Tribe-state relations are a foundational element of authoritarian bargains in the Middle East, and in particular in the Gulf States. However, the structures of governance built upon that foundation exhibit wide differences. What explains this variation in the salience of kinship authority?
Through a case comparison of Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, in Kinship, Sta ... Show More
Aug 24
Robin Whelan, "Serving the Christian State in Late Antiquity" (Cambridge UP, 2026)
How did the state become Christian in late antiquity? Many scholars have traced the Christianization of the Roman world in the centuries following the conversion of the emperor Constantine in 312 CE. Robin Whelan, however, turns his attention away from the usual suspects in such ... Show More
1h 14m
Aug 20
Emily Sibley, "The Poetics of Incivility: Satire and Subversion in Modern Arab Culture" (Cornell UP, 2026)
The Poetics of Incivility: Satire and Subversion in Modern Arab Culture (Cornell UP, 2026) explores impolite modes of expression—satire, crude humor, and rudeness—as a critical lens for both aesthetic innovation and sociopolitical critique. In the Arab world—from Cairo's Tahrir ... Show More
38m 54s
Aug 17
Amihai Mazar and Nava Panitz-Cohen, "Tel Rehov: A Bronze and Iron Age City in the Beth-Shean Valle" (The Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University, 2020)
This interview with Professor Amihai Mazar was conducted by Željko Stanojević for the New Books Network. The conversation focuses on Tel Reḥov: A Bronze and Iron Age City in the Beth-Shean Valley, especially Volume V, where the report turns from architecture and pottery to smalle ... Show More
42m 9s
Nov 2024
Scott J. Weiner, "Kinship, State Formation and Governance in the Arab Gulf States" (Edinburgh UP, 2024)
Tribe-state relations are a foundational element of authoritarian bargains in the Middle East, and in particular in the Gulf States. However, the structures of governance built upon that foundation exhibit wide differences. What explains this variation in the salience of kinship ... Show More
44m 1s
Nov 2024
Scott J. Weiner, "Kinship, State Formation and Governance in the Arab Gulf States" (Edinburgh UP, 2024)
Tribe-state relations are a foundational element of authoritarian bargains in the Middle East, and in particular in the Gulf States. However, the structures of governance built upon that foundation exhibit wide differences. What explains this variation in the salience of kinship ... Show More
44m 1s
Nov 2021
The Middle East's Political Economies
This week on Babel, Jon talks with Robert Springborg, a long-time scholar of the Middle East who has advised governments and international organizations working in the region for decades on issues of economics, politics, and foreign assistance. We discuss shared aspects of politi ... Show More
39m 33s
Jun 2025
Shifting Dynamics of Gulf–Asia Relations
In this episode of MEnbar, host Marc Owen Jones welcomes Adel Abdel Ghafar, Fellow and Director of the Foreign Policy Program at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, to explore the shifting dynamics of Gulf–Asia relations. Ghafar discusses China's growing influence across t ... Show More
38m 33s