On the 23rd April 2025, Jordanian security forces raided the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition movement of the kingdom, confiscating assets and property and outlawing all the group’s activities. This is not an isolated event. Rather, Jordan seems to be joining other countries in the MENA region by taking actions to sideline Islamist opposition parties in recent years.

Dr. Rory McCarthy, an Associate Professor in Comparative Politics of Islam in Durham University's School of Government and International Affairs, joins the show to unpack the domestic, international, and global factors that explain the timing of this action and what it means for democracy and the political stability of the wider region. To learn more about Rory and his research, visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/rory-p-mccarthy/

Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/

Due to current events, we are starting our third season with a bonus episode. On Wednesday, the UK government announced that it, together with the US, had bombed Houthi targets in Yemen to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

In the bonus episode you are about to hear, I discuss with Dr. Tom Walsh, a former PhD Student and current Tutor at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, why the Houthis have decided to attack international shipping lanes in the Red Sea, what the links between the Houthis and Iran are, and to what extent US military intervention will resolve the issue or could lead to a further escalation involving Iran. The episode was originally recorded at the end of January 2024.

To learn more about our guest, visit Tom's webiste at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/tom-j-walsh/

On February 27, 2025, Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), called for the group to disarm and disband, signaling a possible end to the four-decade-long conflict with the Turkish state. A few days later, the PKK declared an immediate ceasefire. This development followed months of preparations and overtures from the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, marking what could be a crucial turning point in Turkish politics and the broader region. Joining me unpack the conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state and discussing the various political factors explaining the emergence of this latest ceasefire is Dr. Francesco D’Alema, a Teaching Fellow in International Relations and Security at the School of Government and International Affairs here at Durham University.To learn more about Francesco's research visit his website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/francesco-dalema/

Relevant literature:

- Associated Press (AP) 2025. What to know about the latest effort to end Turkey’s 40-year Kurdish conflict. Online at https://apnews.com/article/turkey-kurds-pkk-peace-ocalan-dem-prison-3d6e7e2c0cedcb87d4bd145667d79ae1 [Last accessed: 21st March 2025].

- Christofis, Nikos 2019. The State of the Kurds in Erdoğan's `new' Turkey. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 21(3), 251-259.

- D'Alema, Francesco 2024. Turkey's approach to the Arab spring revisited: political field and foreign policy in the AKP era. Turkish Studies 25(5), 806-834.

- Guardian 2025. PKK declares ceasefire with Turkey after more than 40 years of conflict. Online at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/01/pkk-declares-ceasefire-with-turkey-after-40-years-kurdish [Last accessed: 21st March 2025].

Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/