Summary: May’s parliamentary elections saw candidates for change emerge as winners and Hezbollah and its allies sustain significant losses so could this be the signal that the country’s long descent into economic chaos may finally be coming to a close?
Summary: as the captagon trade continues to boom in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, its security and geopolitical implications have become harder to ignore.
Summary: the election of a new president ends months of political chaos; the UN raises the alarm over an impending famine; US troops return to prevent an “African Afghanistan”.
Summary: as temperatures rise the impact of climate change on the Middle East and North Africa grows ever more dire and the challenge for the region’s leaders to work together to head off a climate catastrophe ever more urgent.
Summary: as the war in Ukraine enters an ever more dangerous phase, MENA states continue to take a fence-sitting posture that keeps their options open and avoids annoying Putin.
Summary: the media landscape in MENA shows a harsh story of journalists jailed, criticism silenced and authoritarians in absolute control.
Summary: while avoiding uncomfortable or unrewarding topics Masrour Barzani talks a good game about solving Iraq’s woes but it is one that is short on detail and long on rhetoric.
Summary: Arab states are reluctant to pick sides in the Ukraine/Russia war because they have military and economic ties to both countries.
Summary: as the war in Ukraine continues and a massive column of armoured vehicles heads toward Kyiv, fears are growing that the Russian president is prepared to inflict massive civilian harm in order to achieve his objectives.
Arab Digest editor William Law is joined by Chatham House’s Renad Mansour. Their conversation begins with the impact of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine on Iraq and other MENA countries who may find themselves forced to take sides. They then explore the current challenges the Iraqi people face in a country where politically sanctioned corruption flourishes at a rampant pace.
