Bachelor Thesis — Small States in World Politics Mike De Wit – S1659650 Supervisor - Dr
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Leiden University Bachelor Thesis — Small States in World Politics Mike de Wit – S1659650 Supervisor - Dr. W.P. Veenendaal Second reader – Dr. F.E. Bakker Amount of words: 8387 Small Gulf States on the Rise A study of the foreign policy differences between Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain Content Introduction ............................................................................................................. 4 Literature review on small states............................................................................. 5 2.1 Classic (neo-) realist approaches on small states ............................................... 5 2.2 Liberalism and small states ............................................................................... 6 2.3 Constructivist approaches on small states ......................................................... 6 Tensions in the Persian Gulf .................................................................................... 7 3.1 The foreign policy differences between Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain ................. 8 Scientific relevance, purpose, and research question ............................................. 9 Expectations ........................................................................................................... 10 Conceptualization & operationalization ............................................................... 11 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 13 Qatar....................................................................................................................... 14 8.1 Historical and regional context ....................................................................... 14 8.2 Change in the foreign policy behaviour .......................................................... 15 8.3 Crisis within the Gulf Cooperation Council .................................................... 15 8.4 Domestic characteristics ................................................................................. 16 8.5 Political characteristics ................................................................................... 16 Kuwait .................................................................................................................... 18 9.1 Historical and regional context ....................................................................... 18 9.2 A turning point for Kuwait ............................................................................. 18 9.3 Contemporary foreign policy of neutrality ...................................................... 18 9.4 Domestic characteristics ................................................................................. 19 9.5 Political characteristics ................................................................................... 20 2 Bahrain ................................................................................................................... 22 10.1 Historical and regional context ..................................................................... 22 10.2 Iran as foreign policy driver .......................................................................... 22 10.3 Domestic characteristics ............................................................................... 23 10.4 Political characteristics ................................................................................. 24 10.5 Domestic threats to the regime ...................................................................... 24 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 26 Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 28 Appendix I .............................................................................................................. 41 3 Introduction In traditional theories of international relations, certain assumptions have been developed about the relationship between smallness, weakness, and limited capacities of states (Browning, 2006, p. 681). One small Gulf state that does not meet the classical assumptions about small state behaviour is the oil and gas abundant State of Qatar. The situation in which the small Gulf state finds itself is unique and the foreign policy behaviour of Qatar cannot be explained with classical theories on small state behaviour. Qatar will be the first Middle Eastern state to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, owns the criticized media network Al Jazeera, holds different sorts of unorthodox diplomatic ties, and causes dissatisfaction among surrounding states (Cooper & Momani, 2011, pp. 118-127). In 2017, several states such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Saudi-Arabia have placed an economic and diplomatic embargo on the tiny state. Qatar refuses to give in to the demands that were made and, remarkable enough, it seems that it has so far largely been able to bypass the effects of the boycott (Jebreili, 2019). Research on the behaviour of small states is limited due to the focus on great states. The deviant foreign policy of the small state of Qatar is especially interesting in comparison to similar small Gulf states such as Kuwait and Bahrain, that are seeming to behave more in accordance to the classical expected behaviour of small states and, ‘’fly low under the radar’’ (Cooper & Momani, 2011, p. 129). Research on the foreign policy behaviour of these three states could contribute to the general understanding of contemporary foreign small state behaviour and could contribute to future insights. Especially since these Gulf states have been modernized rapidly in recent decades and play an increasingly visible role on the international stage (Ulrichsen, 2015). Therefore, this thesis will conduct research into the foreign policy behaviour of Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. First, literature on small state behaviour will be discussed and an introduction of the selected cases will be provided. Subsequently, the scientific relevance, goal and expectations of this thesis will be discussed. The conceptualization, operationalization and methodology are then discussed before the data analysis will be conducted and the findings of this thesis will be examined. 4 Literature review on small states 2.1 Classic (neo-) realist approaches on small states In classical international relations theories, (neo-) realism has a structural emphasis on the behaviour of great states, and small states are hardly included except in terms of security-issues. Small states would have limited capabilities and lack the abilities to defend themselves against great powers. Therefore, small states would be more concerned with external threats. The foreign policies of small states would reflect their constraints in the international environment and would limit foreign policy options (Elman, 1995, pp. 175-178). This would make them act more passive instead of behaving proactive, and the freedom of action of small states would depend on the benevolence of great states (Browning, 2006, p. 670). Small states could not take for granted that their sovereignty would be respected and violations by great states would take place when deemed necessary (Cooper & Shaw, 2009, p. 3). Small states would therefore be strongly affected by greater powerful states in the international system. Precisely because of their limited capabilities, small states would sometimes act more risky than great states, because limitations in organizational capacities and resources would cause an inability to properly analyse the international environment (Hey, 2003, pp. 4-6; East, 1973, p. 576). This vulnerability derives from multiple factors such as geographical location, economic openness, and the dependence on the international system in terms of security (Sutton & Payne, 1993, pp. 582-591). This vulnerability of small states is especially important in the context of globalization that has strengthened the split between strong and weak actors (Cooper & Momani, 2011, p. 115). Because of these vulnerabilities, different theories on security strategies developed. According to Vaicekauskaite (2017), in realism a state could either bandwagon or balance against larger powers. A small state could align itself with a threatening power and become subordinate to a dominant state, a bandwagon strategy, or form an alliance with states to balance a potential threat, a balancing strategy. A state could also try to remain neutral, and later on an alternative to realist theories developed, the theory of strategic hedging. Through this strategy, a state conducts an engagement policy at the same time as a balancing policy. In doing so, the state attempts to avoid one particular strategy and pursues a multilateral policy without confronting either of the threatening states (Vaicekauskaite, 2017, pp. 10-13; Salman & Geeraerts, 2015, p. 2; Goh, 2006). 5 2.2 Liberalism and small states Classical liberalism also perceives the role of small states as less important compared to great states. However, neoliberal institutionalism, challenged (neo-) realism with its focus on security issues by addressing the importance of economics, international organizations, and relative gains instead of the emphasis on absolute gains (Ingebritsen, Neumann, Gstohl, & Beyer, 2006, p. 11). Suggested is that small states could actually have, mostly economic, issue specific influence (Browning, 2006, p. 672). The rise of international institutions gave small