This week on Babel, you will hear excerpts from Jon Alterman's recent discussion with Chatham House experts Renad Mansour and Farea al-Muslimi, alongside the CSIS Middle East Program's Natasha Hall. They discuss a recent Chatham House report, which argues that although political settlements have been resolving more conflicts in the region, these elite bargains are actually prioritizing stability over accountability, leaving citizens to pay the costs. Then, Jon, Natasha, Renad, and Farea discuss how this phenomenon has played out in Iraq, Lebanon, and Libya, and the potential way forward.

• Transcript, "Renad Mansour and Farea Al-Muslimi: The Cost of Political Settlements in the MENA Region," CSIS, November 28, 2023.
• Renad Mansour, Tim Eaton, and Lina Khatib, "Rethinking Political Settlements in the Middle East and North Africa," Chatham House, September 20, 2023.