Qatar, a tiny pinprick of a country half way up the Gulf, sticking out like a thumb from the Arabian peninsula, and now reckoned to be the richest country in the world.

Its total population is around 1.6m, but of those, only about 250,000 are Qatari. The rest are foreign workers who keep the place going, build its gleaming high-rise offices and hotels, and staff its service industries.

Qatar is awash in oil and natural gas, and if you ask why there have been no protests in Qatar, the answer you get is: `Because there`s no reason to protest.`

On the other hand, even if jobs are not a problem in a country with an economic growth rate approaching 20% a year, Qatar is still an absolute monarchy, with a ruler, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, whose family have run the place since the mid-1800s.

So why are Qataris not demanding democracy, in the same way as so many others are elsewhere in the Arab world?

The reply I get from a Qatari student is simple enough: `If you have everything you need, who needs democracy?`

But wouldn`t they at least like a public debate over the Emir`s decision to send Qatari warplanes to join the Nato-led military operation in Libya?

There is no need, I am told, because just about everyone agrees that it is right for Qatar to help fellow-Arabs in their hour of need.

As for the paradox of a country with no semblance of democracy sending warplanes to help people fighting for democracy thousands of miles away - there`s no paradox at all, I am told.

The involvement in Libya is simply designed to help save lives. It has nothing to do with democracy.

Qatar prides itself on its ability to make friends (how many countries can you think of who manage to remain on good terms with both the US and Iran?).

`Brand Qatar` is what some people call it - spend wisely, give generously, and keep your name in the public eye.

And if it helps you to win the right to host the World Cup football tournament in 2022, well, no-one in Qatar is complaining.