Middle East Analysis

Dr Harry Hagopian, the voice of 'Middle East Analysis', came up with the novel idea of looking behind the interventions made by the Heads of State and political leaders from the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf regions at the recent 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Treat this as a fly-on-the-wall side event, a briefing, that steps away from the carefully crafted podium speeches - somewhat predictable in terms of content and agenda - to get to the nub of neighbourly agitation or cooperation.

Iran, Qatar, Lebanon and, to a lesser degree, Israel/Palestine, Iraq and Jordan get the unique Hagopian treatment on this 'Middle East Analysis'.

August's 'Middle East Analysis' podcast sees Dr Harry Hagopian rewind 34 years to look at the publication of Salman Rushdie's controversial fourth novel 'The Satanic Verses', the author's use of magical realism and the religious edict that left a bounty on his head the repercussions of which may have been felt three decades later.

We then discuss the closure of seven Palestinian NGOs after Israeli raids in the West Bank. But what do these human rights organisations stand accused of and when Israel is criticised for acting with impunity, what does that actually mean?

Dr Hagopian concludes with a few thoughts on November's World Cup football extravaganza in Qatar - the first Arab country to host the tournament - and a congratulatory word or two aimed in the direction of the Royal Hashemite Court as Jordan celebrates its Crown Prince's engagement.

Image of Sir Salman Rushdie: © Chris Kockelmann (CC BY-SA 4.0)

It's more of a hot rather than warm welcome to this 'Middle East Analysis' podcast. We've 'enjoyed' record temperatures of over 40°C in recent times here in the UK - far more in keeping with the Middle East, Gulf States and North Africa.

Here to cool us down with his usual stylish, sharp analysis is the voice of MEA, Dr Harry Hagopian. The topic? Well it can only be the four-day visit of US President Joe Biden to Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Jeddah.

A trip pilloried in certain quarters as high on photo ops, low on substance, was it a charm offensive to bolster US relations with Israel? Motivated, with an eye on Saudi Arabia, by the energy crisis and energy security? Or, as President Biden stressed to Arab leaders, to affirm that the US will not walk away from the region leaving a void to be filled by China, Russia or Iran?

Dr Harry Hagopian takes a deeper look and gives us his opinion on whether there were any takeaways other than a rather uncomforable fist bump with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah.

A sharp, thirty-minute podcast for June's 'Middle East Analysis' that takes a slightly different format. Having returned from a six-day visit to Jerusalem and the West Bank, host James Abbott discusses Holy Land realities with regular studio guest Dr Harry Hagopian.

To use an English translation of a French phrase that Harry has used more than once, it's a serious case of "the more it changes, the more it stays the same”.

Relating regional experiences - limited on the part of the host, extensive on the part of the guest - we focus on the people behind the politics of Israel/Palestine.

Middle East Analysis takes a sombre tone this month as, just before recording, we learned of the killing of long-term Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin in the West Bank. We're left asking, as often we do, where is the justice that will open the door to peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict? Dr Harry Hagopian looks at the disturbing upturn in violence as the world, seemingly, looks the other way.

Our next stop is Lebanon and a look at the forthcoming Parliamentary Elections slated for Sunday, 15 May. Will the process be 'fair' and democratic? Will it lead to change?

Harry then picks up on a rare visit to Tehran by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and looks at Syria's rehabilitation and potential readmission into the wider Arab fold. He then answers an interesting question: Was Russia's intervention in Syria a dress rehearsal for its conflict with Ukraine?

Our final topic looks at frosty relations between the US and some of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries - specifically Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

We conclude with four cap-doffing after thoughts.

Just over two years ago we started recording our 'Middle East Analysis' podcasts remotely. The pandemic rendered face-to-face interaction impossible. Now, joyously, we have returned to the studio for this month's offering. Dr Harry Hagopian, in the flesh, turns his legal and political mind to the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf States.

April has been a month of regional summit meetings - most involving Israel and its diplomatic relations with Arab neighbours. Negotiations have covered food and energy security, not to mention Iran's nuclear programme. It's questionable whether these meetings are little more than photo opportunities - uncomfortable ones at that.

