TCF World Podcast

During decades of turmoil, war, and regime change in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has played a critical, often overlooked role—steering Iraq away from sectarian conflict, promoting civic democracy over direct theocracy, and quietly seeking to calm regional tensions.   On this episode of Order from Ashes, Century International fellow Sajad Jiyad explains how Sistani has appealed to a majority of the world's millions of Shia Muslims with his indirect model of clerical authority, a stark contrast to the competing model of direct clerical rule advanced by his compatriots in Iran.    Jiyad has published a new political biography,  God's Man in Iraq: The Life and Leadership of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, which offers the first comprehensive account of Sistani's legacy and draws on original sources and hundreds of interviews during decades of fieldwork inside Iraq. Jiyad    Observers of Iraq and of Shia power will find God's Man in Iraq an incomparable appraisal of Sistani's legacy—and an invaluable guide to the perilous transition that will follow his tenure.   You can learn more and order copies on the book's homepage.  God's Man in Iraq is also available in Arabic.   Read:  Commentary: "The Man Who Saved Iraq," by Sajad Jiyad (in English and Arabic) Book page: God's Man in Iraq: The Life and Leadership of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, by Sajad Jiyad Arabic book page: رجل الله في العراق   Participants: Sajad Jiyad, fellow, Century International Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

The Middle East has faced growing instability, violence, and the risk of a wider war ever since October 7.    Most attention is understandably focused on Israel, where 1,200 people were killed in a single day, and Gaza, where the death toll is steadily climbing past 11,000, the majority children and women.    But the wider region is experiencing a level of violence that is cause for alarm: near-daily clashes between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel; steady attacks on the U.S. military in Iraq and Syria; and increasingly bold military initiatives by Yemen's Houthi rebel forces.   How has the Gaza war changed the wider Middle East? What new dynamics are shaping conflicts and diplomacy among the regional powers and in the region's many simmering conflicts? How will America's bear hug of Israel affect other American interests in the Middle East?   Century International fellows Aron Lund, Sam Heller, and Thanassis Cambanis are joined by Michael Wahid Hanna from International Crisis Group to step back from the day-to-day developments of the Gaza war and assess the changing regional context.   Read:  Commentary: “It's Time for a Ceasefire in Gaza—and Then a New Push for Peace,” by Thanassis Cambanis, Dahlia Scheindlin, and Sam Heller Commentary: “America Needs to Prevent a Regional War in the Middle East,” by Sam Heller and Thanassis Cambanis Participants: Sam Heller, fellow, Century International Aron Lund, fellow, Century International Michael Wahid Hanna, director, U.S. program, International Crisis Group Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

Foreign donors are propping up Lebanon's public institutions and services with the kind of aid they ordinarily provide to failed states. Will this aid create more problems than it solves for Lebanon's long-suffering people?   On this episode of Century International's Order from Ashes podcast, fellow Sam Heller discusses the alarming findings of his report, “Adopt a Ministry: How Foreign Aid Threatens Lebanon's Institutions.”   As Lebanon's crisis worsens, foreign donors have stepped in to take over many core functions normally fulfilled by the government. Is this aid, which is vital in the short term, threatening the viability and long-term recovery of Lebanon?    Donors, aid agencies, Lebanese officials and experts can start by getting honest about the tradeoffs, Sam argues. A first step toward changing the counterproductive aid dynamic requires a full picture of foreign support for Lebanon, so donors and the Lebanese government can coordinate aid to useful ends and not just perpetuate dependency and state breakdown.     Read:  Report: “Adopt a Ministry: How Foreign Aid Threatens Lebanon's Institutions,” by Sam Heller Commentary: “International Aid Keeps Lebanon Afloat. It Could Also Be Destroying Its Institutions,” by Sam Heller [in English and Arabic]   Participants: Sam Heller, fellow, Century International Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast, Ali Al-Mawlawi traces the long history of anti-Shia prejudice in Iraq. That prejudice, he argues, distorts contemporary debates over whether Shia factions are undermining the state when they compete for power.   This episode of Order From Ashes is the fourth and final episode in “Shia Power,” a series about the transformation of Shia politics in Iraq, and what Iraq's experience teaches us about the role of religion in politics everywhere.    In episode 1 of “Shia Power,” Sajad Jiyad and host Thanassis Cambanis chart the powerful role of religion and the Shia clergy in the creation of a new Iraqi order after Saddam Hussein. In episode 2, Marsin Alshammary draws on her fieldwork in the seminaries of Najaf to argue that clerical authority has not diminished, despite setbacks over the last twenty years. In episode 3, Taif Alkhudary chronicles the revolutionary efforts of the Tishreen protest movement to establish an alternative to religious politics. In episode 4, the final in this series, Ali Al-Mawlawi connects some of today's sectarian rhetoric to Iraq's long history of anti-Shia prejudice.   Participants: Ali Al-Mawlawi,  Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International   Read: Report: “Iraqi Shia Factions Are Supposedly ‘Anti-state.' But State Power Is What They Want,” by Ali Al-Mawlawi Book: Shia Power Comes of Age Project: Shia Politics

On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast “Shia Power” series, Taif Alkhudary explains how the October 2019 protests formed a popular response to years of thwarted democratization.    The Tishreen protests movement, Alkhudary argues, represents an indigenous democratization movement that is resisting the putative democracy put in place after the U.S. invasion. Since 2003, Iraqis have endured corruption, dysfunction, and ethno-sectarian tensions, which the political elite justified as the cost of democracy. The Tishreen movement, while still politically immature, has revealed an alternate path.    This episode of Order From Ashes is the third in a four-part series about the transformation of Shia politics in Iraq, and what Iraq's experience teaches us about the role of religion in politics everywhere.    In episode 1 of “Shia Power,” Sajad Jiyad and host Thanassis Cambanis chart the powerful role of religion and the Shia clergy in the creation of a new Iraqi order after Saddam Hussein. In episode 2, Marsin Alshammary draws on her fieldwork in the seminaries of Najaf to argue that clerical authority has not diminished, despite setbacks over the last twenty years. In episode 3, Taif Alkhudary chronicles the revolutionary efforts of the Tishreen protest movement to establish an alternative to religious politics. In episode 4, the final in this series, Ali Al-Mawlawi connects some of today's sectarian rhetoric to Iraq's long history of anti-Shia prejudice.   Participants: Taif Alkhudary, research officer, LSE Middle East Center, and PhD candidate, Cambridge Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International   Read: Report: “Young Revolutionary Parties Are Still Iraq's Best Hope for Democracy,” by Taif Alkhudary Book: Shia Power Comes of Age Project: Shia Politics

On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast, Marsin Alshamary explains why, despite some setbacks, Shia clerics in Iraq still wield a great deal of authority.    Protest movements have rejected religion in politics, while corrupt politicians have sullied the reputations of religious factions. But clerics and their institutions remain powerful players in Iraqi society even as their roles change.   This episode of Order From Ashes is the second in “Shia Power,” a four-part series about the transformation of Shia politics in Iraq, and what Iraq's experience teaches us about the role of religion in politics everywhere.    In episode 1 of “Shia Power,” Sajad Jiyad and host Thanassis Cambanis chart the powerful role of religion and the Shia clergy in the creation of a new Iraqi order after Saddam Hussein. In episode 2, Marsin Alshammary draws on her fieldwork in the seminaries of Najaf to argue that clerical authority has not diminished, despite setbacks over the last twenty years. In episode 3, Taif Alkhudary chronicles the revolutionary efforts of the Tishreen protest movement to establish an alternative to religious politics. In episode 4, the final in this series, Ali Al-Mawlawi connects some of today's sectarian rhetoric to Iraq's long history of anti-Shia prejudice.   Read: Report: “Shia Clerics in Iraq Haven't Lost Their Authority,” by Marsin Alshamary Book: Shia Power Comes of Age Project: Shia Politics   Participants: Marsin Alshamary, assistant professor of political science, Boston College Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast, Sajad Jiyad plumbs the complex evolution of Shia Islamism during two decades at the center of Iraqi power.   This episode of Order From Ashes is the first in “Shia Power,” a four-part series about the transformation of Shia politics in Iraq, and what Iraq's experience teaches us about the role of religion in politics everywhere.    A new edited volume from Century International, Shia Power Comes of Age: The Transformation of Islamist Politics in Iraq, 2003–2023, maps the radical transformation of Shia Islamist politics in Iraq over the last two decades. Contributors include Taif AlKhudary, Ali Al-Mawlawi, Marsin Alshamary, Thanassis Cambanis, Maria Fantappie, Fanar Haddad, Sajad Jiyad, Renad Mansour, and Ben Robin-D'Cruz.   Sajad and Thanassi, directors of Century International's Shia Politics project, reflect on the lessons of Iraq's Shia Islamists for politicians, policymakers, and researchers.   In episode 1 of “Shia Power,” Sajad Jiyad and host Thanassis Cambanis chart the powerful role of religion and the Shia clergy in the creation of a new Iraqi order after Saddam Hussein. In episode 2, Marsin Alshammary draws on her fieldwork in the seminaries of Najaf to argue that clerical authority has not diminished, despite setbacks over the last twenty years. In episode 3, Taif Alkhudary chronicles the revolutionary efforts of the Tishreen protest movement to establish an alternative to religious politics. In episode 4, the final in this series, Ali Al-Mawlawi connects some of today's sectarian rhetoric to Iraq's long history of anti-Shia prejudice.   Read: Book: Shia Power Comes of Age Project: Shia Politics   Participants: Sajad Jiyad, fellow, Century International Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

In a miserable twist for the people who live there, Iraq has become a front-line test lab for the extreme effects of climate change. A combination of forces, accelerated by bad human decisions, has dramatically degraded Iraq's environment. And Iraq's experience is a harbinger of what's coming to the rest of the world.  On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast, Century International fellow Zeinab Shuker explores the unhappy mix of factors that has made Iraq so inhospitable. Zeinab is leading “Living the Climate Emergency: Lessons from Iraq,” a new Century International project exploring how policymakers and researchers can draw on the case of Iraq and its neighbors to translate into action the growing consensus that the climate crisis is already here.  Century's Climate Emergency Project will connect field researchers, policymakers, and a wider audience through roundtables, public events, podcasts, and reports. Future research in this project will place today's crisis in a historical context; map the contours and human impact of climate change in Iraq and its neighborhood; and finally, drawing on the lessons of the extreme case in Iraq, make projections about the future and propose solutions.  Read:  “The Deep Roots of Iraq's Climate Crisis,” Century International report by , Zeinab Shuker “Iraq Is Overheating. How Can It Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change?,” Century International commentary by Zeinab Shuker Explore: Project homepage, “Living the Climate Emergency: Lessons from Iraq” Participants: Zeinab Shuker, fellow, Century International Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

Lebanon's ruling elites have sabotaged talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which offered the last hope for reforms that could save the country's economy and improve life for millions of suffering people.  On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast, researchers Sami Zoughaib, from The Policy Institute in Lebanon, and Sam Heller, from Century International, reveal how Lebanon's elites have misled the public on the reality of the country's dire situation. Without some course change, Zoughaib and Heller argue, Lebanon will not have the IMF program it needs to halt its economic collapse. But public pressure could still force elites to act responsibly—or at least hold those elites accountable. The two researchers discuss the findings in their new report, a joint production of Century International and The Policy Institute in Lebanon. It is part of “Networks of Change: Reviving Governance and Citizenship in the Middle East,” a Century International project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Foundations. Read: “The Shadow Plan: How Lebanese Elites Are Sabotaging Their Country's IMF Lifeline,” by Sami Zoughaib and Sam Heller. Participants: Sami Zoughaib, economist and research manager at The Policy Initiative in Lebanon Sam Heller, fellow, Century International Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

The scramble for electricity has produced new interest groups that will shape the evolution of Lebanon's decaying power sector, and the country's future. Lebanese people endure erratic and expensive electricity supplies—not because of some staggering technical challenge but because of corrupt, often criminal, monopolies that control the energy sector. On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast, Century International fellow Zachary Cuyler talks about the competing interest groups that reap the benefits of Lebanon's failed electricity system.  Zack delves deeper into the dysfunction in Lebanon's electricity sector in his recent Century International commentary, “Lebanon's Grid Has Collapsed. What Comes Next?” Participants: Zack Cuyler, fellow, Century International Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

