Broken Contracts in the Middle East

The new prime minister will struggle to break the country's political deadlock and improve its economy and security situation.

The prime minister-designate may be too much of an insider to appease protesters and too close to the Iranian proxy group for U.S. comfort.

Stratfor Middle East and North Africa Analyst Emily Hawthorne updates the political and economic situation in Algeria.

In this Essential Geopolitics podcast, Stratfor Middle East and North Africa Analyst Emily Hawthorne discusses the business environment for international investors in Algeria.

Newly elected Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune promised voters he would address their concerns, but a bad economy will limit his ability to deliver.

Adel Abdul-Mahdi's departure will satisfy one demand of the protest movement, but it still fails to address the deeper political and economic grievances fueling the country's widespread unrest.

Vocal public disapproval will do little to budge the political elite who benefit from their countries' sectarian political structures and fear the destabilization that reforms could introduce.

Tehran has a number of tools it can deploy to blunt a popular challenge to the government in Baghdad, but showing its hand too openly could backfire.

Major Lebanese patrons like Iran and its top rivals could be forced to update their positions if the country's escalating unrest succeeds in forcing real political change.