https://mena-studies.org/formats/interviews/Recent content in Interviews on MENA Research CenterHugoen-GBThu, 08 Oct 2026 20:54:25 +0200https://mena-studies.org/the-war-that-proved-him-right-mohammed-soliman-on-iran-west-asia-and-whats-left-of-american-power/Tue, 11 Aug 2026 22:06:32 +0200https://mena-studies.org/the-war-that-proved-him-right-mohammed-soliman-on-iran-west-asia-and-whats-left-of-american-power/Mohammed Soliman does not like the phrase “Middle East.” It is, he has argued for several years now, a cartographic relic, a term coined by an American naval strategist in 1902 to describe the sea lanes between Suez and Singapore, and it has outlived its…https://mena-studies.org/amelie-chelly-by-closing-the-strait-of-hormuz-iran-moved-from-rhetoric-to-action/Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:56:47 +0200https://mena-studies.org/amelie-chelly-by-closing-the-strait-of-hormuz-iran-moved-from-rhetoric-to-action/In this interview, Amélie Chelly discusses the structure of the ‘Axis of Resistance’ and Iran’s asymmetric warfare strategy, which has been constrained by an unstable regional context – ranging from the Syrian civil war to recent confrontations with Israel…https://mena-studies.org/yasmeen-al-eryani-houthi-de-escalation-is-unlikely-to-last/Tue, 23 Dec 2025 15:38:00 +0100https://mena-studies.org/yasmeen-al-eryani-houthi-de-escalation-is-unlikely-to-last/In this interview, Yasmeen Al-Eryani examines why the Houthi de-escalation is unlikely to last, the triggers for renewed maritime escalation, and the limits of international and regional leverage in Yemen. She also assesses Saudi Arabia’s shift from pursuing…https://mena-studies.org/youssef-chiheb-political-islam-does-not-seek-power-through-violence-but-through-the-democratic-process/Fri, 19 Dec 2025 14:44:00 +0100https://mena-studies.org/youssef-chiheb-political-islam-does-not-seek-power-through-violence-but-through-the-democratic-process/As 2025 draws to a close, we spoke with Dr. Youssef Chiheb, professor at Sorbonne Paris Nord University, specialist in the geopolitics of the Arab world, Director of research at the French Intelligence Research Centre (CF2R), and author of Les th éoriciens de…https://mena-studies.org/michel-makinsky-trump-needs-a-success-story-like-the-jcpoa/Sun, 18 May 2025 12:26:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/michel-makinsky-trump-needs-a-success-story-like-the-jcpoa/With Donald Trump aiming to relaunch nuclear negotiations with Iran, we spoke to Michel Makinsky, Iran specialist and associate expert at the MENA Research Center, to explore the reasons behind this policy shift and the regional dynamics. The interview was…https://mena-studies.org/xavier-driencourt-president-tebboune-has-gone-too-far/Fri, 16 May 2025 17:07:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/xavier-driencourt-president-tebboune-has-gone-too-far/Last month we had the Algerian analysis of the crisis in Franco-Algerian relations, and in order to get a balanced view on the matter, we spoke to Xavier Driencourt, French diplomat and Ambassador to Algeria (2007-2012, 2017-2020). The interview was carried…https://mena-studies.org/akram-kharief-france-algeria-settling-the-memory-debt-and-moving-forward/Wed, 23 Apr 2025 10:09:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/akram-kharief-france-algeria-settling-the-memory-debt-and-moving-forward/In light of the new crisis in Franco-Algerian relations, as well as the situation in Mali on the Algerian border, we had the opportunity to speak to Akram Kharief, an Algerian journalist and researcher in the field of security and defence, who gives us the…https://mena-studies.org/qatars-strategic-balancing-understanding-dohas-foreign-policy/Sat, 19 Apr 2025 11:28:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/qatars-strategic-balancing-understanding-dohas-foreign-policy/In light of recent US-Iran talks hosted by Oman and broader developments in the Middle East, we spoke with Dr. Ariel Admoni, an expert on Qatar’s foreign and domestic affairs, to gain a better understanding of the foreign policy, internal dynamics, and…https://mena-studies.org/geopolitical-challenges-persist-from-the-middle-east-to-europe/Tue, 18 Mar 2025 14:47:00 +0100https://mena-studies.org/geopolitical-challenges-persist-from-the-middle-east-to-europe/Amid rising geopolitical tensions, we had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Witold Rodkiewicz, a specialist in Russian foreign policy at the Center for Eastern Studies (OSW) in Warsaw. In addition to his analytical work, Mr. Rodkiewicz teaches at the…https://mena-studies.org/general-romanenko-the-us-sets-a-new-level-of-strategic-vision/Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0100https://mena-studies.org/general-romanenko-the-us-sets-a-new-level-of-strategic-vision/Given the recent messaging from the Trump administration regarding NATO, the EU, Ukraine and Russia, we decided to discuss it with Lieutenant General (retired) Ihor…https://mena-studies.org/the-fall-of-bashar-al-assad-in-syria-the-unexpected-culmination-of-2024/Sat, 28 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0100https://mena-studies.org/the-fall-of-bashar-al-assad-in-syria-the-unexpected-culmination-of-2024/The end of the year was marked by the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. We spoke to Nathaniel Garstecka, a journalist working for the Polish opinion…https://mena-studies.org/michael-doran-hamas-israel-we-applaud-while-they-die/Thu, 26 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/michael-doran-hamas-israel-we-applaud-while-they-die/As the Hamas-Israeli conflict renewed, Denys Kolesnyk, a French consultant and analyst, had the privilege to discuss it, as well as the Middle East and the US approach to this region, with Dr. Michael Doran, an American analyst of the international politics…