At the Oslo Freedom Forum last year, 7 activists from the Arab region found ourselves in a room together. This is the discussion which followed - on identity, exile, activism, trauma and healing, whether the Arab Spring failed, and different visions of what the future holds.

It was nuanced and surprisingly self-critical, but there was no cynicism or defeatism in the room - just the maturity of taking the long term view, as we recalibrate for the future.

Mentioned in this episode:
Asma's OFF speech
https://oslofreedomforum.com/talks/what-happened-to-libyas-revolution

Wael Ghonim's OFF speech
https://oslofreedomforum.com/talks/the-future-of-egypt

Ahmed's blog on what the OFF means to us
https://www.patreon.com/posts/27117847

Remember, listener support is our main source of backing and it means far more to us than any institutional grant ever could, because it enables us to stay independent as activists and unbeholden to anything but our principles. Make your pledge: www.patreon.com/kawaakibi

028 - In the Mirror: What Went Wrong with the Arab Spring?

Iyad El-Baghdadi and Ahmed Gatnash study global authoritarianism, with a focus on the MENA region, and dive deep into universal strategies and tactics of authoritarians, as well as the best ways to resist.

Support us on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/kawaakibi

News

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused global energy prices to spike, the US looked to its traditional gulf partners to increase supply. However, Mohamed bin Zayed and Mohamed bin Salman chose not to - refusing President Joe Biden's calls and even raising prices, whilst making overt gestures of support for Putin. In this episode, Iyad El-Baghdadi and Ahmed Gatnash discuss how the war in Ukraine has pushed a wedge between the US and its traditionally-close gulf allies, and what this means for the future of the Middle East. Episode timetags: 02:40 - The economic context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine 04:40 - Alternative sources of energy & autocracies 08:00 - The gulf oil producers are acting differently 09:30 - Why Saudi's reaction is a bad idea 12:30 - Changing dictatorships through economic engagement 14:00 - Europe's reaction to war & the dictators' underestimations 18:20 - The shift in relationships from unconditional to transactional 21:00 - MBS taking political changes personally 23:55 - The Atlantic interview, disinformation, and MBS' continued self-owns 27:30 - US security guarantee isn't in doubt, but it's not enough 33:25 - The failure of dictatorship as a management system 38:10 - Is Saudi Arabia maximising profit for its national budget? 
 Support the Arab Tyrant Manual on Patreon: https://patreon.com/kawaakibi Our other podcast, Intergalactic Tarboush: http://tarboush.co/

043 - Ukraine is Dividing the Gulf States from the West

In this episode, Ahmed Gatnash speaks to Elham Saudi, co-founder and director of Lawyers for Justice in Libya, about the fight for accountability and how human rights defenders can work towards accountability in areas that are ordinarily pushed to the sidelines. Elham can be found on Twitter (@elham_lfjl) and at libyanjustice.org (@LibyanJustice). They publish the Libya Matters podcast, and created the Ali Nouh fund, which provides emergency assistance to human rights defenders who are at risk due to their work. You can donate to the fund here: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/15937#!/DonationDetails Support the Arab Tyrant Manual on Patreon, where you can find a bonus clip from this conversation: https://patreon.com/kawaakibi

042 - Working for Libyan Accountability, with Elham Saudi

In this episode, Iyad and Ahmed interview each other about their own book, The Middle East Crisis Factory. They discuss the origin and context of the book, detail various struggles that were overcome through the writing process, and share their reflections on the project 12 months on from its publication. Buy The Middle East Crisis Factory: https://menacrisisfactory.com/ Support the Arab Tyrant Manual on Patreon: https://patreon.com/kawaakibi Our other podcast, Intergalactic Tarboush: http://tarboush.co/ Episode timetags: 03:15 - What was your motivation in writing the book? 13:40 - Were you trying to influence policy? 19:35 - Why was this difficult to write for you? 20:20 - A quick summary of the "Vicious Triangle" 29:40 - What do you like about the book and what did you dislike? 34:50 - Which part of the book was most important to you? 38:15 - What would you do differently if you wrote it again? 40:00 - Who do you want this book to be read by? 41:50 - What do you want the reader to walk away having understood? 45:30 - If this book is the start of a conversation, what would you want that conversation to be? 49:00 - What worries you about this book, as the author?

041 - Authors' Retrospective of the The Middle East Crisis Factory

This is a repost of an interview on the Gaslit Nation podcast, hosted by Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa. Iyad discusses the origin of the Middle East Crisis Factory book, the context of the Middle East's struggle for democracy in the world, and how that shapes the work of Kawaakibi Foundation. Find the Gaslit Nation podcast online: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/ and on Twitter: @sarahkendzior, @AndreaChalupa and @gaslitnation Buy The Middle East Crisis Factory: https://menacrisisfactory.com/ Support the Arab Tyrant Manual on Patreon: https://patreon.com/kawaakibi

040 - The Middle East Crisis Factory: an Interview on Gaslit Nation

Iyad and Ahmed discuss human rights and political activism around the world, and why it seems to fail so often. Follow us on Twitter @ArabTyrantMan, and join our Patreon to support our work and gain access to exclusive clips and pre-release episodes: https://patreon.com/kawaakibi Episode Time tags: 2:00 – Feelings of pointlessness in human rights activism 4:30 – "Folk politics" 6:00 – Trump, pandemic & a new phase in geopolitics 10:00 – How do we continue human rights work into the future 16:30 – Creating solutions & tools 20:00 – Incrementalism vs radical change 26:00 – Centring people, not policy 31:30 – Outdated outlooks & ineptitude 36:00 – Climate change as a global crisis 41:00 – Changing politics & spheres of influence 43:00 – Legal challenges, boycotts & sanctions 50:00 – Establishing a theory of change 56:00 – Raising awareness vs creating change 59:00 – Thinking systemically rather than specifically  1:01:00 – Demonstrating leadership in human rights

028 - In the Mirror: What Went Wrong with the Arab Spring?

Download our free app to listen on your phone