White Desert, Egypt (Photo by Benjamin Gottlieb).

This week on Eye on the Middle East:

Ehud Barak’s departure from the Labour Party and the implications for the Israeli government.

Tuesday's suicide attack in Tikrit, Iraq, and what that means for the country's stability.

The collapse of the Lebanese unity government following the international tribunal investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafilk Hariri.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev’s meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his outspoken support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.

Our guest speaker for today's show is Laurie Brand, a professor of international relations at the University of Southern California. Brand is a four-time Fulbright scholar to the Middle East and North Africa. Her areas of expertise include emigration and diaspora and the role of Arab nationalism and Islam in the construction of post-independence national narratives.

Stay tuned for a link to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes.

To reach Benjamin Gottlieb, click here. Follow him on Twitter @benjamin_max.

To reach Arezou Rezvani, click here. Follow her on Twitter @ArezouRezvani.