Iraq could face another summer of bloodshed

Iraq could face another summer of bloodshed

Hundreds of protesters converged on the streets of the southern Iraqi city of Basra last week. Demonstrators across the province are calling for structural change to fix rampant corruption, a stagnant economy, high unemployment and underfunded public utilities. Protests in Iraq are common, but last summer's demonstrations saw an escalation into violence. Hundreds were wounded and killed, and many thousands more were arrested after clashes with police forces. Government buildings were set on fire, and the province was on the edge of revolt. Despite the violence, little has changed. The government still suffers from mismanagement and fraud. The country's elite have done little to improve conditions for the lower classes. As temperatures creep closer to 50°C and the struggling electrical grid and fresh water supply are strained, many question whether the protests will spiral into similar violence. On this week's episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Campbell MacDiarmid speaks with Dr Renad Mansour, a research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, and Belkis Wille, the senior Iraq researcher in the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. Read more on our website:

Episoder(478)

Palestine-activist groups respond to being banned from Israel

Palestine-activist groups respond to being banned from Israel

This week, Israel banned twenty activist organisations over their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement against Israel or BDS for short. The movement, whose co-founder we speak t...

10 Jan 201823min

Saudi Arabia and the Future of the Regional Order from emerge85

Saudi Arabia and the Future of the Regional Order from emerge85

From our friends on the 85% podcast, we consider the changes unfolding in Saudi Arabia from a regional perspective. In conversation with emerge85 Lab editor-in-chief Joseph Dana, emerge85 co-director ...

5 Jan 201834min

Iran has a long history of protest and civil unrest

Iran has a long history of protest and civil unrest

In Iran, this week a small demonstration that started in Mashhad turned into nationwide protests, with some calling for regime change. Iran has a long history of coups, protests and demonstrations. Of...

3 Jan 201834min

Saudi Arabia's greatest change, the GCC crisis in 2018 and Iraq finally changing for the better

Saudi Arabia's greatest change, the GCC crisis in 2018 and Iraq finally changing for the better

The Middle East in 2017 could look like relatively tame year in a region that has become so characteristic of extreme often dramatic changes.  The Arab world has become a stage for an ever shifting p...

28 Des 201731min

Donald Trump's Jerusalem move and what it means to the region

Donald Trump's Jerusalem move and what it means to the region

Jerusalem serves as one of the holiest sites in the world, and as the scene of some of the most dramatic political events. Donald Trump last week recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which s...

20 Des 201721min

World Arabic Language Day: Is the language being lost?

World Arabic Language Day: Is the language being lost?

As dozens of Arabic-speaking nations celebrate their language this week, The National's Mina Aldroubi, Naser Alwasmi and Saeed Saeed discuss whether the language is being lost, the importance of prese...

18 Des 201718min

Anger in Jerusalem, Syria's future and the UAE's outer space ambitions

Anger in Jerusalem, Syria's future and the UAE's outer space ambitions

The United States is now the only country in the world that recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Since president Donald Trump announced the move in a speech last week, protests have continue...

13 Des 201729min

GCC  leaders meet in Kuwait, plus Stephen Hadley talks Trump and Jerusalem

GCC leaders meet in Kuwait, plus Stephen Hadley talks Trump and Jerusalem

This week's GCC summit may have closed a day early but there were some signs that progress had been made on the row between members states the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and Qatar. Though there wa...

6 Des 201734min

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