A question that is being asked once again is:

Where does this leave the place and status of Palestine - both regionally and globally?

Has it been further demoted down the world's justice and peace list? A list that has Ukraine at the front of the queue marked "problems to be solved".

There was once a time, not so long ago, when the Arab world united in its desire to see a fair resolution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. But priorites are changing.

Dr Hagopian gives us his take on the shifting MENA and Gulf sands.

In this Middle East Analysis podcast we're turning our attention to the on-going war in Ukraine and how the aftershocks are reverberating across Europe, down into the Middle East, across North Africa and through the Gulf States.

Dr Harry Hagopian delivers the analysis and comment as usual and as an international lawyer with conflict resolution and Second Track diplomacy on his CV, he's well placed to take a close look at the tragedies of war and the possible outcomes.

International relations get picked apart - how intercontinental superpowers engage with near neighbours whilst, as always, the people on the ground suffer.

But how is the conflict impacting on the countries of the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf?

Over to you Dr Hapopian...

Today's Middle East Analysis podcast sees resident contributor Dr Harry Hagopian don his jabot and peruke, the white bib and curly wig of a barrister-at-law, as we examine the three main components of power: government (Executive), parliament (Legislature) and the judiciary (Courts).

In the Middle East & North Africa, do we see a separation of these branches of power? How much authority can a judge lay claim to? Are presidents, prime ministers or monarchies above the law? Are there political solutions to legal problems and vice versa? This obviously varies from country to country so Dr Hagopian provides a number of examples to illustrate his thought-provoking arguments and to highlight what happens when these powers get entangled – or not.

Silence in court for today's Middle East Analysis...

How do you fit a year into an hour? Impossible, surely? Not so. As the voice of Middle East Analysis, Dr Harry Hagopian is charged with defying the laws of physics for you on this podcast.

We're taking a different approach this time round. Rather than examining MENA matters at the top of the news agenda, we're taking you on a regional tour to discuss some of the key events of 2021 - from the Middle East, through the Gulf and then across to North Africa. Stylistically, this is more of a series of seasonal fireside reflections than a bash on the head with the 'news and analysis' stick.

Dr Hagopian talks about the changing of the guard in many countries - elections, failed elections and elections to come. Then we lament the humanitarian catastrophes of Lebanon and Yemen as well as the counter revolutions bubbling across the region. We take an overview of the realities of Israel / Palestine, particularly settlements, and whether the potential resurrection of the E1 project will finally kill off the two state solution.

Our next stop takes us to the Gulf and efforts at the rehabilitation of MBS the Saudi Crown Prince before we arrive in North Africa where Dr Hagopian covers that sweep of Arab countries giving us the last 12 months in a nutshell.

There's more trepidation than tinsel but expect the odd light moment or two. 'Crufts for Camels' - the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival in Saudi Arabia - for one.

Join us for 70 minutes of winging it with intelligence.

As the cold sets in here in the UK, we turn our attention to a region where something's always heating up. The three prongs to today's 'Middle East Analysis' podcast are the elections in Iraq, delayed from June, that have yielded some interesting results, the on-going, out-of-sight-out-of-mind conflict in Yemen - will the violence ever end and does the rest of the world care enough? Then we take a look at the eternally beleaguered Lebanon and some of the worst violence to hit the streets in the past ten years.

But that's not all. A chunk of our hour-long podcast is given over to four reflections from the voice of 'Middle East Analysis', the international lawyer and MENA consultant Dr Harry Hagopian.

Harry reflects on the death of Sir David Amess MP, the mysterious re-appearance in Damascus of Rifaat Ali al-Assad, uncle of Syrian President Bashar after almost four decades in exile in France. In his third reflection, we hear Dr Hagopian lament the falling salty sea levels of the Dead Sea and finally, Harry offers a warm welcome to the new Jordanian Ambassador Manar Munther Dabbas.

Image: © Rod Waddington on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)