Today signals a new dawn for our Middle East Analysis podcasts. MEA continues after more than a decade but the format has changed. In this fast-paced era of online consumption, we're taking on our topics in a shorter, sharper way. Introducing 'MENA GULF 140'. So what is it? Well, inspired by the limit to the number of seconds of audio or film you can post to a certain popular micro-blogging platform, 'MENA GULF 140' looks at the realities of the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf regions in a me...
Oct 26, 2020•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr Harry Hagopian, the voice of Middle East Analysis, is fluent in many languages. French? Doesn't even break sweat. For me it's more of a struggle but when reflecting on the horrific blast that ripped through Lebanon's capital Beirut, I found an oft-quoted phrase in my head "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose". It certainly seems that the more things change the more they stay the same for this resilient nation and its beleaguered people - a state that has seen more than one false dawn. Ma...
Aug 13, 2020•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast This Middle East Analysis podcast takes our resident regional analyst, international lawyer Dr Harry Hagopian, around not just the Middle East but also North Africa. We start with a coronavirus update discussing the impact of COVID-19 on the MENA region and the Arab world. Then on to our sweep of country realities. Firstly it's the chaos and economic meltdown plaguing Lebanon - the beautiful land of cedars. A third of the population suffer below the poverty line, with daily power cuts, a lack of...
Jul 30, 2020•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast One of Dr Harry Hagopian's 'Intuitive Reactions' provides the meat in the sandwich of this 'Middle East Analysis - Extra' podcast. In December 2019, US President Donald Trump signed into law the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, also known as the Caesar Act, a piece of US legislation to sanction the Syrian government, including the president Bashar al-Assad, for war crimes against the Syrian population. The sanctions finally kicked in on 17 June. But what impact does this have on Bashar al-A...
Jun 22, 2020•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Middle East Analysis reverts back to something of its normal modus operandi for June's podcast as international lawyer and MENA consultant Dr Harry Hagopian joins us in semi pandemic lockdown to discuss three realities challenging the Middle East North Africa region. In just over ten minutes per segment, Dr Hagopian discusses the ongoing embargo of Qatar, the ever more dangerous regional conflict in Libya and the current financial meltdown in Syria and its impact on neighbour Lebanon. Quick Navi...
Jun 10, 2020•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's rather dangerous to assume anything in the Middle East North Africa region - least of all the shifting dynamics of the relationship between Israel and Palestine. One assumption is that, as early as 1 July, one of Israel's two unity government Prime Ministers, Benjamin Netanyahu, will announce the annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank. At this point, any hope of a contiguous state for Palestinians will ebb away and with it hope for a long-term peaceful coexistence for both Israelis...
Jun 05, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast The anxiety surrounding the fast-spreading coronavirus COVID-19 is completely understandable. It's the lead headline in many a news context. So what's the impact on the Middle East North Africa region? The situation in Iran is well documented. Egypt has confirmed its first death - the first in Africa. Iraq and Yemen are already debilitated so any further strain on beleaguered resources will cost lives. Lebanon is living in the throes of an economic meltdown. We could go on... Dr Harry Hagopian, ...
Mar 11, 2020•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast The so-called 'Deal of the Century' has been released - US President Donald Trump's road map to peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Peace to Prosperity, as it's called, has been widely criticised as one-sided and, to those campaigning for self-determination for the Palestinian people - no deal at all. Dr Harry Hagopian is our regular studio guest for Middle East Analysis. Harry cut his political teeth working for peace in the region. He was a second track negotiator during the Oslo process in t...
Feb 18, 2020•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Just another new decade in the Middle East North Africa region. This 45-minute Middle East Analysis podcast, the first of 2020, is titled in a way that makes you think of a rhythmic children’s pat-a-cake game or a mnemonic device for remembering something important. Actually a lot of today’s topical discussion with international lawyer and regional commentator Dr Harry Hagopian falls under one or more of those four descriptors - escalate, de-escalate, oil and intervention. The ‘intervention’ is ...
Jan 16, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today we bring you an exceptional one-off from Dr Harry Hagopian that is closer to home. Harry offers his personal perspective on the recent General Election in the UK. This "Intuitive Reaction" focuses on the recent UK Election which saw the Conservatives win their majority. Find out Dr Harry Hagopian's unique take on these results and how our history led us to where we are now.
