With the second greatest natural gas resources in the region, Qatar's economic clout is considerable. At the same time the Qatar story is replete with paradoxes: the state hosts the Al-Jazeera media network, an influential expression of Arab nationalism and anti-Americanism, while also hosting the principal US naval base in the region.

Includes maps of: Persian Gulf; Qatar.

Qatar : a new model of modernity? -- Qatar : geography of a near frontier -- The origins of Qatar : between 'emergence' and 'creation' -- Creating social realities : Qatar and the British in the twentieth century -- Sheikh Khalifa and the enigma of independence -- Sheikh Hamad and the future of Qatar -- Qatar's political economy : a classic rentier state? -- The emir and the exercise of authority in Qatar -- Conclusions--change or continuity?