The effort to secure Iraq's borders after the defeat of ISIS has created other, new sources of instability, as conflict supply chains adapt to new circumstances. A close look at two border towns in Iraq's western desert illustrates the law of unintended consequences. The Iraqi government, bordering countries, and the international community moved to more tightly control official border crossings in order to defeat ISIS. As a result, however, militias and smugglers have moved a great deal of commerce, legal and illicit, to other crossing points. In the meantime, people along once-prosperous trade routes suffer privation and violence, driving new conflicts. Researchers Renad Mansour and Hayder Al-Shakeri tell the tale of trade, smuggling, and conflict across Iraq's borders. The trajectory of trade route towns Rutba and Qaim help explain the mechanics of conflict supply chains and the unintended consequences of efforts to secure parts of the border without thinking of the spinoff effects. Participants: Haydar Al-Shakeri, research associate, MENA Program, Chatham House Renad Mansour, director, Iraq Initiative, Chatham House Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

Members have fled the Muslim Brotherhood in droves since its ouster from power in Egypt in 2013, frustrated that the organization can't take care of them, or provide meaning for their lives. Will the Brotherhood learn the lessons of its failures before its next, inevitable, comeback? In this final episode of Broken Bonds, Amr ElAfifi explores the Brotherhood's crisis of membership and the implications for policy.  Some have left the Brotherhood because they've lost trust in the leadership; others, because they say the organization “is not being brotherhood enough.” The Brotherhood's fractious trajectory after the Rabaa massacre of 2013 makes clear that there is no single Brotherhood path during a period of unprecedented violent repression.  The Brotherhood's scattered grassroots have followed divergent paths, some embracing militancy, some withdrawing to the private sphere, and others abandoning faith altogether.  The Brotherhood tried to claim the mantle of Islamist politics, but found itself beset by contradictions and crises. “Islamism,” like the Brotherhood, is not a clearly defined or monolithic movement.  Broken Bonds is a five-part special season of the Order From Ashes podcast. The first episode charted Abdelrahman Ayyash's personal coming of age in a Brotherhood milieu. In the second episode, Ayyash, Noha Khaled, and Amr ElAfifi mapped how the crises of identity, legitimacy, and membership simultaneously explain the organization's weaknesses, and staying power. In the third episode, Khaled dissected the identity crisis that has defined the Brotherhood since its establishment. In the fourth episode, Ayyash sketched the leadership vacuum and power struggles that have hobbled the Brotherhood since 2013. Broken Bonds explores the evolution of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood from the apex of its power, when it won Egypt's presidency in 2012, to the organization's disarray and marginalization today. The podcast season is a companion to a new book, Broken Bonds: The Existential Crisis of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, 2013–22, published in February 2023 by TCF Press. Broken Bonds is part of “Faith and Fracture,” a TCF project supported by the Henry Luce Foundation. Participants: Amr ElAfifi, PhD candidate at Syracuse University; research manager, Freedom Initiative Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

The Muslim Brotherhood is a hierarchical organization suffering a debilitating leadership vacuum. Now, the organization has to reinvent itself while most of its top cadres are in exile, dead, or in jail. Years after being forced to become a transnational organization because of its leadership's expulsion from Egypt, the Brotherhood is now at an even more complex crossroads. Its old strategies for managing its relationship with the Egyptian state, and maintaining a quasi-clandestine presence in Egypt, are no longer relevant.  Abdelrahman Ayyash explains the power struggles and inchoate efforts to create a coherent strategy among the Brotherhood's fragmented leadership after the 2013 coup and subsequent crackdown. The Brotherhood has been riven by power struggles and fundamental debates over resources, its international orientation, and the use of violence. This leadership crisis has hobbled the Brotherhood. This is the fourth episode of Broken Bonds, a five-part special season of the Order From Ashes podcast. The first episode charted Abdelrahman Ayyash's personal coming of age in a Brotherhood milieu. In the second episode, Ayyash, Noha Khaled, and Amr ElAfifi mapped how the crises of identity, legitimacy, and membership simultaneously explain the organization's weaknesses and its staying power. In the third episode, Khaled dissected the identity crisis that has defined the Brotherhood since its establishment. The fifth and final episode of Broken Bonds explores the crisis of membership and the implications for policy. Broken Bonds explores the evolution of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood from the apex of its power, when it won Egypt's presidency in 2012, to the organization's disarray and marginalization today. The podcast season is a companion to a new book, Broken Bonds: The Existential Crisis of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, 2013–22, published in February 2023 by TCF Press. Broken Bonds is part of “Faith and Fracture,” a TCF project supported by the Henry Luce Foundation. Participants: Abdelrahman Ayyash, fellow, Century International  Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is suffering from an identity crisis, made worse by ongoing, violent state repression. Nearly a century since its founding, the Brotherhood hasn't reconciled its social and political aims. Noha Khaled plumbs the first of three crises besetting the Brotherhood: its internal identity conflict over what kind of organization it aspires to be.  Throughout its history, the Brotherhood has struggled to accommodate its mission as a religious and social service network, alongside its ambitions for political power. That ambivalence, or contradiction, forms the cornerstone of the Brotherhood's ongoing triple crisis. This is the third episode of Broken Bonds, a five-part special season of the Order From Ashes podcast. The first episode charted Abdelrahman Ayyash's personal coming of age in a Brotherhood milieu. In the second episode, Ayyash, Khaled, and Amr ElAfifi mapped how the crises of identity, legitimacy, and membership simultaneously explain the organization's weaknesses and its staying power. The remaining episodes of Broken Bonds go deeper into the crises of legitimacy and membership, and the implications for policy. Broken Bonds explores the evolution of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood from the apex of its power, when it won Egypt's presidency in 2012, to the organization's disarray and marginalization today. The podcast season is a companion to a new book, Broken Bonds: The Existential Crisis of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, 2013–22, published in February 2023 by TCF Press. Broken Bonds is part of “Faith and Fracture,” a TCF project supported by the Henry Luce Foundation. Participants: Noha Khaled, writer and researcher Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

