Babel: Translating the Middle East – Details, episodes & analysis

Egyptians traditionally celebrate Sham Enessim, the country’s pharaonic spring holiday, by eating faseekh, a fermented mullet. But in the weeks prior to this year’s holiday, which fell on May 6, the price of seafood shot up 180 percent. In Port Said, where seafood is generally an affordable staple protein, the price hikes hit especially hard. Salmah Elmasry, "A Fishy Business in Port Said," CSIS, July 30, 2024.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Michelle Nunn, the president and CEO of CARE. Michelle leads more than 8,000 people working around the world in crisis response, health and education access, gender equality, and climate change. Together, they discuss the unique challenges of Gaza's humanitarian crisis by contextualizing it among other global crises. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Natasha Hall and Leah Hickert to discuss how global attention on Gaza has affected the conflict and the humanitarian response, and whether sustained humanitarian engagement will translate into the “day after.” Transcript, "Michelle Nunn: The Challenges of Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis," CSIS, August 20, 2024.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Professor Jonathan Rynhold, the head of the Department of Political Studies at Bar Ilan University and a senior researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. Together, they talk about how Israeli public opinion has evolved since October 7th, the divisions within Israeli politics, and Israeli attitudes towards President Biden. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Will Todman and Leah Hickert to discuss the dynamics in Israeli strategic thinking and President Biden’s efforts to move the conflict closer to resolution. Transcript, "Jonathan Rynhold: Israel's Divided Politics," CSIS, June 11, 2024.

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Marc Owen Jones, an assistant professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Qatar. He is the author of the recently released book, Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East. They talk about governments' longstanding efforts to shape the news environment in Middle Eastern states, and how the rise of social media creates new opportunities and threats for governments and citizens alike. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Natasha Hall and Caleb Harper about what this all means for the United States and the region. Marc Owen Jones, "How digital authoritarianism has permeated the Middle East," Middle East Eye, August 11, 2022. Marc Owen Jones, Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East (Hurst Publishers: 2022). Marc Owen Jones, "Social media fueled the Arab Spring, then helped dictators squash it," The New Arab, January 12, 2021. Transcript, "Real News, Fake News, and No News," CSIS, September 20, 2022.

To protect water resources in Lebanon, it takes more than just government action. This Mezze is adapted from a short vignette in our Sustainable States: Environment, Governance, and the Future of the Middle East. A New Mezze from the CSIS Middle East Program.

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Olivia Lazard, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe focusing on the geopolitics of climate and the transitions ushered by climate change. They talk about the political and social impacts of climate change in the Middle East, what states in the region are already doing to mitigate the effects of climate change, and the bigger, transformative policy changes that are still needed. Then, Jon breaks down how international actors and governments in the region are thinking about these kinds of changes with Natasha Hall and Caleb Harper.  Olivia Lazard et al., “Let’s Place Sustainability and Climate Change at the Heart of International Policy,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 8, 2022.   Olivia Lazard et al., “The Middle East’s Climate Change Wake-Up,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 17, 2022.  Jon Alterman, Natasha Hall, and Will Todman, "Sustainable States: Environment, Governance, and the Future of the Middle East," CSIS, May 18, 2021. Transcript, "Climate in the Middle East," CSIS, September 6, 2022.

In Saudi Arabia, religious leaders warn that there's a new sin to add to the list: flashing your emergency lights to warn other drivers of upcoming speed cameras. A new Mezze from the CSIS Middle East Program.

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Marsin Alshamary, a research fellow with the Middle East Initiative at Harvard’s Belfer Center. We talk about the ongoing crisis happening outside of Iraq’s parliament, why the current intra-Shi’a conflict is unique and how it echoes similar crises before, and where Iran and the United States stand. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Will Todman and Lubna Yousef about what a lighter U.S touch in Iraq might look like moving forward. Marsin Alshamary , "The Sadrist Gamble: A Make-or-Break Moment for Iraq?," Italian Institute for International and Political Studies, August 4, 2022. Marsin Alshamary, “The protester paradox: Why do anti-Islamist activists look toward clerical leadership?” Brookings, April 2022.  Jane Arraf and Jon Alterman, " Not Your Mother's Iraq," CSIS, March 1, 2022. Transcript, "Iraq's Political Crisis," CSIS, August 23, 2022.

Egypt doesn't have the most famous Middle Eastern cuisine, but few would call it deadly. That may be changing. A new Mezze from the Middle East Program at CSIS.

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Ambassador Beth van Schaack, the State Department's ambassador-at-large for Global Criminal Justice. They talk about holding perpetrators of atrocities accountable in Syria, how accountability and justice fit into U.S. foreign policy, and the ways in which accountability looks different the for winners and losers of conflicts. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Natasha Hall and Lubna Yousef, the Middle East Program's new Research Associate. Beth van Schaack, Imagining Justice for Syria (UK: Oxford University Press, 2020). Natasha Hall and Will Todman, "Lessons Learned from a Decade of Humanitarian Operations in Syria," CSIS, April 22, 2021. Beth van Schaack, “Good Governance Paper No. 13: Atrocities Prevention and Response,” Just Security, October 29, 2020.  Transcript, "Accountability in Syria," CSIS, August 9, 2022.