HICHAM SAFIEDDINE | Banking on the State: Leb...

Reimagining the future of policy and human rights across the Middle East and North Africa requires moving past broken international systems and broadening our collective imagination. Executive Director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), Mai El-Sadany, explore ...  Show more

The history of electricity in Lebanon serves as a vibrant arena for struggles over political economy, foreign corporate ownership, and the very definition of national sovereignty. Associate Professor Ziad Abu-Rish unpacks this evolution, tracking public utilities from early regio ...  Show more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Haneen Sayed, an international development expert and former lead specialist at the World Bank. During the conversation, Dr. Sayed discusses the roots of the economic crisis in Lebanon and how the international donor community can ...  Show more

We start the second season of Babel: Translating the Middle East with a conversation with Hanin Ghaddar, a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute who focuses on Shia politics throughout the Levant. Jon and Hanin discuss sectarianism in Lebanon, the changing role of Hezbollah ...  Show more

Dr. Patrick Mardini, the founder and president of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies, explains to Bilal El-Amine Lebanon's multilayered economic and financial crisis, focusing on the decline of the national currency and the role of the Lebanese Central Bank before and a ...

How did Lebanese banks go from being the crown jewel of the economy to become what is being referred to as "zombie banks"? Can the sector recover on its own or does it need a complete overhaul? And, most importantly, what is the fate of the billions of dollars in deposits? Joi ...