Qatar Blocked: The Strategy of Response with Special Reference to Economy

The aim of the research is to analyse the impact of the blockade and examining the economy and ethical response of Qatar to the blockade. It is mixed research that integrates qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative data has been collected using semi-structured interviews from samples chosen from various Ministries and Regulatory Authorities in Qatar. These include Ministry of Interior, Qatar Central Bank, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and others. Thematic analysis has been used to analyse secondary qualitative data. Secondary quantitative data has been collected from sources such as World Development Indicators and website of Moody’s. Quantitative analysis has been performed using trend analysis. Real GDP, interest rate, inflation rate, unemployment rate, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports, foreign exchange rate, and credit ratings of Qatar have been used as measures to examine the economic performance during the blockade. It is found that Qatar responded to the blockade technically and ethically and followed guidelines provided by Islamic Ethics and the Constitution of Qatar. Qatar played role to resolve the conflict peacefully and imposed no restrictions on currency, banks, or nationals from the countries supporting the blockade. Trend analysis shows that the economy of Qatar remained resilient to the effects of the blockade. Real GDP and LNG exports continued to increase during the blockade. Unemployment rate decreased during the pandemic. Qatar successfully managed the pegged exchange rate of QAR against USD. However, the global pandemic of Covid-19 affected the real GDP, LNG exports, and unemployment rate negatively in 2020. The ethical response of Qatar prepared the economy to deal with unforeseen events such as the blockade and pandemic in a more effective manner. Qatar maintained a high credit rating and showed continuous improvement in economic growth during the blockade.