Qatar's Peace-Making Position.

Qatar is a small fish stuck between giants - Iran and Saudi Arabia - as well as between conflicting sectarian ideologies and geo-political ambitions like the Shi'ite Ja'farism and Turko-Persian background of the Iranian theocracy and the Sunni Wahhabism of the Saudi royal regime and its leadership of the Muslim world. These are inter-acting or competing with Ba'thist pan-Arabism in Syria and a tense relationship between an Islamist AKP government and secular Kamalism in Turkey. In addition, there is the Neo-Salafi movement al-Qaeda of 'Usama bin Laden, which uses Qatar's al-Jazeera TV network as an outlet to the world, as opposed to the US-led war against global terror. Another addition is an Israeli representative office in Doha. So Qatar tries to balance all those interests with the interests of the US-led alliance in the region, of which Qatar is a member. But Qatar plays its balancing role as a peace-maker, a role acceptable to most (if not all) of these powers.

As this tiny GCC state has emerged at the forefront of regional diplomacy, President Assad, whose opponents call his 'Alawite/Ba'thist regime a "family dictatorship", now wants Qatar to mediate between Syria and Saudi Arabia. With Saudi Arabia and Iran aligned behind rival players, Qatar is uniquely suited to mediate the crisis between Riyadh and Damascus which has been deep since Aug. 15, 2006, when Assad called Sunni Arab rulers including King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia "half men". The Saudis have never forgiven Assad for that insult, as has been the case of President Husni Mubarak of Egypt, Jordanian King Abdullah-II, and other Sunni Arab rulers.

In a highly factionalised Middle East, where the US and Iran and their allies are struggling for dominance, Qatar is in a position of having a foot in both camps. Being a key ally of Washington, hosting the al-Udeid Air Base, the largest US military facility in the region, it enjoys economic ties to Israel, and Israeli officials often participate in meetings in Doha. Yet Qatar is the closest Arab friend of Damascus, investing in major Syrian property projects and providing diplomatic support. President Assad and his wife, Asma, are often seen wandering through Doha's gleaming shopping malls as guests of Emir Shaikh Hamad.

A thumb-shaped peninsula jutting into the Persian Gulf, Qatar possesses the third-largest gas deposits in the world and last year became the world's largest LNG exporter. Oil and gas amount to more than 60% of it GDP, making Qatar one of the higher per-capita income states in the world. While most other GCC states fret about Iran's regional ambitions, Qatar enjoys genial relations with the theocracy. In December, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad became the first Iranian head of state to attend the GCC's annual summit in Doha.

Despite its limited size, Qatar is rising in international prominence as a convener of vital conferences, such as the World Trade Organisation's Doha Round and the Asian Games. Qatar's non-aligned role in regional politics may be a survival mechanism in an unforgiving corner of the world, given its enormous oil and gas riches. But it may also signal a shift from the polarisation of the region during the tenure of President Bush towards a greater emphasis on negotiation and compromise, with Turkey brokering initial peace moves between Israel and Syria. As mediators, Qatar and Turkey are trying to find accommodation between players previously considered as either good or evil.

It is not all about hard politics and diplomacy. Qatar pioneered a new era in Arab TV news coverage with al-Jazeera, the influential pan-Arab channel. Since its launch in 1996, it has broken taboos with its critical coverage of Middle East affairs, often earning outraged accusations of bias from the US and the anger of Arab regimes. Al-Jazeera's broadcasts soured relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. And although fences between the two GCC states have been mended, many Qataris are unapologetic for incurring the displeasure of their powerful neighbour.

In 2004 the Qatar Foundation, a non-profit educational organisation, hosted the first Doha Debates, a televised political programme which has since become the top-rated show on BBC World. The format of the debates relies on four speakers - two on each side - who argue for and against a motion before an audience of 350 people. Hosted by Tim Sebastian, a former BBC journalist, the debates have tackled some controversial issues, including whether the time has come to talk to al-Qaeda and whether the Palestinians should give up the right of return to their former homes in Israel. Last month, the Doha Debates asked if the Sunni-Shi'ite conflict was damaging Islam's reputation as a religion of peace. The subject generated lively arguments from the four panelists and especially from the mainly youthful audience. The final vote went against the motion. The success of the series has led to a spin-off national debating league, inaugurated this year with 20 teams from schools and colleges participating.