Rising China Plants a Flag in the Middle East
New Thinking for a New World - a Tallberg Foundation Podcast
04/27/23
•35m
About
Comments
Featured In
Early last month, there was an extraordinary announcement. Saudi Arabia and Iran had agreed to resume diplomatic relations after seven years of more or less open hostility. Even more extraordinary was the person standing between the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers, Wang Yi, China's most senior foreign policy official. His statement that day said it all: "This is a victory for dialogue, a victory for peace, major positive news for a world, which is currently so turbulent and restive. And it sends a clear signal."
It was also a victory for China’s rise as a great global power. The United States has shaped Middle Eastern geopolitics—for better and for worse—since Henry Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy in the 70s. But long-time American client Saudi Arabia recognized that only China could deliver Iran to the negotiating table and, perhaps, assure its future good behavior at least vis-à-vis the Saudis.
What does it all mean? A new Middle Eastern order? The end of the Sunni-Shia conflict? Will the new relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia last? And, what about Israel, not mentioned in the Beijing press conference, but obviously the 800-pound gorilla in the room?
The conceit of this podcast is New Thinking for a New World, which certainly describes what was announced in Beijing. Yasmine Farouk is a student of Middle Eastern diplomacy, focused on Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf. She is a non-resident scholar in the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Listen as she discusses the implications of this revolutionary development.
Previous Episode
Reflections on the Guillotine
April 20, 2023
•33m
French President, Emmanuel Macron, has had a complicated few weeks.
On the one hand, China's President Xi gave him red-carpet treatment in Beijing, where Macron, again, made his case for European strategic sovereignty—code for independence from the United States—and said that Europe should not follow America’s lead on Taiwan. Both were music to Chinese ears. On the other, his Taiwan comments stirred widespread anger across Europe and, of course, in Washington. He was burned in effigy in Paris during massive protests against pension reform, shouted down by hecklers in Amsterdam who challenged his democratic credentials, and lectured by even the Iranian government to respect the rights of protesters in the streets. His approval rating is below 30%, and the most recent polls suggest that if the election were held today instead of two years ago, Marine Le Pen would beat him in a landslide. Protesters have taken to reminding him that King Louis XVI ended his reign on the guillotine.
What's going on?
There seem to be only two possibilities. Either Macron has lost his way, which is dangerous for a president of an important country with four years left on his mandate, or he's playing a long game that only he understands.
Our guest on New Thinking for a New World, has strong views on those alternatives. Pierre Lellouche is a former French parliamentarian, government minister, diplomat, and widely-published commentator in France. He is deeply worried about what he sees as Macron’s strategic and political mistakes and the consequences for his country.
What do you think?
Next Episode
Worth Repeating: Looking for Justice, One Person at a Time
May 4, 2023
•35m
2023 has become a year of recession, inflation, social and labor unrest, war, the ravages of climate, food insecurity, and rising inequality. One casualty of that mess is the rule of law; justice seems to take a beating when times are bad. Why is that?
The demand for justice is not only a basic human right, but also a human need. Yet justice systems in many countries, rich and poor, are too cumbersome, too wrapped up in formalities, too layered with complex and even contradictory laws. Is it possible to deliver effective justice at the individual level, to actually make justice systems work for people?
Our guest, Sam Muller, believes the answer is an emphatic, “Yes,” especially if it is based on data. As a Dutch legal expert he founded and today leads the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL). He and his colleagues are in the business of building “people-centered justice” that works for everyone.
What do you think?
This episode was originally published on January 19, 2023
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted