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Robert Kaplan on the Politics of the Past and Future of the Greater Middle East

Democracy Paradox

English - August 29, 2023 09:00 - 52 minutes - 36 MB
Government Science Social Sciences democracy political science politics philosophy political theory conservatism liberalism polarization constitution human rights Homepage Download Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed


Great developments by nature are not linear. Things just don't always continue as they have been. That's why this idea that the Arab Spring came, it went, it happened, it didn't work, therefore the Middle East will always remain an autocracy - that's linear thinking. Great events are great precisely because they're not linear.

Robert Kaplan

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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Robert reported on foreign policy for The Atlantic for three decades and is currently the Robert Strausz-Hupé Chair in Geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. His most recent book is The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China.

Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:43What is the Greater Middle East? - 3:13Developing Political Institutions - 14:55Turkey and Iran - 26:40Iraq - 38:15

Key Links

The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China by Robert Kaplan

Foreign Policy Research Institute

The Writings of Robert Kaplan at The Atlantic

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