Haya Al Noaimi (Northwestern Qatar), Narratives of Protection: Insights into Gendered Power Structures and Statecraft in Qatar and the UAE

Nearly one decade ago, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates implemented mandatory military service, requiring all male citizens to serve in their respective national armies. By labeling conscripted men as ‘Protectors of the Nation’ (Homat Al Watan), both conscription projects leverage military service to instill a radically transformed understanding of gendered citizenship. This decision marked a significant shift from their previous approach, which relied heavily on foreign soldiers to supplement their armed forces due to a shortage of national soldiers. It would seem reasonable to believe that these conscription initiatives were created to maintain capable standing armies for either state. However, achieving this goal seems unlikely, given that citizens only make up 12% of the population of Qatar and 11% of the UAE. Despite this, conscription into the military continues to this day. What are the reasons for its continuation? And what outcome does it produce if not for protecting the state?

This talk interrogates the commonly held assumption that conscription, as an obligation of citizenship, imparts the responsibility of protecting a nation to its citizens. Instead, it traces how indigenous subjects once practiced protection as a mode of power-sharing in the pre-modern period, and how its meaning was later distorted and diminished through the British’s imposition of an external form of protection over the region in 1820. The talk challenges modern Emirati and Qatari notions of ‘security’, analyzing instead moments where the provision of protection operates as a ‘racket’ in and through nation-building processes. Gender, acting as a vehicle and crucial link, can help us understand how narratives of protection translate into political and security conditions and why they become weaponized by the state whenever the trajectory of state development is faced with potential disruption.

To register for the seminar, use the link below:

https://Universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYqdu-vqTgpHtAgvyTN4emTRyVJjDRhNCJW