The crisis which was triggered by a set of sanctions imposed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt followed by several Arab states to isolate Qatar has strong regional implications beyond the Gulf. The pressure that has been exerted on Qatar is not an isolated effort; it is a part of a larger scale planning to shape the future order of the region. It is not a new effort either, as Qatar was targeted with sanctions by the Gulf countries before, lately in 2014. An ardent supporter of the anti-status quo movements during the so-called Arab Spring, Qatar drew the ire of some Arab states who have high stakes in the preservation of the regional status quo.

Qatar, a small peninsula-state with rich gas and oil resources, pursued a somewhat independent and consistent policy of supporting anti-status quo movements starting from the Tunisian revolution to Libya, Egypt, Yemen, and Syria. In addition to supporting these movements, the Al-Jazeera Network-the effective tool of the Qatari soft powerplayed a crucial role in opening up the media to the voice of the opposition across the region and in internationalizing the locals’ aspirations. The Muslim Brotherhood and its regional offshoots have not been the sole actors of change in the region; but they remained at the epicenter of the anti-status quo demonstrations and revolutions. Qatar supported non-Brotherhood groups as well. Yet, Qatar came to be identified with the Brotherhood and other Islamist political movements. The declared