Episode 24: This month, we talk to Intissar Kherigi, a Ph.D. student at Sciences Po Paris and GLD Collaborating Researcher, about Tunisia’s 2015-17 municipal boundary reforms. After the Arab uprisings in 2011, Tunisia saw changes in local governance and the adoption of a new constitution mandating the decentralization of power, leading the government to reorganize the country's municipal boundaries.

Intissar analyses the ways in which local populations are challenging central state-driven municipal boundary reforms and the implications for local governance. She situates this within the historical processes of boundary formation in modern Tunisia and highlights the difficulties in breaking with colonial legacies.

Selected work: 
Kherigi, Intissar. (2021). "Municipal Boundaries and the Politics of Space in Tunisia," The Program on Governance and Local Development Working Paper No. 38, University of Gothenburg. http://gld.gu.se/media/2032/gld-working-paper-38.pdf

Intissar Kherigi: Tunisia's Municipal Boundary Reform Process

In our inaugural episode, we introduce the podcast and its hosts (Ezra and Richard) and talk about the different faces and spaces of MEL – from designing theories of change to conducting third-party monitoring.

Episode 1 – The Multiple Faces of MEL

In this episode, we are joined by the head of the Effectiveness, Knowledge and Learning division at Danish Refugee Council, Volker Hüls. 

We speak about the in and outs of a senior INGO MEAL position, the importance of the "A" in MEAL, and the upward and downward pressures on INGO evidence.

Episode 2 – INGO MEAL: Sandwiched in the Middle (with Volker Hüls)

In this episode, we are joined by the head of Conflict Management Consulting (CMC), André Kahlmeyer.

We ask why, despite hundreds of "successful" projects in contexts like Afghanistan, little real development and change is achieved at the national level. 

What are the causes of this disconnect? How are M&E practitioners involved? And what are potential solutions?

Episode 3 - The Micro-Macro MEL Gap (with André Kahlmeyer)

In this episode, we are joined by an expert on serious and organized crime, Dr. Sasha Jesperson. 

We discuss the challenges of measuring elusive, complex processes of change – and tools to help with their measurement. 

Though examples taken from the field of serious and organized crime, we apply the challenges and tools to concrete, real-world examples.

Episode 4 - Measuring the Difficult to Measure (with Dr. Sasha Jesperson)

In this episode, Ezra Karmel speaks with Francesco Cavatorta and Hendrik Kraetzschmar about their recent special issue in MELG examining multiparty coalition government in the Arab MENA. 

We discuss key features of coalition formation, composition, and duration/durability, why they have grown in prevalence, what they can teach us about coalitions in other contexts (including Israel).

Episode 21 - Coalition Governments in the MENA with Dr Francesco Cavatorta & Dr Hendrik Kraetzschmar

In this episode, we talk with AUB's Dr. Carmen Geha about the resilience of the power sharing system in Lebanon and the effects of the current protests on that system. Dr. Geha wrote an article about the resilience of the power sharing system for MELG, which can be accessed here: https://brill.com/view/journals/melg/11/1/article-p65_65.xml

Episode 4 - Power Sharing and Protests in Lebanon with Dr Carmen Geha

Episode 23: This month we talk to GLD's Senior Research Fellow Kristen Kao about her work on post-conflict reconciliation in Iraq. Kristen tells us about her a study on the drivers of forgiveness versus revenge among diverse groups in Iraq and how her research could help promote long-term peace. 

Kristen Kao is a Senior Research Fellow with the Program on Governance and Local Development (GLD) at the University of Gothenburg. She holds a PhD and M.A. in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles and is an expert in survey methodology and experimental design in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa contexts.

Selected work:  
Kao, Kristen and Revkin, Mara. (2019). "How the Iraqi crackdown on the Islamic State may actually increase support for the Islamic State," The Washington Post Monkey Cage.  

Kao, Kristen and Revkin, Mara Redlich. (2018). “To punish or to pardon?” The Program on Governance and Local Development Working Paper No. 17, University of Gothenburg, Available At: http://gld.gu.se/media/1503/gld-working-paper-17-final.pdf

Selected research projects: 
From Revenge to Forgiveness: Strengthening Durable Peace in Post-Conﬂict Societies. http://gld.gu.se/en/projects/from-revenge-to-forgiveness-strengthening-durable-peace-in-post-con%EF%AC%82ict-societies/ 

To Punish or to Pardon? Attitudes Towards Justice and Reintegration for Europeans who Cooperated with the Islamic State. http://gld.gu.se/en/projects/to-punish-or-to-pardon-attitudes-towards-justice-and-reintegration-for-europeans-who-cooperated-with-the-islamic-state/

Kristen Kao: Post-Conflict Reconciliation in Iraq

Middle East Law and Governance (MELG) is a peer-reviewed journal for scholarly analysis on issues pertaining to governance and social, economic, and ideological transformation in the MENA region. 

On the MELG podcast, we talk to the journal's contributors about their work and current events in the region.

The podcast is hosted by MELG advisory board member, Ezra Karmel.

Episode 21 - Coalition Governments in the MENA with Dr Francesco Cavatorta & Dr Hendrik Kraetzschmar

Middle East Law & Governance Podcast

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