water Article A Rentier State under Blockade: Qatar’s Water-Energy-Food Predicament from Energy Abundance and Food Insecurity to a Silent Water Crisis 1,2, 3, Hussam Hussein * and Laurent A. Lambert y 1 Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR), University of Oxford, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UQ, UK 2 International Agricultural Policy and Environmental Governance, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany 3 Department of Public Policy, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Al Tarfa Street, Zone 70, P.O. Box 200592, Doha, Qatar;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Both authors contributed equally to this manuscript. y Received: 29 February 2020; Accepted: 5 April 2020; Published: 8 April 2020 Abstract: This article investigates Qatar’s sustainability crisis of the high levels of water, electricity and food use. The high levels of consumption have been enabled by Qatar’s significant hydrocarbons wealth, a generous rentier state’s redistributive water governance, and structural dependence on imported food and food production subsidies. The water crisis is silent because it does not generate supply disruptions nor any public discontentment. The geopolitical blockade Qatar is experiencing sparked discussions in policy circles on the best ways to ensure food security, but has only exacerbated its water insecurity. The blockade makes more urgent than ever the necessity to maximize and increase synergies among different sectors. Keywords: desalination; water-energy-food; rentier state; redistributive water governance; Qatar; blockade 1. Introduction Qatar and the other monarchies of the Gulf region are paradoxes. They represent some of the most arid drylands in the world, yet they feature some of the highest levels of water and food consumption per capita in the world [1].