The Rachman Review

Qatar’s soft power play

Qatar’s decision to host the World Cup was mired in controversy from the start but ultimately seems to have paid off, bringing the tiny Gulf emirate new friends and winning over old enemies. Gideon talks to Simeon Kerr, the FT’s Gulf correspondent, about what motivates the emirate to seek to deploy its vast wealth for political ends.Clips: Qatar Airways; France 24 More on this topic:<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/71ada9f4-3948-416a-9f74-47ff21bfa35c" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Qatar wooed EU lawmakers ahead of football World Cup</a><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/669d442e-3274-4a79-a58c-e1ca282c1d84" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How the unlikeliest World Cup ever came to be</a><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6e551dbf-ed22-41ed-9f3a-31d78d301367" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Qatar faces the harsh glare of World Cup publicity</a><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d0893caa-ca60-4ecc-88b4-bb3108346ef4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Qatar World Cup provides rare source of unity to Arab states</a> Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/43832508-d3ff-400b-a51f-3ba8c65d562a" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</a> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Gideon Rachman, the Financial Times chief foreign affairs columnist talks to the decision-makers and thinkers who are shaping world affairs. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.