The Muslim Brotherhood tries to project an image of grassroots power and disciplined leadership. A trio of researchers takes a different view, describing a once-formidable organization that is under strain and out of touch. The Brotherhood, they argue, is experiencing multiple crises—of identity, legitimacy, and membership—which accelerated after Egypt's military coup in July 2013.  Based on unprecedented access to Brotherhood leaders, rank-and-file members, and internal dissenters, the three researchers—Abdelrahman Ayyash, Amr ElAfifi, and Noha Khaled—take a new granular view of the organization.  The Brotherhood and its detractors alike have misunderstood it as a mass ideological organization, missing its evolution into an elite membership organization disconnected from its constituents.  This is the second episode of Broken Bonds, a five-part special season of the Order From Ashes podcast. The first episode charted Ayyash's personal coming of age in a Brotherhood milieu. Remaining episodes of Broken Bonds go deeper into each of the three crises facing the Brotherhood and the implications for policy. Broken Bonds explores the evolution of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood from the apex of its power, when it won Egypt's presidency in 2012, to the organization's disarray and marginalization today. The podcast season is a companion to a new book, Broken Bonds: The Existential Crisis of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, 2013–22, published in February 2023 by TCF Press. Broken Bonds is part of “Faith and Fracture,” a TCF project supported by the Henry Luce Foundation. Participants: Abdelrahman Ayyash, fellow, Century International  Amr ElAfifi, PhD candidate at Syracuse University; research manager, Freedom Initiative Noha Khaled, writer and researcher Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

What's it like to come of age in a Muslim Brotherhood family in Egypt's Nile Delta? Abdelrahman Ayyash recounts his childhood, political awakening, and disenchantment. Ayyash recounts his early history cocooned in a Brotherhood community that took care of its members' schooling, moral training, social life, and career counseling. And he recalls with stark frankness his shock, as a young blogger and political activist, at the political rigidity of the movement in which he'd been raised. Ayyash's personal journey from a young movement standout to dissident, critical researcher opens Broken Bonds, a five-part special season of the Order From Ashes podcast. The remaining episodes of Broken Bonds explore the triple crises facing the Brotherhood, the organization's likely resurgence, and how observers and policymakers mischaracterize the Brotherhood and its significance. Broken Bonds explores the evolution of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood from the apex of its power, when it won Egypt's presidency in 2012, to the organization's disarray and marginalization today. The podcast season is a companion to a new book, Broken Bonds: The Existential Crisis of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, 2013–22, published in February 2023 by TCF Press. Broken Bonds is part of “Faith and Fracture,” a TCF project supported by the Henry Luce Foundation. Participants: Abdelrahman Ayyash, fellow, Century International  Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

The catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 had particularly dire consequences for the millions of displaced Syrians living near the epicenter. Many of them have moved multiple times to flee violence. Since September, an outbreak of cholera has rapidly spread across Syria and entered Lebanon. And to make matters worse, international humanitarian aid is only allowed to enter northern Syria through a single border crossing, which is closed because of earthquake damage. On this episode of the Order from Ashes podcast from Century International, Aron Lund discusses Syria's unending catastrophe, its origins in bad governance, and what donor nations can do to help. Years of war, drought, and climate change have ravaged Syria's water supply and infrastructure, forcing half of the population to drink unsafe water. Now, the earthquake has compounded the damage to Syria's built environment, exacerbating Syria's already dire humanitarian situation. Read more about the human and environmental origins of Syria's deadly cholera outbreak in Aron's Century International report “Cholera in the Time of Assad.” Participants: Aron Lund, fellow, Century International  Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

This fall, news broke that a web of thieves—including high-level officials—had stolen $2.5 billion in Iraqi government cash. The scam is only the most recent example of systemic corruption perpetrated by Iraq's elites since 2003. The country's new government has its work cut out for itself.  On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast, Sajad Jiyad talks about the sordid theft and the way forward to fight corruption. Sajad shares more about the origins of Iraq's consociational system of power sharing, and public graft, in his report “Corruption Is Strangling Iraq.” Participants: Sajad Jiyad, fellow, Century International  Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

America maintains an enormous military infrastructure on the Arabian peninsula and in the Persian Gulf. How should the United States shrink this enormous footprint while continuing to protect its interests and those of its sometimes difficult partners in the region? On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast, Becca Wasser considers some of the practical ways in which a progressive-minded United States could shift away from its overinvestment in military bases. Despite the war in Ukraine and rising tensions with China, the United States retains a massive and problematic military footprint in the Middle East, which creates moral hazard and often locks Washington into military solutions ill-suited for complex policy problems. Figuring out how to get the balance right in the Middle East can help the United States strike a more healthy, and less militarized, balance throughout the world. This episode of Order from Ashes is part of a regular series on progressive foreign policy in the United States. We're looking to start a constructive conversation about the specifics of a progressive foreign policy that remains invested and engaged in the world, while moving away from reflexive militarism and toward a framework based on rights and values. Participants: Becca Wasser, senior fellow, Center for a New American Security Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

Progressives have done a good job articulating the problems with bad policies, especially the Global War on Terror, which worsened the problems it was supposed to solve. But what is the better, progressive alternative? On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast, New America fellow Alex Stark outlines some of the specific ingredients of a policy that tries to promote genuine stability.  Sound, progressive counterterrorism would build on a complex and sustainable vision of stability, rooted in rights and better governance. Instead of seeking to eliminate violent groups, it has designated as terrorists, a progressive counterterrorism policy would invest in accountability and development, along with military operations, to marginalize violent groups.  This episode of Order from Ashes is the first in a regular series on progressive foreign policy in the United States. We're looking to start a constructive conversation about the specifics of a progressive foreign policy that remains invested and engaged in the world, while moving away from reflexive militarism and toward a framework based on rights and values. Participants: Alex Stark, fellow, New America Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

