Emboldened yet vulnerable: the changing foreign policies of Qatar and Saudi Arabia

The Arab spring offered Qatar and Saudi Arabia an opportunity to raise their international profiles and shape events throughout the Middle East and North Africa. They both sought to assert their interests through proactive, but often diverging, foreign policies directed to expand their influence, balance rivals and shield their respective regimes from political turmoil.

In 2014, however, there was little to show for their efforts and in different ways both felt more vulnerable, since political uncertainty had been growing and security had been deteriorating across the region. As a result, Qatar and Saudi Arabia were likely to revert to more cautious foreign policies.