This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Dr. Monica Marks, a professor of Middle East politics at NYU Abu Dhabi who has been thinking about Tunisia for almost 15 years. They discuss Tunisian President Kais Saied's recent moves to consolidate power, why Tunisians seem to support him, what's at stake for Tunisia's democracy, and what role Western donors and institu ... Show More
May 22
Babel Special: Jon Alterman's Next Chapter
This week on a special edition of Babel, Will Todman speaks with Jon Alterman, the creator of Babel and the show’s host since it began in 2019. They discuss Jon’s reflections on 22 years directing the CSIS Middle East Program, his analysis of how the Middle East policy ecosystem ... Show More
34m 59s
May 15
Mohanad Hage Ali: Hezbollah and the Captagon Trade
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Mohanad's latest paper for Carnegie investigates the rise of a new form of drug smuggling in Lebanon. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s i ... Show More
50m 16s
May 8
Analysis: Will Trump’s Houthi Deal Stick?
On Tuesday, May 6, President Trump declared that the United States would immediately halt its bombing of Houthi targets, bringing an end to months of intensified U.S. strikes across Yemen. The president linked the policy reversal to what he described as the Iran-backed Houthis’ c ... Show More
6m 13s
Apr 2023
Tunisia’s democracy on the brink
Tunisia in North Africa was the birthplace of the Arab Spring, a wave of popular uprisings that shook or toppled authoritarian regimes in the region. But, after a decade of fragile democracy, in 2019 a new strongman, President Kais Saied, swept to power. He directed his campaign ... Show More
49m 5s
Oct 2021
Taking the pulse of Tunisia’s democracy
Tunisia has a new prime minister, the first woman in the Arab world to hold the job. She’s replacing the prime minister that President Kais Saied sacked in July, when he suspended parliament. Many Tunisians, fed up with political parties and an economic crisis, thought that was t ... Show More
17m 43s
Feb 2024
Democracy on the brink in Tunisia?
In 2011, Tunisians took to the streets against the ruling authoritarian regime. Catalysed by social media, the protests would reverberate around the world, spark the Arab Spring and lead to significant democratic reforms in the country. More recently, Tunisia’s democracy has reac ... Show More
19m 36s
May 2023
Tunisie: une révolution confisquée?
La Tunisie a fait, pendant 10 ans, figure d’exception, seul pays à avoir mis sur pied une démocratie dans la foulée du Printemps arabe, après avoir chassé en janvier 2011 son président autocrate Ben Ali. Une démocratie fragile, perfectible mais une démocratie. Jusqu’au coup de to ... Show More
50 m