In a surprise move at rather an odd hour of 8 am last Tuesday, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani made a televised address to the nation announcing his abdication in favour of his fourth son, 33-year-old Sheikh Tamim bin Khalifa al-Thani. The Qatari press described the peaceful transition of power as "a first and unprecedented decision," even though Sheikh Hamad himself had ascended to power in a bloodless coup against his father. It was an unexpected development given that the outgoing Emir still commanded enormous influence, and at 61 was much younger than some of his regional contemporaries.
He had turned a small sleepy nation of less than two million into an economic powerhouse with almost non-existent unemployment, provision of health, education and housing facilities for all, and a significant player on the international scene. Under him, Qatar also established the Arab world's first top class and hugely popular television network, Al Jazeera. And the Qatari people enjoyed social freedoms.
Yet the emirate remains an absolute monarchy where political dissent has no place. Those who dare to criticise the ruling family are dealt with an iron hand, like poet Mohammad bin al Dheeb al Ajami who was given life term last year for writing a poem about "sheikhs playing on their PlayStations." The change could be a well-thought-out response to a pro-democracy wave sweeping through the Arab countries. Not much is known, however, about the thoughts of the new young Emir. Some of his first actions included removal of Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al Thani, his father's powerful prime minister who also held the portfolio of foreign minister, replacing him with the minister of state for internal affairs, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa-al-Thani. It remains to be seen whether that is reflective of a readiness for political reform, which could begin with the acceptance of two outstanding demands for constitutional amendments: first for holding parliamentary elections, and the second that the new parliament rather than the Emir appoint the prime minister.
But little is expected to change in the foreign policy arena. In his first speech Sheikh Tamim said his country seeks to preserve relations with all governments and countries, "and we respect all sincere, active and effective political directions in the region, but we do not support one side over the other." His father too had tried to strike a balance between vying forces, on the one hand actively backing or participating in Western interventions in Iraq, Libya and Syria and on the other hand expressing strong commitment to the Palestinian cause and reaching out to the Muslim Brotherhood. He went on to aver that Qatar "rejects divisions in Arab societies on sectarian lines." That though does not mean Qatar would distance itself from its previous interventionist stance on Syria, where the other Sunni monarchies are backing Sunni extremist factions dominating the opposition. Notably, the US is also wary now of sectarian extremists, and has ruled out a military solution for Syria, calling instead for a settlement based on last year's Geneva peace plan.