The Lebanese Politics Podcast

In Lebanon's first election since the Oct. 17 uprising, voters sent a sizable contingent of change candidates to Parliament, while clipping the wings of both Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement. Nizar and Ben take a look at the vote, its translation to seats in Parliament, the new MPs, and what all this means for Lebanon in the coming months.

Follow us on Twitter for updates @lebpoliticspod

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Ahead of Sunday's national elections, Nizar and Ben run through what to expect, both in terms of voting and results — and what's in store for Lebanon in the aftermath.

Follow us on Twitter for updates @lebpoliticspod

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Elections have begun! As expats head to the polls around the world this weekend, Nizar and Ben take a deep dive into what political parties are saying — and what that tells us about how they see Lebanon's problems and their proposed solutions.

0:00 - 4:51: Intro

*Diagnosing the problem*

4:51 - 14:00: The establishment and/or hezbollah?

14:05 - 19:00: Hezbollah's reasoning

- 28:20: Bassil's disillusionment with 'power'

28:21 - 37:32: Alliance justifications

*Solutions*

37:34 - 51:42: Stability rhetoric (Hezbollah - Amal - Mikati - Jumblatt)

51:43 - 57:45: The 'sovereigntists'

57:48 - 1:03:30: Neo-liberalism & technocratic economics

1:03:30 - 1:09:05: FPM's new rhetoric: Attacking banks & systemic change

1:09:07 - end: Strategies for change

Follow us on Twitter for updates @lebpoliticspod

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

In our second episode focusing on Lebanon's 2022 parliamentary elections, Nizar and Ben analyze the strategic responses to two major developments — Hariri's withdrawal and the FPM's perceived weakness — and what they tell us about how moneyed interests interact with politics.

Follow us on Twitter for updates @lebpoliticspod

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Elections are coming!

Returning after a long break, Ben and Nizar review major developments since the last parliamentary elections in 2018 and examine to what extent the two electoral moments are different or similar. We zoom in on the gradual deterioration of the economic situation alongside political deadlock and a campaign by financial elites and their allies to protect their interests.

This episode is the first of a limited run leading up to the vote on May 15. Episode 111 will zoom in on alliances and strategies.

Follow us on Twitter for updates @lebpoliticspod

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion of HRW's Beirut Blast report begins at 07:30.

Ben and Timour are joined this week by Aya Majzoub, Lebanon and Bahrain researcher at Human Right's Watch, to walk through HRW's mammoth 700+ page report: “They Killed Us from the Inside” An Investigation into the August 4 Beirut Blast. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/08/03/they-killed-us-inside/investigation-august-4-beirut-blast)

One year on from the deadly explosion that killed 218 people, wounded 7,000 and displaced 300,000, the report breaks down how the Rhosus and it's cargo came to be in Beirut, the catalogue of failures across the Lebanese state that allowed 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate to be unsafely stored for so long and how best to seek justice for the victims.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Hariri's resignation starts at 17:50.

Ben, Nizar and Timour are back to analyse the latest in Lebanon's ongoing crisis, including protests over the lack of progress in the Beirut Port explosion investigation, potential sanctions against Lebanon's political class and our main focus, the resignation of PM-designate Saad Hariri.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Lebanon's finances begins at 07:19.

After a week packed with financial news, Ben and Timour are joined by Omar Tamo, journalist at L'Orient Today focused on banking and finance, to discuss the latest array of confusing decisions and negotiations between Lebanon's central bank and commerical banks and what it all means for ordinary depositors and Lebanon's struggling subsidy program.

Also discussed: cabinet formation, Lebanon's new sexual harrassment law, the STL and the World Bank's latest economic monitor.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on the new opposition in Lebanon begins at 11:00.

Nizar and Timo are joined this week by Hussein El Achi, lawyer, activist and secretary general of new political movement Minteshreen, to talk about the landscape of Lebanon's opposition, the dynamics of coalition forming and early projections for next year's parliamentary elections.

Also discussed: Assad's election victory, corona in Lebanon, BDL's dwindling reserves and the Lebanese army looking for aid.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Palestine starts at 11:11.

Ben and Nizar are joined this week by Laura Albast, communications and social media manager at the Institute for Palestine Studies, to discuss Palestine, the #SaveSheikhJarrah campaign and if the momentum and solidarity in response to the latest violence can translate into improvements for Palestinians on the ground.

Also discussed: Lebanon's covid situation, the Charbel Wehbi scandal, government formation and violence at pro-Assad rallies during Syrian expat elections.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel