Isolating Qatar: The Gulf Rift, 2017-2021

In June 2017, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE announced a comprehensive boycott of Qatar. Diplomatic ties were severed, trade was banned, and airspace was closed. Qatari nationals were expelled from all four countries. It seemed that disaster loomed for this small Gulf nation. But not so. Instead, in an unexpected turn of events, the Qatari government deftly used its enormous wealth and extensive reserves of soft power to nullify most of the effects of what came to be known as the...