The death of Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah comes at a difficult time for the small Gulf country. Economic crisis, disputes within the ruling family and of course Covid-19 mean that the Emir’s successor takes power at a critical moment.
Geoffrey Martin
If Saudi Arabia and its allies can’t get their recalcitrant neighbour to budge, does that mean Qatar won the blockade crisis? It’s a tempting conclusion, but the reality of interconnectedness in the Gulf paints a different picture.
Rooted in history, the war of words that has erupted in the Gulf between Qatar and its neighbours is an intensely personal affair for the Gulf ruling families, writes Geoffrey Martin.