In this episode, Robert Watkins sits down with Yezid Sayigh, Senior Fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, for an in-depth discussion on the evolving political landscape of the Middle East. Their conversation explores how interconnected conflicts—especially the Israeli-Palestinian crisis—are reshaping regional dynamics and impacting neighboring countries.
The conversation explores how long-term regional dynamics—particularly the Israeli-Palestinian crisis—continue to shape developments across neighboring countries like Egypt and Jordan. Sayigh underscores how today’s events are not isolated incidents but part of broader historical trajectories and structural challenges.
Together, Watkins and Sayigh examine shifting patterns in U.S. foreign policy, especially under the Trump administration, noting a realignment away from traditional allies toward the Gulf states. They also discuss stark changes within Israeli public opinion, including recent polling that reflects growing support for Palestinian displacement and violence—marking a significant departure from public sentiment in earlier decades.
The episode closes with a sobering overview of ongoing regional instability, touching on the war in Sudan, economic decline in Egypt, and protracted crises in Syria, Iraq, and beyond.
For more information about today’s guests and topics:
Graduate Institute In-Depth Expert Analysis: War in the Middle East
In-depth analysis by our faculty and experts is compiled in this special section on the War in the Middle East. Explore comprehensive analyses and unique perspectives from our esteemed faculty and experts. Their insights provide a nuanced understanding of the region’s complex and rapidly unfolding developments, offering context on the key issues and dynamics driving this conflict.
About the People
Guest: Yezid Sayigh
Yezid Sayigh is a senior fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where he works on the comparative political and economic roles of Arab armed forces, the impact of war on states and societies, and the politics of authoritarian resurgence. Previously, Sayigh held teaching and research positions at King’s College London, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Oxford, and headed the Middle East program of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Sayigh was also an adviser, negotiator, and policy planner in the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks with Israel 1991-2002 and advised on Palestinian public institutional reform until 2006.
Sayigh is the author of the award-winning Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993 (Oxford, 1997). More recent publications include The Second Republic: Remaking Egypt Under Sisi (2025); Civilians in Arab Defense Affairs: Implications for Providers of Security Assistance (2023); Throwing Down the Gauntlet: What the IMF Can Do About Egypt’s Military Companies and Retain, Restructure, or Divest? Policy Options for Egypt’s Military Economy (2022); Praetorian spearhead: The role of the military in the evolution of Egypt’s state capitalism 3.0 (2021); Owners of the Republic: An Anatomy of Egypt’s Military Economy (2019); Dilemmas of Reform: Policing in Arab Transitions (2016); Crumbling States: Security Sector Reform in Libya and Yemen (2015); Missed Opportunity: The Politics of Police Reform in Egypt and Tunisia (2015); The Syrian Opposition’s Leadership Problem (2013); Above the State: The Officers’ Republic in Egypt (2012); “We serve the people”: Hamas policing in Gaza (2011); and Policing the People, Building the State: Authoritarian transformation in the West Bank and Gaza (2011).
Host: Robert Watkins, Research Associate, CCDP
Robert Watkins joined the CCDP after a 35-year career working for international organisations in political, humanitarian, development and post-conflict recovery areas in some 13 different countries, principally in the Middle East, Central, and South Asia. He served for the United Nations as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General in Lebanon (2011-2014) and Afghanistan (2009-2011) at the level of Assistant Secretary General, as well as UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Bangladesh (2015-17), Djibouti (2014), and Georgia (2006-2009). Since retiring from the UN at the end of 2017, he has taught as a Practitioner at the Graduate Institute and at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, and presented papers on Conflict Prevention at AUB, Lebanon, and the University of Tianjin, China.
Producer: Jennifer Thornquest, Research Associate, CCDP
Jennifer (Gigi) Thornquest is a social science researcher whose current research focuses on participatory arts and peacebuilding at the intersection of migration and education. With a background in communication, she explores the role of language and storytelling in shaping public discourse. She is a research associate at the CCDP and producer of the Spotlight Podcast.
The CCDP Spotlight Podcast is a production of the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Centre on Conflict, Development, and Peacebuilding (CCDP).
Related Resources:
The Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
The Center draws on regional experts to provide in-depth analysis of political, socioeconomic, and security issues in the Middle East and North Africa. Founded in 2006, the Beirut-based center delivers on-the-ground research of the region’s challenges, examines long-term geopolitical trends, and proposes innovative policy options. As freedom of expression has become increasingly restricted in the wider Middle East, the center also creates a space for people across the region to convene and share diverse perspectives. The center works closely with the Middle East Program headquartered in Washington, DC.