Saudi Arabia has been making big moves lately. A detente with Iran, a re-engagement with Syria, a potential diplomatic path to solve the Yemeni crisis and more. Domestically, its top leader Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), has been pushing for deep reforms that required the neutralizing of the ultra-conservatives. In this unscripted chat, MEA Risk's Arezki Daoud speaks with Gulf State Analytics' Giorgio Cafiero to understand these big changes, which could have ripple effects around the world.

10 countries in 10 minutes: Brief commentaries on 10 countries by Arezki Daoud. Just what you need to know about #Turkey, #Senegal, #Caneroon, #USA, #Nigeria, #Lebanon, #Sahel, #Florida, #SouthAfrica, and #Egypt.

Latest big geopolitical issues affecting North Africa as of 10 June 2023. Podcast is hosted by Arezki Daoud and focuses on the five of North Africa, namely Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Foreign meddling may have been even more troubling than any other source of instability. Governments in Russia, the UAE, France, Turkey, etc.. have been central in preventing the Libyans from negotiating a future that works for them. But Arezki Daoud argues that the shifting global geopolitics over the recent months may provide an opportunity for the Libyans to begin the real negotiations and step away from violence.

Welcome to this episode of North Africa and the Sahel week-in-review, for the period ending Saturday, 20th of May. Today is the 22nd of May and greetings to all. So the week in the northern half of Africa ended with a lot of political tension in the Maghreb region, consisting of countries located along the southern Mediterranean coastline, and both political stress and physical violence in the Sahel region. In this podcast, Arezki Daoud goes through the major events affecting the northern...

In the post-Gaddafi era, Corruption in Libya is endemic and metastasized. The culture of corruption is so ubiquitous and widespread that Transparency International ranks Libya third before last in the MENA region, doing only better than Syria and Yemen. In this podcast, Arezki looks at how the Gaddafi clan has siphoned off billions of dollars and that the current governments may have made corruption even worse.

In Egypt, a country that gets substantial military and economic aid from the United States, General Abdelfattah el-Sissi has allegedly ordered the manufacture of 40,000 rockets for the benefit of Russia, in the midst of the war in Ukraine. Leaked documents apparently say Egypt would deliver artillery shells and gunpowder, in what was referred to as a “top secret” deal.

In this podcast, Arezki Daoud of MEA Risk and of The North Africa Journal, reports on his thoughts on South Africa, after a 10-day visit in April 2023.

The nation of Mali in the Sahel is headed toward an even more painful period. Bad governance, catastrophic environment, deadly terrorism, and a war between the west and Russia starting on its territory are conspiring to make Mali of the most unstable nations in the world. In this episode, Arezki Daoud looks at how France has played a negative role in perpetuating the state of misery Mali has found itself.

In this audio podcast, Arezki Daoud is sharing an update on the situation in the Sahel, specifically in Mali and Burkina Faso, two countries that have been torn apart by outside forces, be they the Jihadists, or some western powers, and now by the Wagner Group, a mercenary group that represents Russia. Arezki addresses the two most visible issues the Sahel faces on the security front and concludes with a third wildcard factor.

Welcome to this week-in-review episode where we look at some of the key  events affecting the geopolitics of North Africa and the Sahel. Your  host in Arezki Daoud, principal analyst at MEA Risk LLC and editor of  The North Africa Journal.  In the Sahel, the general state of  insecurity, as well as the atmosphere of transition due to the take over  of power by military juntas, have had a dominant play in the Sahelian  context. In North Africa, the dominant story may very well be Tunisia,...

In this brief episode, Arezki Daoud reports on the latest attempts to topple regimes in the Sahel and that more of there are expected.

Greetings to our second episode of Week in Review and a quick summary of what we are tracking in the Sahel and in North Africa. Today is Saturday, the 7th of January 2023. This past week was somewhat subdued in the region largely due to the year-end holiday season and the shift to 2023. But events don’t stop simply because it is new year. Arezki Daoud of MEA RIsk LLC presents to you the big stories of the week, which include that of an unfolding emigration crisis in the Mediterranean Sea. 

