Shifting Tides

On this episode of Shifting Tides Elif and Michael are joined by Sener Akturk, Associate Professor of International Relations at Koc University to talk about Turkish-Russian relations and the complexities that characterize them.  They discuss points of convergence and disagreements between the two countries, theaters of competition, Turkiye's geopolitical balancing act amid the war in Ukraine and its strategic importance as well as the future trajectory of Turkish-Russian relations. 

On this episode Elif and Michael talk with Ahmed Gatnash, co-founder of Kawaakibi Foundation about his new book 'The Middle East Crisis Factory' co-authored with Iyad El Baghdadi. They discuss the main themes in the book, the key linkages between the recent protest movements in Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Algeria and the wave of protests that swept the region in 2011, the role of civil society and diaspora in challenging the authoritarian regimes, the perception of Islamists as populist political actors, the relationship between ideology and democratic practices as well as key points to look out for in the coming decades. 

On this episode Elif Zaim and Michael Arnold talk with Tarek Megerisi, a senior policy fellow with the North Africa and Middle East programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations about Libya's election prospects. They discuss the effectiveness of Libyan Dialogue Forum, dynamics behind the calls for a delay, the current legal framework  governing elections, the potential military build-up, as well as regional and international support for the presidential candidates and potential outcomes.  

On this episode of Shifting Tides, Elif Zaim and Michael Arnold talk with Christophe-Abi Nassif, the acting Lebanon program director at the Middle East Institute about the race to rebuild the port of Beirut. They discuss the importance of ports in the Eastern Mediterranean both with regards to regional and international geopolitical competition, the current situation at the port of Beirut, who stands to gain domestically from various reconstruction proposals, the issue of accountability in the country, and what lays over the horizon in terms of possible successful bids.

In our first episode of Shifting Tides, Elif Zaim and Michael Arnold talk with Dr. Alaa Tartir, Program Advisor to Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network about the political economy of aid to Palestine. They discuss the Oslo Accords, why aid has failed the Palestinian people and the aid development paradox, how aid sustains the Israeli economy and subsidizes the financing of the occupation, how Arab aid factors into this equation, and whether a new paradigm can be established as an answer to the current challenges and predicaments.