Lse Middle East Centre Podcasts

Speaker: Valerie Bunce, Cornell University Chair: Fawaz Gerges, LSE Why do publics decide to challenge authoritarian rulers; why do they take different approaches to achieving these ends; and what explains the spread of such challenges across state boundaries? In this lecture, Valerie Bunce compares these three waves of popular challenges to authoritarian rulers providing insights into the MENA dynamic and important issues related to cross-national diffusion. Recorded on 4 February 2013.

Speaker: Rabah Aissaoui, University of Leicester Chair: John King, Society for Algerian Studies In this talk, Dr Aissaoui examines some key developments in the political mobilisation of Algerians prior to the Second World War. He looks at how the French colonial authorities, and more specifically the French security services, responded to the political situation in Algeria by implementing a number of changes to the intelligence gathering process, changes that were marked by internal conflicts and tensions. Recorded on 28 January 2013. Image credit: Wikipedia. 'French' Algiers.

Speaker: Dr Tariq Tell, American University of Beirut Chair: Professor Fawaz Gerges, LSE Dr Tell contextualises contemporary politics in Jordan by examining the history of the emergence and consolidation of the modern state in Jordan under Ottoman, British, and Hashemite rule. He explores how the sources of Hashemite social power in Jordan were forged and why they have proven more durable than those fashioned under more auspicious circumstances elsewhere in the Arab east. Recorded on 23 January 2013.

Speaker: Haleh Afshar Chair: Alastair Newton, BRISMES Prominent Muslim feminist Baroness Haleh Afshar speaks on the situation facing Iranian women in their country today. Recorded on 16 January 2013. Image credit: Wikipedia. Women protesting during the 1979 Iranian Revolution.