The Qatar World Cup: footballing for soft power

As a small state in the global system, Qatar has embarked on a huge undertaking to garner soft power and reputational capital in hosting the 2022 soccer World Cup. The stakes are high, and it has been heavy ploughing so far by the Qataris as they try to harvest the international community’s empathy which is at the core of the natural gas-rich Gulf state’s national security strategy.Published versio