Simon Sebag Montefiore: How the Modern Middle East Was Made
2026-08-25
In this Conflicted Conversation, Simon Sebag Montefiore returns to the show, this time to talk about his new book The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East.
Simon explains:
How Britain and France tried — and often failed — to shape the post-Ottoman Middle East
Why Sykes–Picot is a misleading shorthand for the region’s modern borders
How Atatürk, Nasser and other Middle Eastern leaders remade the region through their own choices
The violent shift from Ottoman pluralism to nationalist, more homogeneous states
Why Nasser’s charisma produced a powerful Arab myth but a disastrous authoritarian model
Why traditional monarchies in Morocco, Jordan and the Gulf often outlasted revolutionary republics
How America became the Middle East’s dominant anti-imperial imperial power after Europe’s retreat
Why militias, parastates and insurgencies make “total victory” in today’s Middle East so elusive
Find Simon on X: x.com/simonmontefiore
Visit Simon’s website: www.simonsebagmontefiore.com
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Thomas Small .
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CONFLICTED
Message Heard- No. of episodes
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- Latest episode
- 2026-10-15
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An ex-Al Qaeda jihadi turned MI6 spy and a former monk turned filmmaker, have been embedded at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East. Together Aimen Dean and Thomas Small unpack the realities of war, fundamentalism and their global implications through first-hand experience.