Qatar, a sandy peninsula in the Persian Gulf, is more active and influential than any other such small state, with the exception of the Vatican City. However both have much in common including absolutist rule, a large number of guest workers and impressive museums.

But that’s where the parallels end. As an exporter of oil and gas, Qatar has become the richest country in the world, if the gross domestic product per head of the roughly ten per cent of inhabitants who are real Qatari nationals is anything to go by. Broadcaster Al-Jazeera and its reports from the Islamic world are valued by the West but seen in the Arab world as a mouthpiece for the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar is where the US military force for the region has its headquarters but at the same time has never broken its relationship to the Taliban. Opinions of Qatar include both condemnation and admiration. Middle East expert Nicolas Fromm gives a vivid and satisfyingly current, unbiased portrait of a nation undergoing big changes.