Lse Middle East Centre Podcasts

On 19 July 2018, the Israeli parliament passed the controversial Basic Law, which defines the nature of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. This talk analyses the different clauses of the law, reflects on their meaning with the help of the discussions that took place in the Knesset during the legislation period, and ties them with broader political and social processes taking place in Israeli society and politics. Recorded on 30 January 2019. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amal Jamal is Professor of Political Science at Tel Aviv University, where he heads the International Graduate Program in Political Science and Political. He is also Chair of the Walter Lebach Institute for Jewish-Arab Coexistence. He is Co-Editor in Chief of the journal The Public Sphere published in Hebrew. Michael Mason is Director of the Middle East Centre. He is also Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment and Associate of the Gra

In recent years Israel has forged closer links with Arab Gulf states with which it has no diplomatic relations, unlike Egypt and Jordan. The main factors in their converging interests are shared alarm about Iran’s rise as a regional power, opposition to Barack Obama’s Middle East policies and the marginalization of the divided Palestinians. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain all have business, security and intelligence ties with Israel, though since they are largely “below the horizon” it is hard to judge their extent. Qatar and Oman have links too – illustrated by Binyamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to Muscat and Doha’s role mediating with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But these connections are more visible than ever before. Donald Trump’s wooing of the Saudis briefly promoted hopes for a role for Riyadh in the president’s long-trailed “deal of the century.” The US decision to abandon the international nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose sanctions was greeted by Israel and the Gulf states, raising the possibility of

Speaker: Jim Muir, BBC News and LSE Middle East Centre Visiting Senior Fellow Chair: Ian Black, LSE Middle East Centre Visiting Senior Fellow Jim Muir has lived in and reported on the Middle East since he arrived in Beirut in January 1975, armed with a Cambridge degree in Arabic. Expecting Lebanon to be a stable base from which to cover a turbulent region, he spent the next 15 years reporting on the tortuous conflict which engulfed the country itself. He was in northern Iraq during the Kurdish uprising against Saddam Hussein in 1991 and covered the dramatic flight of the Kurds to the mountains. After a spell reporting the Bosnia conflict, he moved to Cairo as BBC Middle East correspondent in 1995, followed by five years in Tehran, where he chronicled the doomed hopes raised by the election of the reformist President Khatami. In 2004, he returned to Beirut, covered the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah war, and spent much time in Iraq until the Arab Spring diverted attention to Egypt, Tunisia and especially Syria, on who

Speaker: Mehmet Kurt, LSE and Yale University Chair: Robert Lowe, LSE Middle East Deputy Director Islam has returned to the Turkish and Kurdish public and political spheres, becoming an effective means to mobilise voters and recruit supporters during the AKP era. In this talk, Mehmet Kurt highlights two distinctive approaches to the Kurdish issue adopted by Kurdish Hizbullah (Huda-Par) and the wider Kurdish movement. While the former relies on an explicitly Islamist political agenda to subsume Kurdish society into part of a pan-Islamist entity, the latter pursues a secular but increasingly pluralist agenda to expand its base among religious Kurds. This in turn determines both groups’ connection to Kurdish political identity. While Hizbullah embraces a form of ‘Kurdishness’ that mainly makes reference to Islam, the wider Kurdish movement incorporates Islam into its pluralist notion of ‘the people of Turkey’. Recorded on 17 December 2018. ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Speaker: Farea Al-Muslimi, Chairman and co-founder of Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies. Chair: Michael Mason, LSE Middle East Centre Director. For the last four years, Yemen has been suffering one of the bloodiest wars in the Middle East. In a manner surpassing even Syria, state institutions have collapsed, health and education systems are largely dysfunctional, millions continue to suffer from malnutrition, and over one million civil servants have not been paid their salaries for two years. In the meantime, local alliances are dramatically shifting and evolving, while regional actors are increasingly involved to varying degrees. In particular, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE exercise control militarily, either directly or through proxies, while Qatar, Oman and Western countries remain indirectly involved. How have the diplomatic efforts to solve the conflict in Yemen failed since 2011, and what lessons have been learned? What challenges face the current UN-lead peace process, and what are its prospects

