The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.
Our August episode brought together Farah Bdour (Political Analyst and former Senior Advisor, IPEL program, USIP) and Firas Maksad (Managing Director, MENA Practice, Eurasia Group). Amongst other topics, they discussed the mood in Beirut after a recent visit, the Lebanese government’s decision to disarm Hezbollah, lifting sanctions on Syria, and the latest Israel-Gaza headlines.
Farah Bdour
Farah Bdour is a political analyst who most recently served as the senior advisor of the Palestinian Territories, Egypt and the Levant (IPEL) program at United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC. She is also a conflict resolution and mediation specialist, with more than a decade of experience working on peace building efforts at the policy and civil society levels. Previously, she served as the director of a Jordanian think tank that provides analysis and recommendations to the policy community in Jordan and abroad. She has also served as the Jordan country director for Seeds of Peace, and is a member of the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA) advisory board, on which she advises on people-to-people peacebuilding, dialogue, and reconciliation programs.
Firas Maksad
Firas Maksad is the managing director for the Middle East and North Africa practice at Eurasia Group. He oversees the team covering the region's geopolitics and macroeconomics and US foreign policy toward that part of the world. Firas is a recognized expert on the politics of Lebanon and Syria, the geopolitics of the Arab Gulf states, and the broader dynamics of the Middle East.
Prior to joining Eurasia Group, Firas was a senior director and senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a leading Washington-based think tank. He also managed his own boutique political consulting firm and has been an adjunct professor at George Washington University's Elliott School for International Affairs. Earlier in his career, Firas worked for Eurasia Group as an analyst in the Middle East and North Africa practice.
Firas's writings have appeared in leading publications such as the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and the Los Angeles Times. He frequently offers expert commentary on US politics and the Middle East for global news networks, including CNN, the BBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, and others.
Firas holds a master of science in foreign service degree and an honors certificate in international business from Georgetown University. He completed his undergraduate degree in political studies at the American University of Beirut.