As the US looks to disentangle itself from various conflicts globally, it leaves behind power vacuums. In the MENA region, various regional – and global - powers are vying to fill the void. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard is joined by three guests directly from ECFR’s MENA Forum in Rome: Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, professor of political science in the UAE; Alia Moubayed, MENA chief economist for Jefferies; and Julien Barnes-Dacey, head of ECFR’s MENA programme. Together, they analyse the changing geopolitical and regional dynamics in the MENA region: Who is filling the vacuum which the US is increasingly leaving behind? How are regional actors reacting to US disengagement? And what does this mean for Europe’s future role in the region? This podcast was recorded on 5 October 2021. Further reading: - Iraq’s parliamentary election will produce more of the same by Nussaibah Younis: https://buff.ly/3A5xORd - Europe’s post-Afghanistan to-do list by Arancha Gonzalez Laya: https://buff.ly/3AHJyuC - Autonomous in Afghanistan: How the Europeans could have stayed after US withdrawal by Mary Kaldor: https://buff.ly/3CaB0wi Bookshelf: Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture by Sudhir Hazaareesingh After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies by Christopher Davidson Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney