Can money buy you anything? An investigation of how Qatargate has influenced the relationship between Qatar and the European Union
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2024-07-11
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en
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This thesis investigates the impact of the corruption scandal named Qatargate on the relationship between Qatar/the Gulf States and the European Union (EU). By looking at the literature on crises, reputation-building, and the EU as an actor in international relations, it is hypothesised that Qatargate did lead to the EU taking a position that is more normatively oriented. By using the method of process tracing, this thesis tries to understand the causal mechanism that lies underneath this hypothesised process. The causal mechanism consists of four parts that describe how the discovery of Qatargate lead to a change in behaviour. Based on the data, it can be concluded that the relation did change, but not as heavily as expected. EU institutions did propose a plan that was aimed at restoring credibility and reputation, which included stronger rules on ethics and integrity. However, despite these efforts, this thesis finds out that the foundation of the relationship between the EU and Qatar remains intact. This study, therefore, underlines the complexity of the field of international relations and the resilience of international cooperation in a complex geopolitical world.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen