This week on Babel, Jon talks with Chloe Cornish, the outgoing Middle East correspondent at the Financial Times, where she covered Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria. They discuss sectarianism in Lebanese and Iraqi politics, similarities and differences between protests in Iraq and Lebanon, and why people-led political change is so difficult in a sectarian system. Then, Jon, Will Todman, and Caleb Harper continue the conversation about the nature and implications of sectarian politics in Iraq and Lebanon.

Chloe Cornish, “Young Iraqis voice frustration ahead of polls: ‘They want rapid change’,” Financial Times, October 8, 2021.

Will Todman, "Lebanon's New Government," CSIS, September 10, 2021.

Chloe Cornish, “Lebanon’s year from hell: a diary,” Financial Times, July 29, 2021.

Jon Alterman, Natasha Hall, and Will Todman, "Sustainable States: Environment, Governance, and the Future of the Middle East," CSIS, May 18, 2021.

Transcript, "Levantine Contrasts," CSIS, October 19, 2021.