Speaker: Martin Chulov, The Guardian Chair: Ian Black, LSE Senior Visiting Fellow With the battle for Syrian soil near an end, the most brutal conflict of modern times is becoming a fight for who gets to shape what emerges from the ruins. Backed by his allies, Bashar al-Assad has all but won and – abandoned by theirs – the myriad forces who stood against him have lost. The battlefield is now now potently geopolitical. Iran and Russia, who saved Damascus, want a strategic return on their blood and treasure, but both have very different visions for post-war Syria. Turkey too is demanding an outcome that suits it's interests. As is Israel. A waning USA, Saudi Arabia and Qatar also want a say in how the regime is aligned in a fast changing and volatile region.The stakes have rarely been higher in the modern Middle East. The next few years will test the modern borders of the region, and further strain an ethnic sectarian balance that has neared breaking point from Tartous to Qom. Recorded on 27 November --------

Apologies for the abrupt ending of the podcast. The recording was cut short. You can watch the full lecture online on our facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/lsemiddleeastcentre/videos/363890584359536/ Speakers: Madawi Al-Rasheed, Ian Black and Steffen Hertog, LSE Middle East Centre Chair: Michael Mason, LSE Middle East Centre Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi embassy in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 to never leave. Having denied knowing his whereabouts, Saudi Arabia now admits that Khashoggi had been killed, but the leadership claims to have no knowledge of – or connection to – the murder. The death of the Saudi journalist has taken over international headlines; but what are the long-term implications of this event? This panel brings together LSE Middle East Centre experts to discuss internal, international and economic repercussions. Recorded on 22 November 2018. ------------------------------ Madawi Al-Rasheed (@MadawiDr)is Visiting Professor at the LSE Middle East Centre. Ian B

Speakers: David McDowall and Zeynep Kaya, LSE Middle East Centre. David McDowall’s ground-breaking modern history of the Kurds was first published in 1996. It became a foundation text for the subsequent growth of scholarship on the Kurds and, revised and updated three times, remains an essential part of the literature. David is currently updating the book again and will share his thoughts on developments in the field and, in particular, on areas which have gained in importance and understanding over the last 25 years. David McDowall studied Islamic History under Albert Hourani for his first degree and wrote his post-graduate dissertation on the Druze revolt in Syria, 1925-27. He is a generalist, having worked for the British Council and UNRWA, before becoming a full-time writer, writing on Britain, Palestine, Lebanon and the Kurds. After 20 years writing and self-publishing a series of British landscape books, he has reverted to updating his history of the Kurds. The event marks the launch of the Kurdish S

Speakers: Salman Sheikh, The Sheikh Group and Courtney Freer, LSE Middle East Centre Salman Shaikh is a negotiations specialist with eight years of experience in running Track II diplomacy with a wide spectrum of Syrian communities and constituencies. With Syria divided into zones of influence dominated by external players, he will address the question of what options remain for a political process – and what is at stake. At a time when world and regional powers are once again attempting to negotiate a political breakthrough that would serve their interests, he will argue that a path to an inclusive political process must – and can – be found. In this regard, he will also draw on years of engagement with key regional and international capitals, including Washington, Moscow, Ankara, Riyadh and London. Recorded on 13 November 2018. --------------------------------- Salman Shaikh (@Salman_Shaikh1) is the Founder and CEO of The Shaikh Group (TSG). Courtney Freer (@courtneyfreer) joined the Kuwait Programme, LS

