Nasty regional rivalry? What triggered Qatar-Gulf dispute & why it matters

UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, severed their diplomatic ties with Qatar recently

Gulf Arab countries summon images of oil-fueled wealth, luxurious malls and strong Muslim identity. Nasty regional rivalry, diplomatic ruptures and panicked citizens stockpiling groceries don’t usually figure.

So why have Gulf states Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen, as well as non-Gulf Egypt, dramatically ruptured relations with tiny Qatar? What will this international crisis mean for the Middle East and the broader world?

What is the dispute about?

The Arab Gulf spans diverse countries. On one end of the scale is fractured, war-torn Yemen. Then come the tourist destination and politically unassertive Oman,