmatic diplomacy faltered.
*
The view expressed herein was published on December 30 in Maeil Business
Newspaper and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Asan Institute
for Policy Studies.