Speakers: Hendrik Kraetzschmar, University of Leeds, Paola Rivetti, Dublin City University, Courtney Freer, LSE Middle East Centre, Craig Larkin, King’s College London. Chair: Katerina Dalacoura, LSE What are the consequences of the Arab uprisings for Islamist actors and organisations across the region? Have regime change, revolution, counter-revolution and reform worked to strengthen the power and influence of Islamists, or have they weakened them? Presenting the recently published volume Islamists and the Politics of the Arab Uprisings: Governance, Pluralisation and Contention (EUP, 2018), panellists will critically discuss the impact of the uprisings looking at how Islamists' political and ideological stances have shifted as a result of a dramatically changing social and political environment. Cross-regional dynamics will be explored and assessed, alongside discussions of the national specificities of Islamist trajectories in those countries of the Middle East and North Africa impacted by the waves of pop

Speakers: Youssef Cherif, Deputy Director of Columbia Global Centers, Tunis, member in Carnegie's Civic Research Network. Youssef Cherif analyses how the Maghreb region is another theatre of the cold war raging between the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) members. By means of fake news, political pressures and transfer of weapons, the three leading protagonists of the GCC are influencing the political, security and economic situation in North Africa which in turn deepens their crises and risks destabilizing the region. Recorded on 10 October 2018. ---------------------------- Youssef Cherif (@Faiyla) is a political analyst who specializes in North African affairs. He is Deputy Director of Columbia Global Centers, Tunis, member in Carnegie's Civic Research Network and is contributing to a number of think-tanks. Courtney Freer (@courtneyfreer) is Research Officer at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Arab G

Speakers: Courtney Freer, Toby Doge, LSE Middle East Centre; Stéphane Lacroix, Sciences Po, Paris; John Jenkins, Policy Exchange, London. Scholars of Middle Eastern politics have long overlooked the role played by political Islam in domestic politics of the wealthy monarchical states of the Arabian Gulf, so-called 'rentier states'. While rentier state theory assumes that citizens of such states will form opposition blocs only when their stake in rent income is threatened, this book demonstrates that ideology, rather than rent, has motivated the formation of independent Islamist movements in the wealthiest states of the region, specifically, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The book therefore argues that Brotherhood movements have managed to use the links between the social (i.e. informal personal networks) and political (i.e. government institutions) to gain influence in policymaking in such states. Using contemporary history and original empirical research, Courtney Freer updates tradition

Speakers: Toby Dodge, Zeynep Kaya and Jessica Watkins, LSE Middle East Centre; Renad Mansour; Chatham House. It has now been over a year since the liberation of Mosul by Iraqi government forces in July 2017. This victory marks a new stage in the violent conflict that has destabilised Iraq since at least regime change in 2003. In some ways, the breakthrough in July 2017 can be compared firstly to the initial aftermath of the invasion in April 2003 until the insurgency transformed itself into a civil war in 2005, and then secondly to the period following the US-led surge that started in February 2007 until the reconstitution of ISIS and the fall of Mosul in 2014. However, as all these examples indicate, if the underlying drivers of instability are not properly identified and mediated through accurately targeted policy interventions, then a return to the levels of organised violence that have dominated Iraq for the majority of the last fifteen years is likely. This event marks the launch of the Conflict Resear

Speakers: Deniz Kandiyoti, SOAS; Renad Mansour, Chatham House; Charles Tripp, SOAS Chair: Toby Dodge, LSE Middle East Centre Director This memorial honoured the late Faleh A. Jabar and his notable contribution to the study of Iraq and the wider Middle East. This event also marked the launch of his MEC paper From Identity Politics to Issue Politics: The Iraqi Protest Movement, which he presented at the Middle East Centre in July 2016. Faleh A. Jabar was a political sociologist, the CEO of Iraq Studies Institute and a Visiting Fellow at the School of Politics and Sociology at the University of London’s Birkbeck College. His research interests and expertise spanned various fields, including the sociology of religion, sociology of nation-building and state formation, tribes and modern socio-economic formations, and cultural discourses in Iraq and the greater Middle East. Jabar authored many books, including The Shiite Movement in Iraq, Post-Marxism and the Middle East, Ayatollahs, Sufis and Ideologues: State, R

