Summary: after years of decline, the production of oil and gas in Algeria could be given a strong boost by the decision of the Algerian authorities to allow the exploration of the country’s shale resources.
One year on from the launch of Putin’s ‘special military operation’ Arab Digest editor William Law invites the New Lines Institute’s Caroline Rose back to discuss how the war is impacting the Middle East diplomatically and politically and what a frontline attritional stalemate will mean for America’s relations in the region.
Summary: authoritarian regimes continue a relentless campaign against independent media with little or no criticism from their Western allies.
Summary: Algerian authorities unleash a campaign against rainbow symbols; the Algerian LGBTQ+ community continues to be subjected to discrimination, abuse and sometimes violence.
Summary: 2023 promises to be a very difficult year for many MENA countries with only the Gulf states escaping the long shadow of a deep economic slowdown.
Summary: Trump’s granting Morocco’s claim to the Western Sahara looked a clever stroke and a big win for Israel but the road to final diplomatic recognition has hit a bump or two.
Summary: with candid and often brutal honesty the Lebanese writer Amal Ghandour digs deep into her own past, all the while excavating the landscape of a failed state, seeking answers for why Lebanon has abandoned its people to the invidious greed of an entrenched elite.
Sami Hamdi, the CEO of The International Interest, joins Arab Digest editor William Law for a wide-ranging, fast-paced and thought-provoking review of a tumultuous year for the MENA region as alliances shifted and fissures emerged with new tensions flaring up even as old ones eased. The podcast wraps up with Sami’s take on what to look for in 2023.
Summary: the lingering collapse of Tunisia’s efforts to secure a viable democracy was sped along by the failure to carry out reforms in the security sector.
Summary: will the energy price rise caused by Putin’s war in Ukraine allow Algeria to return to a position of power and prominence in North Africa and the wider Middle East?
