At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, displaced populations and conflict zones were considered especially vulnerable, driving early fears that the Middle East would be especially hard hit. The first wave of the pandemic shook Iraq and Iran, but the worst fears did not materialize, at least not initially.
Now, however, cases are increasing across the region. The pandemic is straining areas already buckling under sanctions, armed conflict, regional rivalries, corruption, and economic depression. On this episode of Order from Ashes, international affairs researchers at The Century Foundation discuss how the pandemic is accelerating regional crises and why it has not yet led to any systemic change. (There’s more TCF analysis of the pandemic in the Middle East in the new roundtable, “Middle East Strained by COVID-19, But Not Transformed.”)
Participants include:
Iran in Iraq
Do Elections Help or Hurt Middle-East Democracy?
Bridging the Middle East’s Security Gulf
Honor Killings and Women’s Rights
Iraq’s Militia Problem and A Dangerous Point in Syria
Why We Shouldn’t Expect an Arab NATO
Dealing with Iran and Rebalancing American Interests
Security Architecture in the Middle East
Who Cares About A Faraway Siege?
A Post-American World
Talking with Syrian Exiles
Iraq after the Kurdish referendum
Syria's Next Phase
Press Freedom in Egypt
Hezbollah and Iran's Road
Demythologize ISIS
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