Middle East and North Africa

Accusations of foreign interference in domestic affairs was a dominant theme throughout the 2010s. This was no less true in the Persian Gulf. Beginning in 2013, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain charged neighboring Qatar with meddling in their internal affairs and other infractions to their sovereignty. But what began as a quiet disagreement among allies burst onto global headlines when in 2017 the four countries abruptly terminated their diplomatic and economic relations with Qatar.