Speaker: Cristina Moreno-Almeida, King's College College Chair: Shakuntala Banaji, LSE This talk launches Cristina Moreno-Almeida’s book, ‘Rap Beyond Resistance: Staging Power in Contemporary Morocco’. In the book, Moreno-Almeida argues for a new way of looking at cultural resistance in the Arabic-speaking world that goes beyond secular liberal ideas of resistance. In doing, so, she provides an in-depth look at rap culture in Morocco, bringing light to a vibrant and varied rap scene, and uncovering the many ways in which young artists are being political beyond ‘radical lyrics’. Recorded on 21 June 2018. -------------------------- Cristina Moreno-Almeida is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at King’s College London, UK, and a Visiting Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre. Shakuntala Banaji is is Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE, where she also serves as Director of Graduate Studies and programme director for the MSc Media, Communication and Development. Image c

Speaker: Nasr al-Hariri, Syrian Negotiation Commission Chair: Ian Black, LSE Middle East Centre The war in Syria has entered its eighth year with a worsening humanitarian crisis and an ever increasing threat to global security. Despite the West’s recent military response to the use of chemical weapons, the Assad regime, backed by Russia and Iran, continues with its military strategy unabated. In a conversation with Ian Black, Dr Nasr al-Hariri, President of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) discusses the latest developments from inside Syria, and suggests practical steps the UK and its allies should take to enforce a comprehensive plan that protects civilians from all indiscriminate attacks, hold war criminals to account, and revive a failing UN-led political process. Recorded on 10 May 2018. -------------------------- Dr Nasr al-Hariri is the President of the Syrian Negotiation Commission. Dr Ian Black is Visiting Senior Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre. He is a former Middle East editor, diplo

Speaker: Wendy Pearlman, Northwestern University Discussant: Malu Halasa Chair: Rahaf Aldoughli, University of Manchester This event launches Wendy Pearlman's book, “We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria”. Based on interviews with hundreds of displaced Syrians conducted over four years across the Middle East and Europe, the book features a collection of intimate wartime testimonies from a cross-section of Syrians whose lives have been transformed by revolution, war, and flight. Recorded on Wednesday 21 March.

Speaker: Andrew Noble, former British Ambassador to Algeria Andrew Noble spent more than three years in Algeria, which spanned spanned among other things the start of the oil price crisis, advances in the Libyan and Malian discussions and a significant strengthening of the UK’s bilateral relations with Algeria in many areas. Given the difficulty of access to reliable information about Algeria, this discussion offers an insight into the state of Algeria, domestically and internationally. Recorded on 14 March 2018. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Speakers: Madawi Al-Rasheed, LSE Middle East Centre; Steffen Hertog, LSE; Michael Farquhar, King's College London. Chair: Courtney Freer, LSE Middle East Centre King Salman of Saudi Arabia began his rule in 2015 confronted with a series of unprecedented challenges. The dilemmas he has faced are new and significant, from leadership shuffles and falling oil prices to regional and international upheaval. This talk launches the edited volume 'Salman’s Legacy', which interrogates this era and assesses its multiple social, political, regional and international challenges. Whether Salman’s policies have saved the kingdom from serious upheaval is yet to be seen, but no doubt a new kingdom is emerging. Recorded on 7 March 2018.

Speaker: Güneş Murat Tezcür, University of Central Florida Chair: Zeynep Kaya, LSE Middle East Centre Over the last three decades, tens of thousands of women have joined the ranks of the PKK and its affiliated organisations. What factors explain their violent mobilisation despite life-threatening risks? Building on a unique dataset of more than 9,000 militant bios and in-depth interviews with the families of militants, Güneş Murat Tezcür argues that gender inequality directly influences women's decisions to take up arms, believing that doing so provides them with a path out of patriarchal gender relations. Recorded on 7 February 2018. -------------------------- Güneş Murat Tezcür is the Jalal Talabani Chair of Kurdish Political Studies at the University of Central Florida. His research focuses on political violence, social movements, and the geopolitics of the Middle East with a focus on the Kurdish question. Image credit: Kurdishstruggle, Flickr.