The families that rule the northern Arabian Gulf states are, almost without exception, descended from migrants from the central region of the Arabian peninsula in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Al-Khalifas, who today govern Bahrain, also established a settlement on the small peninsula directly opposite the island – modern-day Qatar. The Al-Khalifas were unable to hold on to their mainland possession, however, and were displaced by the Al-Thani clan. The Al-Thanis were part of the original wave of migration, but little else is known about their origins. Although the Al-Khalifas had agreed a treaty with the British in 1868, this did not prevent Qatar being absorbed into the Turkish Ottoman empire – then undergoing a brief resurgence during a period of otherwise chronic decline – in 1872.

After the Ottoman collapse during World War I, Qatar once again came under British suzerainty. The British recognised the Al-Thanis as rulers, providing military protection in exchange for control of Qatar’s external affairs under treaties signed in 1916 and 1934. British troops were moved out of the Gulf in 1968 as part of the ‘East of Suez’ withdrawals. Plans to enhance Qatar’s security through federations with Bahrain and the Trucial States (now the United Arab Emirates) failed and in 1971 Qatar assumed full independence under the rule of Sheikh Ahmad.

Rivalries within the Al-Thani family immediately after independence culminated in a coup by the chief minister, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani. Under Khalifa’s regime, Qatar has used its substantial oil revenues to develop a modern infrastructure, health and education services. It has allied itself closely with Saudi Arabia on regional and international issues (see below). Qatar was also one of the instigators of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), inaugurated in 1981, which has become the principal regional trade and security bloc. The security aspect of the Council’s work has received the greater attention during the last 15 years.

Qatar played a low-key role in the Iran-Iraq war, generally on the side of Iraq, and was an active participant in the multinational alliance assembled to liberate Kuwait in 1990. During the early 1990s, the Emir adopted several independent initiatives in his conduct of foreign policy: there were burgeoning commercial relations with Israel and welcome support for American strategic objectives in the region (see below); yet Qatar was one of the few governments to maintain relations of any kind with the Taleban regime in Afghanistan. Around the same time, Qatar became involved in a number of territorial disputes with both Bahrain (over the oil rich Hawar islands) and Saudi Arabia, over the position of the border between the two countries.

The Emir’s conduct of Qatari foreign policy during this period undoubtedly exacerbated the divisions within the ruling family. These came to a head in 1995 when the Emir was deposed by his son, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, in a bloodless palace coup. Sheikh Hamad has subsequently embarked on a very gradual process of democratisation: a woman was appointed to a ministerial post, and municipal elections were held for the first time in 1999. In 2003, a national referendum backed the Emir’s plan for a national parliament. However, his announcement of his son, Prince Jassem, as his anointed successor, illustrates that the Emir has no intention of relinquishing the al-Thanis’ control over the country. (Jassem has since been supplanted in his father’s favours by his brother, Prince Tamim.)

The territorial disputes with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were both settled, with international mediation, in 2001. These were relatively minor matters compared to the Emir’s decision in late 2002 to allow the Americans to establish their main regional command centre at Sayliyah and expand the airbase at al-Udeid. The American request was prompted by increasing unease on the part of the Saudis who had hosted the centre during the 1991 Iraq war. Qatar has duly played a vital role in the American campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Executive power is held exclusively by the Emir, a member of the Al-Thani family, which has ruled Qatar since independence. The Emir serves as both head of state and head of government. There is no independent legislature or political parties. Some decision-making is devolved to a Council of Ministers appointed by the Emir. A 30-strong advisory council with limited powers was created in 1972. The Emir's democrtisation plan envisages a 45 member parliament, of whom 30 will be popularly elected and 15 appointed by him.