The United States and Lebanon are, in some ways, very different political contexts, and yet organizers face strikingly similar dilemmas and pitfalls in both countries. Both Nicole Carty and Jean Kassir have been actively involved in politics since 2011—Carty in the United States and Kassir in Lebanon. In this episode of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship”—the new season of Order from Ashes—the two activists share their insights. In their experience, movements go through similar cycles. Carty and Kassir emphasize the importance of developing movement infrastructure to avoid the pitfalls associated with these cycles, and to capitalize on moments of mass mobilization—to seize opportunity. Movements must also be able to create moments, not just react to them.  A lack of transmission of skills between generations and a disconnect between movements causes stagnation and the repetition of mistakes. Both activists describe learning lessons from movements across the globe in terms of tactics, discourse, and political imagination. And both emphasize careful thinking about learning and the transmission of skills.  By fostering both transnational and intergenerational learning, movements may have some hope of avoiding the familiar pitfalls. This podcast is the final of a special eight-part season of Order from Ashes, as part of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship: Authoritarianism and the Emerging Global Culture of Resistance,” a TCF project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Foundations.  Participants include:  Jean Kassir, co-founder of Lebanese media platform Megaphone Nicole Carty, core team member, Momentum, a social movement incubator and training institute Naira Antoun, director, Transnational Trends in Citizenship, Century International

No matter how big they are, protests alone do not create political change. They must be nurtured into something more enduring: a movement. Movements are neither protests nor organizations. Ivan Marovic cut his teeth as a student activist in Serbia in the 1990s and as a leader of the Optor movement that brought down Slobodan Milosevic. Since then, he has worked with dissidents and movements all over the world. In this episode of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship”—the new season of Order from Ashes—Marovic talks about the importance of skill-building for movements. Unlike many other factors that affect movements, skill-building is something that can be controlled. The skills of organizing, communicating, strategic planning, and tactical innovation must be nurtured at the grassroots level. This is all the more crucial in authoritarian settings where crackdowns seek to break any civil society networks and may seek to eliminate leadership. Marovic emphasizes the importance for movements of learning, self-reflection, and time spent together. This podcast is part of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship: Authoritarianism and the Emerging Global Culture of Resistance,” a TCF project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Foundations. Participants:  Ivan Marovic, director of field education, International Center on Nonviolent Conflict in Washington, DC Naira Antoun, director, Transnational Trends in Citizenship, Century International

For the last decade and more, popular outrage at police brutality has driven mass protests in both the Middle East and the West. Opposition to police excesses—from crackdowns on protests in Egypt and Iraq to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020—has highlighted the need for change.  In this episode of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship”—the new season of Order from Ashes— anthropologist Hayal Akarsu and sociologist Alex Vitale argue that policing crises around the globe are connected; that is, they are all part of one broad crisis with different local permutations. These permutations may include repressive political policing, long-term corruption and ineffectiveness, everyday policing, or a combination of these, as well as economic factors such as increasing inequality. As awareness of the climate crisis deepens, the role of police in protecting corporate interests may become an increasingly prominent feature of the crisis of policing legitimacy.  Police reform is, more than ever before, a global industry, which circulates experts, tools, standards, models, and training programs. As such, police reform is a key part of foreign policy initiatives, diplomacy efforts, and development programs. A transnational framework enables us to see these connections. This podcast is part of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship: Authoritarianism and the Emerging Global Culture of Resistance,” a TCF project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Foundations.  Participants include: Hayal Akarsu, assistant professor of anthropology, Utrecht University Alex Vitale, professor of sociology, Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center Naira Antoun, director, Transnational Trends in Citizenship, Century International

From Poland to the studios of Fox News, reactionaries have recast progressive ideas about gender as a militant “gender ideology” that threatens society and its values. These politicians and pundits stoke this and other “moral panics”—mass frenzies of fear about practices, ideas, or identities that supposedly threaten a country's innocence or moral character.  Moral panics are an increasingly prominent feature of the political landscape around the world, and they increasingly focus on gender. This episode of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship”—the new season of Order from Ashes—draws on examples from Egypt, Poland, and elsewhere to show how leaders, media, and other actors cultivate, promote, and even invent these moral panics. These actors exploit moral panics to rapidly construct social coalitions that might not otherwise coalesce. And in case after case, moral panics are shown to be about power—more policing of the marginalized; stifling social and economic change that would cost the elite; fighting democratic reforms; and redirecting grievances toward scapegoats.  This podcast is part of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship: Authoritarianism and the Emerging Global Culture of Resistance,” a TCF project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Foundations.  Participants include: Lobna Darwish, gender and human rights officer, Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights Kate Korycki, assistant professor of gender, sexuality, and women's studies, Western University Canada Naira Antoun, director, Transnational Trends in Citizenship, Century International

Pundits, policymakers, and even academics often treat the Middle East as “exceptional”—a region of primordial violence and war, stuck in premodern social dynamics. But such conflict is not unique to the region—the United States and Europe have, of course, fought in multiple wars, though often not on their own soil. It is because of these assumptions that news coverage of the war in Ukraine is viewed with justifiable shock, but the media often treats violence in Iraq or Syria  as relatively unremarkable—the Middle East is supposed to be used to war.  In this episode of Order from Ashes, the scholars Karma R. Chávez and Maya Mikdashi talk about moving beyond the common exceptionalizing frameworks that surround region, gender, and sexuality. They argue that, if straight and queer sexualities are analyzed together—rather than treated as if the condition of LGBTQ minorities is solely its own separate issue—observers can better understand how state and social power operate. Queer or marginalized genders and sexualities are policed or controlled, but so too are straight sexualities and all genders, in ways that are fundamental to how state power operates. The broader implication of their analysis: when we stop seeing the Middle East as exceptionally authoritarian, backward, and violent—and stop seeing the United States and Europe as particularly democratic and civilized—the transnational contours of war and power become clearer. This podcast is part of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship: Authoritarianism and the Emerging Global Culture of Resistance,” a TCF project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Foundations.  Participants: Karma R. Chávez, chair and associate professor in the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, University of Texas, Austin Maya Mikdashi, assistant professor in the Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and a lecturer in the program in Middle East Studies, Rutgers University Naira Antoun, fellow, Century International

