Think Tanks and Manufactuing Consent w/ Mandy Turner | Long Form Podcast #7

Long Form Podcast Episode 7 Think Tanks and Manufactuing Consent Featuring: Mandy Turner Hosts: Bassam Haddad Mouin Rabbani Wendesday, 4 June, 2025 2:00 PM EST | 9:00 PM Gaza In this episode, Mandy Turner discusses the vital role think tanks play in the policy process, and in manufacturing consent for government policy. Turner recently published a landmark study of leading Western think tanks and their positions on Israel and Palestine, tracing pronounced pro-Israel bias, where the the key role is primarily the work of senior staff within these institutions, the so-called “gatekeepers.” Long Form consists of a series of lengthy discussions and conversations with leading thinkers, scholars, and activists that explores the most pressing issues of our day, sheds light on their context and dynamics, and in so doing seeks to explore the broader theme of challenges to the global order and how these might affect it. Featuring Mandy Turner is an independent writer and Senior Researcher at Security in Context. Her research focuses on the political economy of conflict and peace, humanitarianism and multilateralism, and the situation in Israel and Palestine. She has 30 years’ experience of these issues and has pursued research, writing, and consultancy work through a variety of sectors. Her most recent book is an edited collection called From the River to the Sea: Palestine and Israel in the Shadow of ‘Peace’ (Rowman and Littlefi eld, 2019). Bassam Haddad is Founding Director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program and Associate Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience(Stanford University Press, 2011) and co-editor of A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East(Stanford University Press, 2021). Bassam is Co-Founder/Editor of Jadaliyya Ezine and Executive Director of the Arab Studies Institute. He serves as Founding Editor of the Arab Studies Journal and the Knowledge Production Project. He is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad, and director of the acclaimed series Arabs and Terrorism. Bassam is Executive Producer of StatusPodcast Channel and Director of the Middle East Studies Pedagogy Initiative (MESPI). He received MESA's Jere L. Bacharach Service Award in 2017 for his service to the profession. Currently, Bassam is working on his second Syria book titled Understanding The Syrian Tragedy: Regime, Opposition, Outsiders (forthcoming, Stanford University Press). Mouin Rabbani is a researcher, analyst, and commentator specialising in Palestinian affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the contemporary Middle East. He has among other positions previously served as Principal Political Affairs Officer with the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Head of Middle East with the Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, and Senior Middle East Analyst and Special Advisor on Israel-Palestine with the International Crisis Group. Rabbani is Co-Editor of Jadaliyya, where he also hosts the Connections podcast and edits its Quick Thoughts feature, Managing Editor and Associate Editor of the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, and a Contributing Editor of Middle East Report. He is Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS) and at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). A graduate of Tufts University and Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS), Rabbani has published, presented and commented widely on Middle East issues, including for most major print, television and digital media. Jadaliyya Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@Jadaliyya?sub_confirmation=1 http://instagram.com/jadaliyya http://twitter.com/jadaliyya http://jadaliyya.com #Jadaliyya