The date of the World Cup is highly significant. The year 2022 is no small leap into the future. Given today’s hyper-connected world where long-accepted realities seem to become obsolete at record speed, Qatar’s focus on preparation for an event nine-years away is a bold statement that things in 2022 will not be significantly different than they are today — at least not when it comes to politics.
The example of how Qatar implements oil wealth to create a national narrative, shows that the financial transaction between the state and citizenry involves more than the state merely handing out checks for the citizens’ tacit approval.