A cursory survey of contemporary media, policy, and academic landscapes suggests that we live in an age of militias, in which they are increasingly prevalent actors and a growing political challenge in armed conflicts. But are there really more militias now than ever before? Or is there just more attention given to them?  In this episode of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship”—the new season of Order from Ashes—scholar Jacob Mundy discusses what might be driving the “militiafication” of thinking about mass organized violence. The legacies of “new war” theories and the emerging global order—in which North Atlantic powers no longer call all the shots—are essential to understanding the alleged age of militias.  While there are ways in which militias play an important role in constituting the global terrain of organized violence, this role does not appear to be proportionally larger in recent years than in previous decades. How can we explain, then, the disproportionate intellectual and policy weight given to militias?  This podcast is part of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship: Authoritarianism and the Emerging Global Culture of Resistance,” a TCF project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Foundations.  Participants include: Jacob Mundy, associate professor in peace and conflict studies, Colgate University Naira Antoun, director, Transnational Trends in Citizenship, Century International

Discussions of self-styled Islamist armed groups, such as the Islamic State, tend to heavily focus on gender and religion. Yet these elements are almost always never considered in analyses of white supremacist groups. What accounts for this difference and why does it matter? In this episode of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship”—the new season of Order from Ashes—we speak with scholar Amanda Rogers about overlooked aspects of militias and nonstate armed groups in transnational perspective. Common frameworks that emphasize violence do not have the tools to fully understand how these ideological movements function. Important elements that tend to be overlooked in such approaches include gender and religion.   Rogers identifies other gaps in discussions of armed groups: Even though analyses of Islamist groups incldue gender, they usually treat women as peripheral. And wildly different groups—Hezbollah, the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Hamas—are treated as the same analytical unit simply because of their supposed connection to Islam. When it comes to white supremacist groups, however, religion is barely considered at all, even thought many o have an explicit religious ideology.  This podcast is part of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship: Authoritarianism and the Emerging Global Culture of Resistance,” a TCF project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Foundations. Participants include: Naira Antoun, director, Transnational Trends in Citizenship, Century International Amanda Rogers, fellow, Century International 

A worldwide crisis in citizenship and rights has made it clear that no country's struggle is entirely exceptional. Today's episode of Order from Ashes kicks off a new season of the podcast: Transnational Trends in Citizenship. Today, Naira Antoun, director of Century International's Transnational Trends in Citizenship project, talks with Century International director Thanassis Cambanis about the connections between the crises in the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America. For more than a year, Century International hosted discussions among experts who usually focus on their own regions—the Middle East or Western Europe and North America—and asked them to compare their regions and policy areas. As a result of this exercise, the project's teams of researchers, activists, and academics revealed commonalities and connections in their study of militias, gender and sexuality, police accountability, and protest. They also demonstrated how bringing experts on different regions together can test assumptions, create new knowledge, and inspire powerful new insights into old but persistent policy problems. This podcast is part of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship: Authoritarianism and the Emerging Global Culture of Resistance,” a TCF project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Foundations.  Participants include: Naira Antoun, director, Transnational Trends in Citizenship, Century International Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

Even while Ukraine is experiencing tremendous suffering and dislocation since the Russian invasion, spillover effects are being felt all over the world. Syria is especially vulnerable, after ten years of war, with Russia as a major player in the Syrian conflict. On this episode of Order from Ashes, Century International fellows Sam Heller and Aron Lund assess some of the most immediate humanitarian, diplomatic, and military consequences of the Ukraine war for Syria.  Heller's recent Century International report argues in some detail how humanitarian pressures and increased diplomatic tension are likely to exacerbate hunger and precarity for Syrians. In this podcast, he and Lund make the case that Syria is vulnerable in other ways to harmful spinoff effects of the war in Ukraine. Participants include: Sam Heller, fellow, Century International Aron Lund, fellow, Century International  Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

A year and a half ago, the historic Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and four Arab countries—but did little for stability or democracy in the region, much less for Israeli–Palestinian peace. On this episode of Order from Ashes, Century International fellow Dahlia Scheindlin assesses the possibility of salvaging progressive foreign policy goals from the problematic agreements.  A progressive U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East should encourage Israeli–Palestinian peace, reduce militarization, support democracy, and strengthen the rules-based international order. So far, the Abraham Accords have mostly undermined these goals. In a new report for Century International, Scheindlin argues that diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab states can promote the core aims of progressive foreign policy in the Middle East—but it will take focused American leadership to turn the Abraham Accords around. This podcast is part of “Transnational Trends in Citizenship: Authoritarianism and the Emerging Global Culture of Resistance,” a TCF project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Foundations.  Participants include: Dahlia Scheindlin, fellow, Century International Thanassis Cambanis, director, Century International

Millions of Syrians depend on international aid that comes through a single border crossing—aid that depends on an agreement with Russia. Every year, and sometimes more frequently, the UN Security Council fiercely debates its tenuous agreement to keep open aid crossings into Syria. The number of open crossings has steadily diminished, and today, only a single access point remains, at Bab al-Hawa. This year, Russia has suggested it will no longer agree to let UN aid through this crossing after the current UN authorization expires on July 10. On this episode of Order from Ashes, TCF fellows and Syria experts Aron Lund and Sam Heller discuss why aid is so important to the 4 million Syrians served by the border crossing, and why it's been an uphill struggle for the United States and its allies to keep aid flowing to the parts of Syria that remain under rebel control. Participants include: Sam Heller, fellow, The Century Foundation Aron Lund, fellow, The Century Foundation Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Syria faces an unprecedented food security crisis. Almost 60 percent of the country is now food-insecure, and more than a million Syrians cannot survive without food aid. The crisis has many causes, chief among them the country's economic collapse and the depreciation of its currency. But disruptions to key imports such as wheat and fuel have also harmed food security. Western sanctions have exacerbated these problems. On this episode of Order from Ashes, Syria expert Sam Heller discusses the case that Western governments should do what they can to help, even though they have a limited ability to fix the crisis. Food security, Sam argues, should top Western policymakers' Syria agenda, and inform their other Syria policy choices.  Participants include: Sam Heller, fellow, The Century Foundation Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia have a hand in nearly every hot spot around the Middle East. The two rivals don’t control what happens, but they can play a major role in destabilizing battleground states—or calming tensions. There are many spots ripe for diplomacy: the war in Yemen, the simmering instability in Iraq and Syria, the political crisis in Lebanon. On this episode of Order from Ashes, we hear Middle East expert Dina Esfandiary and Iraqi analyst Sajad Jiyad about the new round of diplomacy. What has prompted Iran and Saudi Arabia to be willing to talk, and where might they be willing to calm tensions? Participants include: Dina Esfandiary, senior adviser for the Middle East and North Africa, International Crisis Group Sajad Jiyad, fellow, The Century Foundation Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation  

