As Turkey negotiates the terms of retaining its forces at Kabul airport with Washington many air concerns that Turkish troops will be imperilled in the wake of the US withdrawal. The Taliban is wresting back control of much of the country as Afghan government troops flee their positions with some seeking refuge in neighboring Tajikistan. The Taliban has said it wants no foreign troops left behind once the Americans go so what does this spell for Turkey? Contrary to the prevailing view Ayesha Sid...
Jul 13, 2021•24 min•Ep. 61
Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, UAE Professor of Political Science, discusses why UAE momentum and influence is on the rise in the Middle East; how the Gulf states’ management of the COVID-19 pandemic compares with the West; why the region can be cautiously optimistic on Libya; why the UAE will not back down from either its normalization with Israel or its support for Palestinians; how the region will manage a new Iran nuclear deal, if it happens, and Iran’s new hardline president; the four t...
Jul 05, 2021•30 min•Ep. 60
Amberin Zaman speaks this week to Tugba Tanyeri Erdemir, a Turkish academic, about the current status of the Haghia Sophia, the 6th century Byzantine cathedral that was converted from a museum to a full service mosque close to a year ago provoking harsh reactions worldwide. Has the structure been damaged? What further “conquests” does Erdogan have in mind as he pushes ahead with his ambitious campaign to supplant modern Turkey’s father Kemal Ataturk as the “greatest” and most consequential ...
Jun 30, 2021•21 min•Ep. 59
Fyodor Lukyanov, Chairman of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy in Moscow, discusses why Russia wants an agreement with the US on cyber security; why Russia does not expect the US to lift sanctions on Russia; how Russian and Iranian policies differ in Syria; why Syria and Iran are minor issues in US-Russia relations; how to understand Russian President Vladimir Putin’s relationships with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; and much ...
Jun 18, 2021•47 min•Ep. 58
Raphael Cormack, visiting researcher at Columbia University, discusses his book, Midnight in Cairo ; profiles the amazing women who shaped and dominated Egypt’s music, theater, film, and cabaret scene in the early 20th century against the backdrop of dramatic political and social change; describes the rivalry between Mounira al-Mahdiyya and Oum Kalthoum, the two most popular entertainers of their times; and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy...
Jun 14, 2021•57 min•Ep. 57
Hana Salah, Al-Monitor columnist reporting from Gaza, discusses the impact of Israeli restrictions on Gaza’s reconstruction; the lack of clarity on the mechanism for international assistance; why people are flocking to Gaza’s polluted beaches; and how she managed her family life and professional responsibilities while reporting during the bombing. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jun 10, 2021•33 min•Ep. 56
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden are scheduled to hold their first meeting since Biden took office on the sidelines of next week's NATO summit in Brussels. Turkey's growing ties with Russia, symbolized by its acquisition of S-400 missiles, has driven a wedge between Ankara and Washington that is threatening to grow ever wider. Can the two leaders reverse this downward spiral? Veteran journalist Asli Aydintasbas, who is a senior fellow at the European Council...
Jun 02, 2021•36 min•Ep. 55
Dr. Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, Director of the University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, explains what to expect, and not expect, from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to the region this week; why another eruption of political violence is likely, unless Israeli occupation policies are addressed; what’s next for US-Egypt relations; the limits of the...
May 24, 2021•35 min•Ep. 54
Jon Alterman, senior vice president, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy and director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses the escalation in violence in Israel and Gaza and its impact on Israeli and Palestinian politics; the prospects for US mediation to stop the fighting; US-Israel relations under the Biden Administration; US policy toward Iran and the region; China’s role in the Middle East; and more! See Priv...
May 18, 2021•37 min•Ep. 53
Dr. Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, president of the Emirates Policy Center, discusses how the Abraham Accords could help provide context for tough concessions on the most controversial issues facing Israelis and Palestinians; UAE interests and expectations in dealing with regional security and Iran; why the UAE is well-placed to help mediate in the Horn of Africa; how the Gulf manages the US-China competition; and hew own journey as distinguished academic to founder of one of the region’s most influential an...
