Bridging East and West: lessons learned from the Qatari experience

Abstract

Qatar’s soft power ranges from humanitarian and development assistance to international investments, sports, culture, and organising international conferences and forums. Qatar has a unique mix of soft power, based on a foreign policy based on preventive diplomacy, with a wide level of acceptance regionally and globally. The country benefits from oil and gas revenues that have strengthened Qatar’s global role and allowed investments in soft power tools. In this article, we will evaluate the most important soft power tools of Qatar, which have enabled the country to strengthen its global presence in areas such as the economy, investments, and sports. Additionally, these tools can be used to support Romania’s efforts to become a cultural and civilisational bridge between the West and the East. Qatar, which has begun to play an important role on the international stage, can support Romania in this regard through soft power tools, both by acting as a mediator in conflict resolution and by promoting development and peace. Moreover, Qatar can support Romania through its privileged position in the energy sector, considering its substantial natural gas reserves.