  Tensions between Egypt and Turkey have run high for nearly a decade. Turkey has hosted Egyptian dissidents and opposition parties since the Egyptian coup in 2013; and the two countries support opposite sides in the Libyan War and have very nearly come into direct military conflict. Both are major U.S. partners, at least on paper: Turkey is a formal treaty ally in NATO, and Egypt is a top recipient of U.S. military aid. On this episode of Order from Ashes, we hear from Turkey expert Nicholas Danforth and Egypt expert Michael Wahid Hanna about the recent, tentative thaw in relations between the two countries. Turkey and Egypt’s rivalry, and its unsettling consequences, serve as a reminder that there are many countries with power to drive events, and conflicts, in the Middle East.  Participants include: Nicholas Danforth, senior visiting fellow, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy Michael Wahid Hanna, senior fellow, The Century Foundation Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Soon after taking office, President Biden announced that the United States would stop contributing offensive weapons to the war in Yemen. “This war has to end,” the president said. But the complex conflict in Yemen appears, to the contrary, to be heading for a new round of intense fighting, this time around the city of Marib.    On this episode of Order from Ashes, we talk to two analysts who know Yemen intimately: Nadwa al-Dawsari and Peter Salisbury. It might be possible for the United States to wash its hands of the Yemen war, they argue, but very hard for Washington to catalyze a resolution. What are the realistic options, and what’s best for the long-suffering civilians caught in the conflict? Participants include: Nadwa Al-Dawsari, non-resident fellow, Middle East Institute Peter Salisbury, senior analyst, Yemen, International Crisis Group Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

On this episode of Order from Ashes, we talk with Dahlia Dassa Kaye, the lead author of a new RAND Corporation study that advocates a major overhaul of U.S. strategy in the Middle East. Washington can and should jettison legacy arrangements that no longer make sense. Multi-billion dollar military assistance deals with Israel, Egypt, and Jordan were conceived nearly fifty years ago. Big-ticket weapons deals with Arabian monarchies have distorted American policy. Dassa Kaye argues that the United States can redefine stability and invest in better governance, moving away from dysfunctional partnerships and counterproductive policies. The United States doesn’t have to choose between perpetual war and complete disengagement; as it ends its forever wars, Washington has an opportunity to invest in diplomatic, social, and political leverage that will bring more enduring stability to the Middle East. Participants include: Dahlia Dassa Kaye, fellow, the Wilson Center and senior political scientist, the RAND Corporation Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Ten years ago, the uprising in Tahrir Square toppled Egypt’s dictator and raised hopes for political reform across the Middle East. Great setbacks followed in Egypt, which now suffers under an even more repressive autocracy than the one it overthrew in 2011.  On this episode of Order from Ashes, close observers of Egyptian political life explore the still unfolding legacy of the unsuccessful revolution of 2011. The threat and promise of Egypt’s uprising still makes Egypt’s military dictatorship nervous—and still suggests prospects for future democratic reforms.   Participants include: Naira Antoun, Mada Masr and The Century Foundation Michael Wahid Hanna, senior fellow, The Century Foundation Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Critics of hyper-militarized foreign policy argue that the abuses of America’s war on terror led in a direct line to the January 6 attempt to overturn the presidential election. On this episode of Order from Ashes, two advocates from the grassroots organization Win Without War dissect the connections between unaccountable foreign policy and surging authoritarianism. Democracy is threatened in the United States because of global trends. Stephen Miles and Kate Kizer argue that deep systemic trends will continue to threaten democracy after Trump’s presidency. A serious attempt at accountability, and an investment in peaceful tools of power, can shift the United States away from the dangers of militarization. Participants include: Stephen Miles, executive director, Win Without War Kate Kizer, policy director, Win Without War Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

The challenge to American democracy has called into question some of the country’s deepest assumptions about exceptionalism. Fellows at The Century Foundation have been studying fragile democracy, authoritarianism, and militia rule in the Middle East for decades.  We apply some of the lessons learned from studying authoritarian relapse around the world—from the importance of calling a coup attempt by its proper name, to the limits of the “war on terror” model for dealing with violent insurrectionists and white supremacist terrorism in the United States. Participants include: Michael Wahid Hanna, senior fellow, The Century Foundation Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

A fearsome array of climate and environmental woes is straining the Middle East, worsening the existing crisis of poor governance and weak states in the region. On this episode of “Order From Ashes,” we speak to climate researcher Peter Schwartzstein about some of the specific environmental emergencies in the Middle East, and some of the possible solutions. The United States has many opportunities to incorporate environmental and climate change concerns into all its policymaking. Because of its acute crises of climate, governance, and security, the Middle East is particularly ripe for a new approach. Drawing on the reports he spearheaded in TCF’s new initiative, “Nature and National Security in the Middle East,” Schwartzstein suggests some encouraging possible moves for Middle Eastern governments, civil society, and the United States to address this slow-burning emergency. Participants include: Peter Schwartzstein, independent researcher and  Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

