This chapter synthesizes the evolution of social policy in Qatar, tracing its development from informal tribal support networks to a comprehensive state-led welfare system. An analysis of various policy sectors, including education, healthcare, employment, and social security, illuminates the complex interplay between traditional values, modernization pressures, and economic diversification goals. This chapter posits that Qatar’s welfare model is a hybrid system that combines elements of rentier state welfare provision with developmental state strategies. This chapter identifies key policy development trends, such as the increase in state capacity, the shift toward rights-based approaches, and the challenge of striking a balance between tradition and modernization. This study combines different theories, such as historical institutionalism, modernization theory, and developmental state theory, to demonstrate how welfare state development differs in a resource-rich Gulf state that is becoming more modern very quickly.