North Africa

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Hanna Notte, a senior research associate with the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. They talk about Russia's interests in the Middle East and where they stand after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia's growing economic and defense relationship with Iran, and how Arab states view Russia's war in Ukraine. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Natasha Hall and Danny Sharp, discussing the implications for U.S. policy in the region and what U.S. decision-makers should do about it. 

• Hanna Notte, “Don’t Expect Any More Russian Help on the Iran Nuclear Deal,” War on the Rocks, November 3, 2022. 
• Hanna Notte, “The Impact of Russia’s Ukraine Invasion in the Middle East and North Africa,” Congressional Testimony, Before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism, 117th Congress, May 18, 2022.
• Jon Alterman, "The Middle East's Indifference to Ukraine is a Warning," Defense One, May 12, 2022.
• Hanna Notte, “Will Western-Russian Confrontation Shake the Middle East?” War on the Rocks, March 29, 2022. 
• Transcript, "Russia in the Middle East After Ukraine," CSIS, January 24, 2023.

Mvemba is joined by Succès Masra, a leading Chadian opposition figure and the president of Les Transformateurs, the major opposition party in Chad.

Libya's electricity grid has been struggling for years, but the government thinks it has found a new culprit: illegal bitcoin mining farms it says are popping up across the country.

Scott and Bill host special guest Meredith Broadbent to discuss UK-US bilateral trade. They also talk about the recent WTO 232 decision and the U.S.-Africa Leadership Summit. 

Mvemba is joined by Dana Banks, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States and Special Advisor for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. 

Lisa Kaplan, the founder of Alethea, a company designed to help organizations navigate the new digital reality and protect themselves against disinformation, joins us to discuss the current landscape of the information space. 

Mvemba is joined by Doussouba Konaté, Country Director and Global Program Manager for Accountability Lab Mali.

Mvemba is joined by Ambassador Andrew Young, Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Engagement of U.S. Africa Command.