The United States always had difficulty squaring its record on the ground in the Middle East  with its efforts to promote rights and democracy. It’s even harder after the Trump presidency and a contested election, which featured the sitting president and many Republicans questioning the integrity of the electoral process without any basis in fact.   The Middle East’s long authoritarian relapse increasingly has echoes in the crisis in the United States. On this episode of “Order from Ashes,” we talk with Amy Hawthorne, deputy director for research at the Project on Middle East Democracy. We discuss the obstacles that the Trump presidency created for aspiring reformers in the Middle East, and assess the emboldened crop of autocrats who will challenge the Biden administration. Participants include: Amy Hawthorne, deputy director for research, Project on Middle East Democracy Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Egypt’s 2013 military coup and crackdown left the Muslim Brotherhood more adrift than ever before in its ninety-two-year history.   With tens of thousands of members surviving in exile in Turkey, the Muslim Brotherhood is undergoing new strains. Youth in the diaspora have experimented with new, liberal approaches to life, politics, and religion, pitting them against a rigid and aging Brotherhood leadership.   Abdelrahman Ayyash, author of the recent report, “The Turkish Future of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” discusses how the Brotherhood has changed under unprecendented repression, and whether it can adapt enough to survive.   Participants include: Abdelrahman Ayyash, Egyptian researcher Michael Wahid Hanna, senior fellow, The Century Foundatio Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Washington, D.C. has been the most generous donor in the world to humanitarian aid efforts for Syrian civilians. But United States policy has also been bent on overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.   On this episode of “Order from Ashes,” we talk with Syria-watchers Daphne McCurdy and Sam Heller about ways the United States can provide meaningful assistance to Syrian people, without endorsing the Assad regime. With Assad securely in power and the war in Syria largely over, how can the United States balance the conflicting imperatives to stabilize Syria, help civilians, and hold war criminals accountable? Participants include: Daphne McCurdy, associate, Center for Strategic and International Studies Sam Heller, independent researcher, Beirut Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Mohammed Bin Salman quickly shook up the old sleepy way of doing business in Saudi Arabia when he effectively took power in 2015. He took on the Saudi establishment, sidelining the clergy and other royals. He also quickly spent the international goodwill invested in him with a series of destabilizing moves, including a destructive war in Yemen and the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.   Now solidly ensconced in power as a crown prince in his early thirties, Mohammed Bin Salman could rule for decades to come, steering the policy of one of the world’s wealthiest countries and the planet’s single most powerful oil producer.  On this episode of Order from Ashes, we hear about the emerging long-term trend lines of Mohamed Bin Salman’s rule from Ben Hubbard, New York Times reporter and author of the recent book MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed Bin Salman. Participants include: Ben Hubbard, Beirut bureau chief, the New York Times Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

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: Dina Esfandiary, fellow, The Century Foundation Michael Wahid Hanna, senior fellow, The Century Foundation Aron Lund, fellow, The Century Foundation Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Lebanon has served for decades as one of the world’s leading experiments in extreme libertarianism, illustrating what happens to a society with little to no government regulation or social protection.  The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the weaknesses of a health system suffering from corruption and gaping inequalities between public and private hospitals. What role have neoliberal international aid demands for austerity and privatization—known as the Washington Consensus—played in setting up Lebanon’s health system for failure? And what does Lebanon’s case show about the need to reinvest in strong public goods?  On this episode of Order from Ashes, Sima Ghaddar joins Kareem Chehayeb, who in a recent commentary for The Century Foundation argued that austerity and privatization have left residents of Lebanon extremely vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants include: Kareem Chehayeb, journalist, Beirut Sima Ghaddar, doctoral candidate, University of California, Los Angeles Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

The European Union is the world’s most successful experiment in shared sovereignty, and its biggest, wealthiest social welfare state. It also has struggled with nationalism and fragmentation in the face of crises, from the 2008 global financial meltdown, to the 2015 migration wave and subsequent rise of the far right, to the ongoing stresses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In what ways has the European model worked, and in what ways has it failed? Only a revived international order can address global problems like health, finance, and climate change. Veteran observers of the European Union discuss the continent’s response to COVID-19, and suggest lessons for international cooperation going forward.  Participants include: David Carretta, journalist, Brussels Rolla Scolari, journalist, Milan Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

The global crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic will prompt a period of reflection and, potentially, a once-in-a-generation chance for sweeping policy change and reform. But the United States and the rest of the world have a checkered record during similar hinge points in modern history.  After World War II, policymakers responded to widespread social collapse and upheaval with bold, visionary investments in a new international and domestic order, spending money on long-term institutions and programs that produced deep and lasting stability. But other critical moments ended up as missed opportunities, characterized by chauvinism and isolationism: the end of World War I, the end of the Cold War, and 9/11.  On this episode of Order from Ashes, Ilan Goldenberg and Mieke Eoyang assess this history and argue that we aren’t necessarily condemned to repeat past mistakes. Today, Americans have a rare opportunity to dramatically transform government, society, and the international order for the better—or else risk worsening the defects that have left the world so vulnerable to the pandemic in the first place. Participants include: Mieke Eoyang, vice president, Third Way Ilan Goldenberg, senior fellow, Center for a New American Security Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

The COVID-19 epidemic hit Iran and its neighboring countries early, and has tested health systems and governments across the region. A second crisis hit the region in early March, when oil prices plummeted after a decision by oil producers to flood the market. Our guest on this episode, Karen Young, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, has been following both crises. These twin shocks have shaken vulnerable people across a region already buffeted by conflicts and political crises. Countries like Iraq and Iran seem ill-positioned to handle a health emergency—and falling oil prices threaten to make the Iraqi state insolvent. The virus and the spiralling effects of an oil price war also highlight the deep connections among countries in the MIddle East, and between the Middle East and the world economy. Participants include: Karen Young, resident fellow, American Enterprise Institute Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

During the Cold War, the United States promoted international law and human rights as a way to constrain its global rivals. Since the 1990s, however, Washington has more and more often dispensed with even the rhetorical cover of international law. The United States and its allies have habitually considered themselves exempt from international legal constraints. The decades since the 2003 invasion of Iraq have witnessed an acceleration of this trend. What is the cost of a full-fledged abandonment of the norms promoted by international law and human rights? International law and Middle East policy scholar Aslı Ü. Bâli discusses the many disturbing practical outcomes of our current state of eroded international law, including the impact on sanctions regimes, assassinations, and wars. Participants include: Aslı Ü. Bâli, UCLA professor of law Michael Wahid Hanna, senior fellow, The Century Foundation Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Years of tension and slights between the governments of Iraq and the United States came to a head after the United States breached the terms of its partnership with Iraq with the assassination of a group of government officials outside Baghdad International Airport. Now Iraq is asking the United States to withdraw its troops, and the United States is threatening sanctions against Iraq—one of its most important strategic partners in the Arab world. How will this crisis affect security in Iraq and the resurgence of the Islamic State? How much of the relationship can be salvaged? What will be the costs for Iraq, the United States, and the surrounding region? Participants include: Sajad Jiyad, managing director, Bayan Center Maria Fantappie, special adviser, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation Sajad Jiyad is the managing director of Al-Bayan Center for Planning and Studies in Baghdad. Maria Fantappie is a special adviser on the Middle East–North Africa region at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Switzerland.