May 11, 2021•23 min•Ep. 52
Hana Salah, Al-Monitor columnist based in Gaza, discusses the uptick in violence after the cancellation of Palestinian elections and skirmishes in Jerusalem; why Gaza youth feel hopeless about politics; the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and people’s lives; disappointment among Gazans over the Abraham accords; perceptions of Iran; and expectations regarding the Biden Administration’s policies in the region. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at ...
May 05, 2021•33 min•Ep. 51
Middle East scholar Arzu Yilmaz argues that Iran has made irreversible gains in Iraq allowing it to more or less dictate the limits of Turkish intervention in Iraq. Turkey is free to operate against the Kurdistan Workers Party in Iraqi Kurdistan but territories such as Sinjar that are disputed between Baghdad and the Iraqi Kurds are a red line. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Apr 28, 2021•20 min•Ep. 50
Murat Mercan, Turkey’s Ambassador to the United States, discusses the prospects for enhanced US-Turkish cooperation during the Biden Administration; his country’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system; Turkey’s position on Syria, the Kurds, Ukraine, Greece, Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean; and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Apr 16, 2021•26 min•Ep. 49
Nureldin Satti, Sudan’s Ambassador to the United States, says that the ‘stumbling block’ in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations so far has been Ethiopia’s unwillingness to engage in talks leading to a binding agreement; that, with an agreement, the GERD can be a symbol of integration rather than a cause of conflict; that Sudan does not occupy Ethiopian territory; that US-Sudan ties have indeed entered a ‘new chapter; the prospects for ties with Israel; and the positive r...
Apr 14, 2021•28 min•Ep. 48
Raziye Akkoc, a British-Turkish journalist based in Ankara who reports for Agence France Presse and co-edits a highly regarded weekly newsletter Turkey Recap, speaks to Amberin Zaman about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's unchallenged grip on politics. For all his recent setbacks — most notably a weakening economy — he is, she says, "still the guy." Early elections are a possibility and his alliance with far right nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli is likely to last. See Privacy...
Apr 06, 2021•27 min•Ep. 47
Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins University SAIS Foreign Policy Institute and founder of Emerging World newsletter , discusses why we shouldn’t oversell the Iran-China agreement; the prospects for employment and growth in the MENA region following the coronavirus pandemic; the post-covid prospects for Dubai and Egypt; China’s role in the region; the ‘disruption-proof trends in emerging markets; and more! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Ca...
Mar 30, 2021•44 min•Ep. 46
Renad Mansour, senior research fellow and project director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House, discusses the origins, impacts and trends in Iraq’s protest movements; the influence and role of the US and Iran in Iraqi politics and security; the normalization of Iraq’s foreign policy; how network analysis informs our understanding of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units; and the challenges to incremental reform in Iraq. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californ...
Mar 24, 2021•41 min•Ep. 45
Sherri Kraham Talabany, the president and executive director of the Iraqi Kurdistan-based SEED Foundation NGO, speaks to Amberin Zaman this week about the enormous challenges facing Iraq as the country grapples with the human toll of the havoc and brutality wreaked by the Islamic State. Few have suffered as much as the country's Yazidi community, with thousands of its women abducted, raped and enslaved, as well as young boys used as child soldiers, in a wave of violence across Iraq and Syria. Se...
Mar 16, 2021•28 min•Ep. 44
Dr. Denise Natali, former Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations and Director of the Center for Strategic Research at the National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies, discusses the impact of the bipartisan Global Fragility Act on US policy; the challenges of re-integration of non-state armed individuals and groups in the Middle East; why post-conflict stabilization in Yemen will need to be locally driven and supported by its neighbo...
