US President Joe Biden’s pledge to return values, morals and ethics to politics and policies is 18 months into his presidency more of an aspiration than a reality. 

It is called into question by the crisis in democracy in the United States in the wake of his predecessor, Donald Trump, who questioned the legitimacy of the election that brought Mr. Biden to office. 

Even worse, Mr. Trump and his followers question the principle of a peaceful, democratic transition of power and are working hard to introduce at the state level legal and electoral procedures that would jeorpardize the principle of one man one vote. 

Nevertheless, Mr. Biden has framed NATO support for Ukraine in its resistance to the Russian invasion as a fight of democracy against autocracy although it is more a struggle for upholding international law and the rule of law.

All of this raises the question whether politics and policies should be grounded in inclusive values, moral and ethics and how to square that with realities of realpolitik. 

The clash between the two was on public display with Mr. Biden’s controversial pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in July despite his vow during his election to treat the kingdom as a ‘pariah state’ and his initial refusal after he came to office to deal directly with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salam because of the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

To discuss, all of this today, I am joined by Ronald Llamas, a senior advisor to former Philippine President Benigno Aquino, long standing democracy and human rights activist, and a master of the darker arts of politics and policy implementation.

To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here.

Debating Religion’s Role In Infusing Politics With Values, Morals, And Ethics

Multiple overt and covert wars have pushed the Middle East to the edge of a cliff.
Increased tension between Iran and Israel complicates efforts to pull the Middle East back from the abyss.

The Middle East Totters On The Edge Of A Cliff

Writer and art critic, Rahel Aima, who grew up and currently lives in Dubai, talks to us about living in the Gulf, a region rapidly developing itself as the place to be for smart cities and high-tech living.  

Rahel explores a concept she has been thinking about for some time, the Khaleeji Ideology, which meets at the intersection of technology, economy, the environment and nation building, as a way of understanding developments in the contemporary Gulf.  

This episode also features comment from Michael Mason, Director of the LSE Middle East Centre and Professor of Environmental Geography at LSE, who explores the rise of “progressive” urban development projects in the Gulf, and whether technology can be the solution to pressing environmental challenges of our time.  

Rahel Aima is a writer, critic, and editor from Dubai. She writes about art, technology and the Gulf. Her work has been published in Artforum, Artnews, ArtReview, The Atlantic, Bookforum, frieze, Mousse and Vogue Arabia, amongst others.  

Read Rahel’s ‘The Khaleeji Ideology’ here: https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/horizons/498319/the-khaleeji-ideology/.

Living In the Future with Rahel Aima

Words matter.
In the Israeli-Palestinian battle of narratives, they, more often than not, either are designed to thwart solutions or, by design or default, reinforce entrenched mutually exclusive positions.

Words Matter

An Israeli ground offensive in the southern Gazan enclave of Rafah is a question of when, not if. 
Not because Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is oblivious to US and international pressure but because it could prove to be make or break for Israel’s embattled leader.

Rafah Make Or Break For Netanyahu

Israel’s latest Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal puts the ball in Hamas’ court.

Israel Puts Gaza Ceasefire Ball In Hamas’ Court

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other leading Israeli figures appear blinded and progressively cornered by the gathering of increasingly dark clouds.

Netanyahu Is Blinded And Cornered By The Gathering Of Increasingly Dark Clouds

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s insistence on Israeli security control of all the land west of the Jordan River, coupled with his public rejection since October of the notion of a Palestinian state and Israel’s Gaza war conduct, has in Palestinian ears the same ring that ‘From the Sea to the River’ has in Israeli ears: the rejection of the other’s rights and eradication of the other’s national existence.

The Politics Of ‘From The River To The Sea'

What does the era of ‘big data’ mean for development technologies in MENA? How can data be used for good, to ensure projects working with vulnerable communities such as informal workers and women are seen and supported? What kind of repercussions does poor data collection have on emerging technologies? How can data-driven research and technology improve prospects for the next generation in the region seeking work, and what does it mean for the future of labour in the region?

These are some of the questions we posed to Nagla Rizk, Professor of Economics at the American University in Cairo in episode 8.

Nagla is Professor of Economics and Founding Director of the Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D) at the American University in Cairo’s School of Business. Nagla’s area of research, teaching and advocacy is the economics of knowledge, technology and development, with focus on governance of responsible data and Artificial Intelligence, fair work in the platform economy, innovation, gender and inclusion in Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Data for Development with Nagla Rizk

This week’s Gazan short-lived celebration of a ceasefire that was not to be, highlights what is at stake in the seven-month-old war and Israel’s refusal to end the carnage.

Netanyahu Borrows Time By Rejecting Gaza Ceasefire

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has fractured a long-standing pillar of Israeli foreign policy that dictated it always needed to ensure the backing of the United States. Fixing the pillar may prove easier said than done.

Netanyahu And Ultraconservatives Jeopardise Israeli Security

Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, co-director of the University of Würzburg’s Institute for Fan Culture, and co-host of the New Books in Middle Eastern Studies podcast. James is the author of The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer blog, a book with the same title as well as Comparative Political Transitions between Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, co-authored with Dr. Teresita Cruz-Del Rosario and  Shifting Sands, Essays on Sports and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa.

Debating Religion’s Role In Infusing Politics With Values, Morals, And Ethics

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