Summary: as he systematically deconstructs the last vestiges of Tunisia’s experiment in democracy many are wondering what the Tunisian president’s end game is or if he has an end game at all.
Francis Ghilès joins Arab Digest editor William Law in this week’s podcast. Francis is a visiting fellow at King’s College London and an expert on North Africa politics, energy and security. He argues that what has been called Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution has failed despite the overthrow of Ben Ali in 2011 because the structure of dictatorship has remained essentially unchanged thus enabling a new dictator, in the shape of Kais Saied, to emerge.
Summary: COP28, scheduled to take place in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December, has invited the Syrian president to attend as the Arab world continues its rehabilitation of a leader once reviled as a pariah.
Summary: as outside players become more engaged and the violence in Sudan gathers pace so too does the risk of a major conflagration that could engulf the region.
Summary: Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, like their fellow GCC members, are showing their determination to kick expats out but their strategies are creating complications, conundrums and contradictions.
Summary: the Syrian president who has conducted a ruthless and bloody war now appears poised to be welcomed back into the Arab fold by fellow dictators and authoritarian ruling families.
Summary: the 2020 Abraham Accords put a formal stamp on relations between Israel and the UAE but the two already had a shared objective, one that operates in a grey zone in the information age using a weaponised narrative to subvert the Arab Spring.
Summary: with the country’s economic crisis deepening and President Kais Saied continuing to chart an erratic and increasingly dictatorial course the World Bank lowers the boom.
Summary: roughly a quarter of countries in the Arab League, including currently suspended member Syria, are suffering from currency depreciation, a US dollar shortage and rising debt levels. Issues are being compounded by surging inflation, while in some countries (in)formal capital controls and sanctions are impacting trade and debt repayments.
As the week in which women are being recognised globally draws to a close Arab Digest is pleased to remind members of our podcast contributions from Arab women over the past year.
