This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Ayham Kamel of the Eurasia Group. They talk about the current diplomatic landscape in the Gulf, how Gulf leaders perceive their security interests, their views on the U.S. staying in power in the region, and how they are responding to the U.S. retrenchment from the Middle East. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Will Todman and Danny Sharp, discussing how Gulf countries are finding opportunities in a reduced U.S. presence and how they are pursuing their own interests. 

• Transcript, "The Gulf's Regional Diplomacy," CSIS, April 18, 2023.

What started as a job advertisement for a sandwich maker in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) quickly landed one firm in hot water last December. As the UAE pushes for companies in the private sector to hire more Emiratis, they're finding that there are some jobs that Emiratis may not want. A new Mezze from the Middle East Program.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group. They talk about the Saudi-Iranian agreement to resume diplomatic ties, how it fits into Iran’s wider foreign policy strategy around the region, and the prospects for a broader détente between Iran and its Arab neighbors in the Gulf. Vaez suggests that a regional nuclear agreement between Iran and Arab states in the Gulf might be a more viable path forward than an agreement between Iran and the West. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Natasha Hall and Caleb Harper, discussing what this all means for U.S. policy toward Iran and in the rest of the region. 

• Ali Vaez, “The Long Twilight of the Islamic Republic,” Foreign Affairs, February 2, 2023. 
• Jon Alterman, "Saudi Arabia Steps Out," CSIS, March 23, 2023.
• Jon Alterman, "Why Did China Help Saudi Arabia and Iran Resume Diplomatic Ties?" CSIS, March 10, 2023.
• Transcript, "Iran's Regional Policy," CSIS, April 4, 2023.

Imported entertainment options have flourished under MBS, helping erode the Saudi state’s ability to shape public culture. But now, Saudi state-owned firms are using the growing popularity of anime to shape their own narrative, at home and abroad. A new Mezze from the CSIS Middle East Program.

In a special episode of Babel to mark the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, Jon sits down with two Iraqi guests to talk about the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion. Dr. Marsin Alshamary is a research fellow with the Middle East Initiative at Harvard's Belfer Center, and Hamzeh Hadad is an adjunct fellow with the Center for New American Security. Alshamary and Hadad talk about how the war in Iraq has shaped both Iraqi politics and their own lives, their experiences as members of the diaspora who travel extensively to Iraq, the lingering effects of the Saddam Hussein era, and the future of Iraqi politics. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Will Todman and Lubna Yousef, discussing the different ways in which diaspora communities interact with both their home countries and their host countries. 

• Marsin Alshamary and Hamzeh Hadad, “The Collective Neglect of Southern Iraq: Missed Opportunities for Development and Good Governance,” International Peacekeeping, February 16, 2023.  
• Hamzeh Hadad, “Climate of opportunity: Iraq’s new government as regional conciliator,” European Council on Foreign Relations, November 4, 2022.  
• Marsin Alshamary, “Authoritarian Nostalgia Among Iraqi Youth,” War on the Rocks, July 25, 2018.  
• Transcript, "Iraq 20 Years Later," CSIS, March 21, 2023.

In Lebanon, neighboring communities are looking to connect and build off one another's initiatives, but a dysfunctional environment makes capitalizing on that opportunity a challenge for international donors and Lebanese communities alike. A new Mezze from the CSIS Middle East Program.

This Mezze episode was adapted from a vignette in the Middle East Program's latest report, Powering Recovery: Reform, Reconstruction, and Renewables in Conflict-Affected States in the Middle East, written by Will Todman.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with the Middle East Program's Will Todman to break down Will's new report, Powering Recovery: Reform, Reconstruction and Renewables in Conflict-Affected States in the Arab World. They talk about how governments and politicians in conflict-affected states can actually benefit from broken electrical systems, what the United States and international donors miss when they ignore those dynamics, and how renewable energy can offer a better pathway forward for donors and conflict-affected societies in the region. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Lubna Yousef and Caleb Harper, diving into Lubna's chapter on Libya and her experience on the ground before and after the revolution, and what key lessons donors should take away from Will's report. 

• Transcript, "Powering Recovery," CSIS, March 7, 2023.

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourism to Israel was growing the fastest out of any country. As Chinese tourists begin to return to the market, Israel may continue to be a popular destination.

This week, in a special episode of Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Middle East Program senior fellow Natasha Hall about the aftermath of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. They talk about the aid response, how governments are instrumentalizing the aid response to advance their own goals, and the challenges in delivering aid to areas of northwest Syria controlled by rebel groups. Natasha draws on her earlier study, “Rescuing Aid in Syria,” to argue that the United States and other donor governments need to rethink their aid response in Syria, better monitor where aid is going, and prepare for additional acute crises. 

Transcript, "The Aftermath of Earthquakes in Syria," CSIS, February 21, 2023.

Egypt's fish farmers have been struggling for years now. Media reports and industry groups blame due climate change and Cairo's pollution of Egypt's waterways but farmers say the real culprit lies beneath the surface: the Egyptian military has become the largest player in the market, crowding out smaller farmers in the process.