The Middle East Crisis Factory: Tyranny, Resilience and Resistance

LSE Middle East Centre Podcasts

Why is the Middle East a crisis factory, and how can it be fixed? What does the future look like for its 500 million people? And what role should the West play? Iyad El-Baghdadi and Ahmed Gatnash tell the story of the modern Middle East as a series of broken promises. They chart the entrenchment of tyranny, terrorism and foreign intervention, showing how these systems of oppression simultaneously feed off and battle each other. Exploring demographic, economic and social trends, the authors paint a picture of the region’s prospects that is alarming yet hopeful. Finally, they present ambitious and thoughtful ideas that reject both aggressive military intervention and cynical deals with dictators. This book, written by two children of the region, is about the failures of history, and the reasons for hope. The Middle East Crisis Factory offers a bold vision for those seeking peace and democracy in the Middle East. Iyad El-Baghdadi is a Palestinian writer, activist and entrepreneur, and co-founder/president of the Kawaakibi Foundation. He was jailed and expelled from his lifelong home in the UAE for human rights activism, and today lives in Oslo, where he was granted asylum. He is a fellow at Norwegian liberal think tank Civita and board member at Munathara, the Arab debate NGO. He tweets @iyad_elbaghdadi. Ahmed Gatnash is a British-Libyan activist and entrepreneur. He is co-founder and director of operations of the Kawaakibi Foundation, and hosts its Arab Tyrant Manual podcast. He tweets @gatnash. Rim Turkmani is a Research Fellow at the Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit in the Department of International Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She directs the Syria conflict research programme at the Unit. Her policy-oriented research work focuses on identity politics, legitimate governance, transforming war economy it into peace economy and the relationship between local and external drivers of the conflict.