Pomeps Conversations

On this week's episode of the podcast, Sofia Fenner of Colorado College joins Marc Lynch to discuss her new book, Shouting in a Cage: Political Life After Authoritarian Co-optation in North Africa. The book offers new ways to understand co-optation’s power and its limits by examining two co-opted parties, the Wafd Party in Egypt and the Istiqlal Party in Morocco. Sofia Fenner argues that co-optation is less a corrupt bargain than a discursive contest—a clash of competing interpretations. (Starts at 0:35). Kristian Ulrichsen of the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University also joins Marc Lynch to discuss Saudi Arabia and the GCC. (Starts at 32:50). Music for this season’s podcast was created by Malika Zarra. You can find more of her work on Instagram and Linktree.