Mar 09, 2021•32 min•Ep. 43
Dalia Dassa Kaye, RAND senior political scientist and Wilson Center Fellow; Linda Robinson, Director of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy; and Jeffrey Martini, RAND Senior Middle East researcher, discuss their recent RAND report, ‘Reimaging US strategy in the Middle East, including a new approach to assess US partnerships in the region; how Iran can be ‘right sized’ in US strategy; the increasing importance of Iraq as a regional partner for the United States; why the U...
Mar 02, 2021•44 min•Ep. 42
Sam Blatteis, CEO of The MENA Catalysts, explains the continued potential and vitality of the digital economy and high tech sectors in the Gulf, post-COVID; the Gulf’s commitment to the knowledge economy, and how it has become a differentiator in a fragmenting Arab world; why the US is still the partner of choice for Gulf governments, but why and how the US-China competition for influence in the region may be heating up; the synergies between the Gulf and Silicon Valley; and more....
Feb 23, 2021•47 min•Ep. 41
Feb 17, 2021•19 min•Ep. 39
Mohsen Milani, professor of politics at the University of South Florida and a leading scholar of Iranian politics, discusses why Iran is ready to talk with the US, and reenter the Iran nuclear deal, but only from a position of strength; why Iran is in a stronger regional position today than it was 30 years ago; what to expect in Iranian politics and the presidential election; who will follow Ayatollah Khamenei; why Iran will not give up the right to enrich uranium, and more; ...
Feb 09, 2021•45 min•Ep. 38
Motaz Zahran, Egypt’s ambassador to the United States, discusses why US and international mediation is required to break the stalemate in Renaissance Dam talks; why the US-Egyptian relationship ‘transcends local politics’; Turkey’s ‘destructive role’ in Libya; the Egyptian economy’s resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic; Egypt’s role in Libya and in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts; and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/pr...
Feb 03, 2021•49 min•Ep. 37
Hebah Fisher, Co-Founder and CEO of Kerning Cultures Network, discusses trends in media consumption in the Middle East, the power of sound and storytelling, and why young people in the region are turning to podcasts instead of radio. Also: Andrew’s take on why the Biden Administration is well-placed to help the break the deadlock in the Nile Dam talks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jan 26, 2021•36 min•Ep. 36
Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian scholar and a fellow at the Center for Global Policy who has followed the Syrian conflict from the ground since the beginning, talks with Amberin about how over the past decade a peaceful civilian uprising against the government of Bashar al-Assad degenerated into a seemingly endless series of conflicts within conflicts. The country is effectively divided into at least three separate zones of influence. Tsurkov addresses how the inco...
Jan 20, 2021•32 min•Ep. 35
Al-Monitor Senior Correspondent Amberin Zaman discusses why US-Turkey relations are unlikely to get better; the Kurdish question in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria; why an Israel-Turkey rapprochement is not imminent; and her new role as the other host of ‘on the Middle East….also Andrew’s take on Hamas and Egypt’s vital role in regional peace efforts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jan 12, 2021•33 min•Ep. 34
Leila Hamadeh, Co-founder and CEO of Finyal Media, explains how Arab youth are seeking new media outlets and platforms for expression and connection, and to bridge the gap between traditional and modern culture. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jan 05, 2021•30 min•Ep. 33
Mick Mulroy -- former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, retired CIA officer and co-founder of the Lobo Institute—discusses why the US needs to stay engaged in the Middle East, including militarily, to prevent ISIS 2.0; the prospects for the US-Saudi partnership and the future of Yemen; and whether and how US partners could endorse a new Iran deal. Also: Andrew’s take on whether Sudan launched a sequel to the Arab Spring in December 2018. See Privacy ...
Dec 29, 2020•40 min•Ep. 32
Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, and Jared Szuba discuss what the Biden Administration can expect, and what we might expect from the Biden Administration and the next Congress, in dealing with the Middle East, including policies toward Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, human rights, the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Dec 22, 2020•36 min•Ep. 31
