Exploring the Relationship between Interests and Principles in Foreign Policy: A Case of Qatar

The purpose of this research study is to clarify the relationship between principles and interests in international relations as a part of political ethics with a focus on the foreign policy of the state of Qatar. The research will define key concepts such as foreign policy, utilitarianism, (Idealism), and pragmatism then the research will analyze the Qatari policies towards three issues within and around the Arab spring period. Afterwards the research will attempt to assess whether Qatar is more concerned with principles or seeks interests over principles. A part of the thesis will cover principles and interests in modern political ethics. The relationship is then further applied to the state of Qatar with a focus on contemporary policies from 1995 to the present (2020). The research is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is the introduction, which provides an overview of Islam and principles and Qatar and principles as well as providing a hypothesis, research questions addressed and methodology used to draft this research. The second chapter is the literature review, which discusses principles and interests in political ethics and presents the main moral doctrines in political ethics such as idealism and utilitarianism. This section also presents the position of Qatar’s foreign policies within this doctrinal map, it further highlights Qatar’s foreign policies beyond pragmatism and attempts to follow principles and policies on different matters, showcasing the challenges Qatar had to face in this regard. The third chapter discusses three case studies in particular with regards to Qatar’s foreign policy, which are: Qatar and the Palestinian issue, Qatar and the Arab spring, and Qatar and the 2017 blockade. The final chapter of the thesis is the conclusion, which offers an overall perspective on Qatari foreign policy based on the literature review.