Nadwa Al-Dawsari is a veteran researcher, conflict analyst, and policy advisor with 20 years of field experience in Yemen and the broader Middle East. Currently, she serves as an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI) and a fellow at the Center on Armed Groups. She has provided advisory services to policymakers, US and…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 28.08.2025 The transformation of Yemen’s Houthi movement from a marginal insurgency to a disruptive regional force marks one of the most significant non-state evolutions in contemporary Middle Eastern politics. Their growing military capabilities, ideological expansion, and strategic autonomy have positioned the Houthis as not just a local Yemeni problem but a geopolitical…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil Dive into the intricacies of the Houthis with Nadwa Al-Dawsari! Nadwa and Dominic discuss the background of the Houthis, where they come from, what their ideology is, what influence they have, economical and geopolitical implications both for Yemen and the world, how they currently govern Norther Yemen, what the international response…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 01.09.2025 Iran’s nuclear program has long been a topic of global debate, intertwined with issues of national security, regional power dynamics, and international diplomacy. As Iran edges closer to advancing its nuclear capabilities, the risks associated with this trajectory extend beyond the borders of the Islamic Republic itself. A careful examination of…
Dr. Katzman is a Senior Advisor at the Soufan Group and a Senior Fellow at the Soufan Center, positions he assumed after retiring in late 2022 from his longtime position as a Senior Middle East Analyst at the Congressional Research Service (CRS). He is also a Senior Research Advisor at the Global Insights Group’s Strategic Analysis and Situational Awareness Group. During his CRS career specialising on Iran, U.S. sanctions on Iran, the Arab Gulf states, Iraq, Afghanistan, and…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil Dive into the intricacies of Iranian Nuclear Power with Kenneth Katzman. Find out more about whether Iran has nuclear bombs, what Russia’s role is and whether Russia even plays a role, what Iran’s strategic motivations could be, the implications and consequences of the US and Israel’s military actions, whether there…
Wolf-Christian Paes is a Senior Fellow of Armed Conflict at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He has more than two decades of experience of working on conflict and post-conflict settings with a focus on Security Sector Reform (SSR); Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants and arms control. Listen to his episode about Arms Trade…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil This week Dominic hosts Wolf-Christian Paes on the podcast. They discuss the ethicality of arms trade, different definitions of a ‘just war’ and what the consequences are on the arms trade, illegal and legal arms trade, arms embargo’s, amongst others. Tune in to hear a very articulated episode with lots…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 10.02.2025 Arms trade is one of the most lucrative businesses in the world and it is not without significant international risk. One of the only businesses with predictable increase in profit year after year. Until 2013 there was no global set of rules governing the trade in conventional weapons. The…
