Summary: with the Saudis and the Houthis continuing to negotiate directly on a peace deal, little thought has been given to the negative implications of such a bilateral agreement for the people of Yemen.
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: 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: a new book on Yemen by Arab Digest contributor Helen Lackner is an invaluable primer on the history, politics and prospects of a country stalked by war.
Arab Digest editor William Law welcomes back Helen Lackner, a leading expert on Yemen to talk about her latest book Yemen: Poverty and Conflict, published by Routledge. The book builds on her profound experience in the country over several decades and is an invaluable primer on its extraordinary history and on current issues that threaten Yemen including the ongoing war, climate change and foreign interference.
Summary: a book just out takes a fresh look at the Benghazi attack that killed the US ambassador to Libya and became a political cudgel rather than an object lesson in the failures of US foreign policy and diplomacy.
Summary: the fighting may have largely ceased but Yemen’s food insecurity increases as humanitarian funding falls and prices for basic commodities continue to rise.
Summary: with the expiration of the truce in war-torn Yemen, full-scale fighting has thankfully not resumed but the Houthis remain very much in a dominant position as the UN Special Envoy struggles to keep the peace initiative moving forward.
Summary: the recent decision by OPEC+ to cut production was a jab in the eye to the West but one that has been a long time coming.
