Arab Digest Weekly Podcasts
Just a little over a year after they were signed, Arab Digest editor William Law talks with Gulf State Anaytics CEO Giorgio Cafiero about the impact and implications of the Abraham Accords, the Trump-engineered deal that saw Israel triple the number of Arab states with whom it has diplomatic relations at no cost to itself but at a very great cost to the cause of Palestinian statehood.
Arab Digest editor William Law is in conversation with Dr Ali Bakir, a MENA region geopolitical and security analyst at Qatar University’s Ibn Khaldoon Center for Humanities and Social Sciences. On the table is a discussion about the UAE’s diplomatic initiative in Syria as ‘Little Sparta’ curbs its military adventures in favour of soft power approaches aimed at relationship building with, amongst others, Iran.
Newlines Institute senior analyst Rasha Al Aqeedi joins Arab Digest editor William Law to discuss the assassination attempt on the Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. After an election that was a serious setback for parties that back armed militias will the attempt to kill the prime minister usher in a new wave of violence or will his efforts at de-escalation prevail?
Arab Digest editor William Law is in conversation with the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Libya expert Tarek Megerisi. With a presidential vote slated for 24 December they discuss whether or not it will happen, who is likely to win if it does and what’s at stake for Libya if an election that lacks basic principles of fairness and transparency goes ahead.
Arab Digest editor William Law talks with Michael Stephens, Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute about the UK’s role in the Middle East after Brexit. They discuss the need for fresh thinking among policy makers and explore challenges and opportunities in a region where Britain has historical, political and economic ties.
Palestinian author, activist and human rights attorney Jonathan Kuttab joins Arab Digest editor William Law for a conversation that focuses on a radical rethink of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Kuttab has abandoned any hope for two states and is now calling for a single entity that recognises the rights and obligations of both sides.
In the wake of elections in Qatar and Iraq, Kais Saied’s increasingly autocratic moves in Tunisia and Joe Biden’s apparent indifference to human rights abuses, Arab Digest editor William Law is in conversation with Amy Hawthorne deputy director of research at the Washington-based Project on Middle East Democracy.
Arab Digest editor William Law’s guest is Airwars’ Emily Tripp. Her organisation tracks civilian casualties in conflict zones. Airwars has just released a report on civilian harm caused by Russian airstrikes in the Syrian conflict, a war that is receiving little coverage even as the death toll of civilians steadily mounts, with the Russians escaping scrutiny and dodging accountability for actions that constitute war crimes.
Arab Digest editor William Law is joined by the Egyptian writer and analyst Maged Mandour. Their conversation focusses on the repressive dictatorship that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his generals are building in Egypt. His is a regime rooted in a fascistic, militarist nationalism that continues to hold strong appeal, even as more and more Egyptians fall ever deeper into poverty.
The Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Kristian Coates Ulrichsen joins Arab Digest editor William Law in a conversation about how Qatar is renewing independent foreign policy initiatives that are gaining pace as the small Gulf state plays a pivotal role, assisting Washington in smoothing out the rough edges from Joe Biden’s abrupt and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