Dec 19, 2019•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today's Middle East Analysis is the first for a few months so we're hoping you'll indulge almost an hour of Dr Harry Hagopian's insight, analysis and, on occasion, wit. Our resident contributor is an international lawyer, commentator and consultant on the Middle East North Africa region. This podcast isn't simply a compare-and-contrast looking at the regional popular protests of 2019 and juxtaposing them with the so-called Arab Spring of nine years ago. We do, of course, give due attention to th...
Nov 06, 2019•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Arguably the biggest threat to the human spirit is a loss of hope. The Israel / Palestine conflict has raged in one form or another since the mid-20th century and its origins can be traced to the decades before that. Today we seem further away than ever from a lasting peace. The international lawyer and political consultant Dr Harry Hagopian has written and commented on the challenge of Israel / Palestine for over a quarter of a century and has been engaged as a negotiator, consultant, lawyer an...
Jun 14, 2019•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Considering this is a podcast offering the musings, analysis and everything inbetween from the brain of the knowledgeable and razor-sharp international lawyer and Middle East North Africa consultant Dr Harry Hagopian, you may be wondering why we open up with a sizeable segment on Brexit and, later, head south of north Africa to Sudan. I could make a few academic cases for the inclusion of such topics but let's just go for "because we wanted to". We also talk Israel. Primarily the status of the G...
Mar 25, 2019•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast 'Hot Region, Cold War' was the working title proposed for today's podcast. Why? Well, it's a little conceptual. It was born from a desire to ask our big-brained studio guest Dr Harry Hagopian to analyse the foreign policy agendas of the Russian Federation on the one hand and the United States on the other with regard to the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf States. Harry took exception to 'Hot Region, Cold War' and proposed 'Hot Region, Hot Wars'. Fair enough. But superpower policy, regional te...
Jan 17, 2019•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast As we approach Christmas, when Christians around the world look to Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus, Dr Harry Hagopian, lead contributor to our Middle East Analysis podcasts, encourages us to consider the realities facing Arab Christians. Close your eyes - you might find yourself in Manger Square. This four minute Christmas reflection ends our audio for 2018. Podcasts resume in 2019.
Dec 19, 2018•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Whatever the turmoil in the Middle East North Africa region, the tension in the lands where three of the world's major religions meet - the Holy Land - often paints hard brush strokes on the wider regional landscape. So where do we turn now with Israel / Palestine? With the US so heavily involved and a 'Deal of the Century' about as feasible as every other so-called solution proposed in the last half-century, what are the options? Two State Solution? Deceased or, at best, being cared for palliat...
Nov 01, 2018•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Middle East Analysis returns from a four month hiatus to tackle the subject that's front and centre as far as current regional analysis goes - the alleged murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Dr Harry Hagopian joins us to look at the impact on Saudi Arabia, the region and the international players.
Oct 19, 2018•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast To Be or Not to Be! Or in this case, To Deal or Not to Deal! As the US Administration reportedly gets ready to announce the "Deal of the Century" that addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, International lawyer & MENA observer Dr Harry Hagopian - who often reminds listeners that he is Armenian but not a prophet! - discusses with James Abbott the possible parameters of this deal.
Jun 16, 2018•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast With tensions in Israel and Palestine rising alarmingly, we ask how Christians would deal with a third Palestinian Intifada. Will it even happen? Are the Christians the pacifists on the periphery? How do the Arab Christians live with the ongoing conflict? Dr Harry Hagopian, an international lawyer and analyst on the Middle East North Africa and the Gulf States, provides the commentary.
May 09, 2018•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Part Two sees us take a closer look at the 'majority minorities' - the large Christian communities in countries like Lebanon and Egypt. It's not just the Maronites in the former and the Copts in the latter. Dr Harry Hagopian, an international lawyer and analyst on the Middle East North Africa region and the Gulf States, provides the commentary.
May 09, 2018•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Next it's off to the Gulf states - those small, oil-rich countries bordering the Persian Gulf that have become popular tourist destinations in recent years. Christians have designated places of worship but is there an apparent gulf between faiths? Are Christians embraced or tolerated? Dr Harry Hagopian, an international lawyer and analyst on the Middle East North Africa region and the Gulf States, provides the commentary.
May 09, 2018•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this, the concluding episode of our four-part series on the tough realities facing Christians in the Middle East North Africa region and the Gulf States, we turn our attention to the heart-breaking humanitarian disaster that Syria has become. How do the Christians cope living between a rock and a hard place? Dr Harry Hagopian, an international lawyer and analyst on the Middle East North Africa region and the Gulf States, provides the commentary.
May 09, 2018•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
