Another season of elections is upon the Middle East. Egypt’s presidential election appeared anything but free, as President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi renewed his authoritarian mandate and squelched even the appearance of competition. In contrast, both Lebanon and Iraq are hosting freewheeling parliamentary campaigns, with elections coming in both countries in May.
How much do these electoral contests serve to bring more democracy? Status-quo players have learned how to navigate the electoral process without engaging in any significant reform or opening—whether outright authoritarians like Egypt’s Sisi, or more complex but profoundly undemocratic warlords and demagogues like many of the sectarian leaders in Iraq and Lebanon.
Our guests examine the connections between elections and democracy in this latest cycle of voting in the Middle East, in a global context where basic political propositions about the viability of electoral democracy are being called into question.
Participants include:
Sistani’s Historic Legacy
How Is the Gaza War Affecting the Middle East?
Aid That Backfires
Shia Power: Sectarian Prejudice
Shia Power: Iraq’s Nationalist Revolutionaries
Shia Power: Do Clerics Still Have Authority?
Shia Power: What’s an Islamist?
Facing Iraq’s Climate Catastrophe
Lebanon’s Botched Economic Rescue
Power and Power in Lebanon
A Tale of Two Border Towns
Broken Bonds: Quitting the Brotherhood
Broken Bonds: Leaders without Legitimacy
Broken Bonds: No Identity
Broken Bonds: Existential Crises
Broken Bonds: My Life as a Muslim Brother
The Earthquake, Cholera, and Borders
Iraq’s Heist of the Century
Progressive Policy: Shrinking America’s Military Footprint
Progressive Policy: Replacing the War on Terror
Join Podbean Ads Marketplace and connect with engaged listeners.
Advertise Today
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Jim & Bill (It‘s Another Day)
HauntingLive
Dr. Paul’s Worldviews
The Ben Shapiro Show
The Tucker Carlson Show