In this week's review of events in the Sahel and North Africa, Arezki Daoud addresses the major factors affecting the region as the year draws to an end.

This podcast hosted by Arezki Daoud of MEA Risk LLC focuses on some of the most important events in North Africa and the Sahel that we are monitoring as of Friday, 23rd of December 2022. So this is a sort of week in review. This week was dominated by a couple of big events, the first is the political stalemate in Tunisia, and the second is about the collapse of the peace deal that was signed some 7 years ago by the government of Mali and rebel groups in the north. Each of these events are...

Winter is near and Europe is facing an energy crisis after Russian  attacked Ukraine. The EU and its member-countries have been looking for  natural gas everywhere they can but the prospect of replacing Russian  gas supplies on short notice will be difficult. Can Algeria and Africa  fill the gap? In this podcast, Arezki Daoud argues that a short  contribution from Africa will not be possible, but the longer term feels  more optimistic.

Arezki Daoud of MEA Risk and The North Africa Journal visits Tunisia this November and is bringing better understanding on the challenges facing the Tunisians in their day-to-day living.

The Maghreb’s biggest nations and regional rivals, Algeria, and Morocco,  so far have refrained from choosing a side in the Russian-Ukrainian  conflict. For its part, Tunisia has had ambivalent positions due to a  number of factors, which we will cover in a moment. In general, though,  these nations have had no intention on openly support one or the other  party in the conflict and have assumed some neutrality based on multiple  geopolitical factors. Broadly speaking and setting aside Ukraine...

The visit of President Emmanuel Macron to Algiers at the end of August  shook up and challenged the Algerian authorities in their once again  excellent relations with Russia. The French security and ministerial  deployment that accompanied the trip of the French president and the  most recent visit of a delegation of 16 French ministers to Algiers, was  intended to solicit Algerian help to stop the Russian advance in the  Sahel and West Africa and its deployment in Mali. And that’s how...

The past months have been particularly horrendous for Lebanon, a country that used to be called the Switzerland of the Arab World. The demise of Lebanon is not only a reflection of a deeply corrupt regime and a divided nation, but it is also synonymous of an Arab world where its leaders have no concept of solidarity. In this 8-minute podcast, Arezki shares his views on the current turmoil facing Lebanon.

The Sahelian nation of Burkina Faso has been a powder keg for some time  and this weekend, the coup leader that toppled the previous government  has been himself toppled by another coup. The situation in Burkina’s  capital, Ouagadougou, has been extremely tense lately, with protesters  attempting to raid the French embassy there, as France remains highly  unpopular due to its policies in its former colonies. On Friday, 30th of  September 2022, the security crisis in Burkina Faso spiraled out...

The escalating rivalry between Algeria and Morocco has had a  destabilizing effect on the Maghreb region of North Africa. In fact, the  entire western Mediterranean region is feeling the impact of the two  countries’ strange competitive postures. Instead of cooperating to  improve the living standards of their populations, the two countries  have created a toxic environment in the Mediterranean allowing human  smuggling, illegal emigration and drug trafficking to overwhelm parts of  southern...

The year 2021 was a horrendous period for the region. All the problems that one can imagine were there, from the massacre of civilians to two military coups in Mali and of course, an aggressive expansion of the jihadist groups.  Early last year saw the massacre of more than 100 people in two villages of northwestern Niger, in an area bordering Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.  The targeting of civilians is now so intense that more civilians were killed than soldiers. Between January and November...

Tunisia Revisited: MEA Risk analyst Arezki Daoud reviews where Tunisia stands as of November 2021 in the areas of social and economic development.

There has been unusual interest in the west about the political  crisis engulfing Tunisia this week. Naturally Tunisia was always seen  the cradle of the Jasmin Revolution, and the nation that showed the best  prospect of democratization. But this week, the president froze the  parliament for one month and dismissed the prime minister, moves that  were greeted with great jubilation by a large swath of the Tunisian  population, but also seen by many, including some foreign observers as  steps...