In light of Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, the United States and its other NATO allies have questioned Turkey’s commitment to the alliance. Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the United States Army Europe and Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis, and MEI’s Gonul Tol join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the reasons for President Erdogan’s decision and what it means for the future of U.S.-Turkey relations.
The United Arab Emirates’ decision to draw down its troops in Yemen has led to cautious hope in the war-torn country. Fatima Abo Alasrar, senior analyst at the Arabia Foundation; Katherine Zimmerman, AEI research fellow and research manager for AEI’s Critical Threats Project; and Jerry Feierstein, MEI senior vice president and former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, join host Alistair Taylor to discuss what the drawdown means on the ground and what ramifications the move might have.
As it combats continuing stagnant growth, Lebanon’s economy is facing a looming debt crisis. Omar Slim, senior investment manager and committee member with Lebanese International Finance Executives (LIFE), joins host Alistair Taylor to discuss the current threats to Lebanon’s economy and the need for financial consolidation.
Although Syria’s civil war has largely wound down, fighting in Idlib in the country’s northwest has heated up in the last two months. Charles Lister, MEI senior fellow and Director of the Countering Terrorism and Extremism Program, and Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff, executive director and co-founder of People Demand Change, join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the ongoing conflict and what impact it might have on Syria’s future.
Becca Wasser, policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, and NPR national security correspondent and MEI scholar Greg Myre join host Alistair Taylor to discuss Moscow’s growing political, economic, and military footprint in the region.
Unal Cevikoz, MP for Turkey’s CHP, and MEI’s Gonul Tol join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the outcome of the June 23 rerun vote for control of Turkey’s largest city and economic powerhouse, and what it signals for President Erdogan and the AK party.
Energy and Geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean
MEI scholars Mirette Mabrouk and Rauf Mammadov join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the region’s energy boom, how significant recent finds are to the global market, and the challenges facing regional energy cooperation.
Countering Extremism After the Fall of the ISIS Caliphate
The territorial defeat of ISIS in March 2019 was a significant victory in the fight against terrorism, but the struggle to defeat violent extremism is far from over. Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown and Charles Lister join guest host Gerald Feierstein to discuss the latest developments in policy to combat regional terrorist threats.
Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East and Central Asia department at the International Monetary Fund, joins host Alistair Taylor to discuss the key trends and drivers impacting MENA economies in 2019, and the challenges that lie ahead.
Shamila Chaudhary, Michael Kugelman, and Marvin Weinbaum join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the political situation in Afghanistan following the expiration of President Ashraf Ghani’s term in office, presidential elections in September, the state of US-Taliban talks and the intra-Afghan dialogue.
Transformative conflict resolution through Track II dialogue
MEI’s Randa Slim and Paul Salem join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the Institute’s conflict resolution program and how Track II diplomacy—or unofficial meetings between adversarial groups—has supplemented state-to-state diplomacy and become a transformative experience for many of its participants.
MEI Senior Vice President Gerald Feierstein and Senior Fellow Alex Vatanka join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the rapid rise of tensions between the US and Iran this week, the political calculations being made by each side, and where things could go from here.
With elections set for the fall, Tunisian voters are searching for leaders to emerge who can tackle issues of political fragmentation, long standing economic problems, growing protests, and a volatile regional environment with civil war in Libya on one side and political upheaval in Algeria on the other. Sarah Yerkes, a fellow with the Carnegie Endowment’s Middle East program, and Sharan Grewal, postdoctoral fellow at the Brookings Center for Middle East Policy, join host Alistair Taylor to discuss.
Larry Schwartz, former deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and Domenic DiGiovanni, vice president of Red Arch, join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the illegal theft and smuggling of cultural artifacts from the Middle East, and what regional governments and international partners can do to help preserve the region’s cultural heritage.
Former US Ambassador to Turkey W. Robert Pearson and Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, join host Alistair Taylor to discuss Turkey’s March local elections, in which the long-ruling AK party faced significant setbacks, and where Turkey’s economic challenges and strained foreign relations stand today.
