Al Jazeera Empire

Two years after an historic victory that saw the first African-American elected president of the US, Barack Obama has come under pressure. Empire discusses the failures and successes of Barack Obama's presidency.

We ask if the despots of the region will be able to restore their authority through bribes and belated concessions.

Empire looks at the dramatic changes taking place in the Arab world and their strategic implications.

Youtube, Facebook and Twitter have become the new weapons of mass mobilisation. Are social networks triggering social revolution? And where will the next domino fall?

Information is power and in the age of the information revolution, cyber and satellite communication is transforming our lives, reinventing the relationship between people and power. New media, from WikiLeaks to Facebook, Twitter to YouTube, is persistently challenging the traditional flow of information, and cyber disobedience is exposing powerful governments. Websites are now being treated like hostile territories; whistleblowers and leakers as terrorists, and hackers as insurgents. Governments are scrambling to salvage their influence and take advantage of the new cyber and satellite media. From China to the Sudan, Egypt to Iran, despots and armies are tracking web activity and setting up Facebook accounts to spy on their citizens. So is this the century of free information and expression as the cyber utopians predicted, or new methods of electronic oppression as the cyber sceptics warned?

As Gaddafi strikes to crush rebel forces in Libya, Empire looks at the case for and against intervention.

How will the Muslim Brotherhood reconcile their ideology with democracy?

Information is power and in the age of the information revolution, cyber and satellite communication is transforming our lives, reinventing the relationship between people and power. How will governments deal with the information revolution?

"The Arab Spring is in full bloom. Peaceful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt sparked a democratic tide that has swept across the region. In Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, it is now a tale of two protests, with the situation deteriorating into widespread violence and outright war. It seems some regimes will stop at nothing to resist change. So with no unified leadership or clear agenda, and with domestic complications in each and every country, is this truly a revolution? And if this is an Awakening -- what path will it follow -- that of Turkey? Of Iran? Or rather a third way, an Arab way. Empire finds out. Joining Marwan Bishara to discuss these issues are: Rabab el-Mahdi, a professor of political science at American University, Cairo; Christopher Dickey, Middle East editor of Newsweek and The Daily Beast; Patrick Seale, author of The Struggle for Arab Independence. Our interviewees are: Ahmed Maher, founder of the 6 April Youth Movement, Egypt; Mohamed Arafat, from Egypt's Social Deomocratic Party; Shaeera Amin, former deputy director of Nile TV; Hugh Miles, author of Al Jazeera - How Arab TV News Challenged the World. "

Osama bin Laden is dead. The world's most wanted man has finally been killed after a hunt that lasted more than a decade, triggered global wars, and cost the lives of tens of thousands of people. What does it mean for US wars in the Muslim world? And will the US actions unleash a new wave of attacks around the world?

Europe has dramatically changed its tune. Having once embraced Arab autocrats it is now supporting democracy in the Middle East, selectively. In Libya, they are intervening militarily, although Gaddafi was until recently a guest of honour in their capitals. Empire travels across the continent's centres of power to examine European hypocrisy.

"Following another resounding electoral victory, Prime Minister Erdogan's 'Justice and Development Party' has been emboldened to further increase Turkey's role on the world stage. Ankara has rediscovered its global ambitions. This emerging regional power is now the fastest-growing G20 country after China, and has risen to be the 16th largest economy in the world. What path will this new Turkey take?"

The world's attention may have shifted but Egypt is still on the march, with revolutionaries determined to maintain the momentum amid the ongoingpolitical tussle. What has become of the Egyptian revolution after the initial euphoria of Tahrir Square?

Can the International Monetary Fund recover its lost credibility and fix the world economy?

The events on the morning of September 11, 2001, marked the beginning of what would become a decade of war. So many lives lost, millions of dollars squandered and wasted opportunities. Does the US regret its "stupid war"?

After more than 60 years of dispossession and 40 years of occupation, Palestinians have turned to the UN for justice.

Empire asks what has become of the Arab revolutions after the initial euphoria has passed.

The screws are tightening on Iran. A new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report claims that Iran could be on the path to developing nuclear weapons. he US issued harsh new sanctions and their allies, the British, agreed to support them in the event of an attack. The other players in the region, Russia, China and Turkey have urged caution. Israel replied with threats, war games, and long-range missile "tests" capable of hitting the Islamic Republic. Would Israel really attack? And would the US get drawn in? Or will they resort to covert warfare, assassinations or even virtual cyber-war like the mysterious computer virus, Stuxnet? The timing of all this activity is suspicious. When Mohamed ElBaradei, the previous director general of the IAEA, issued reports he would re-write them countless times to avoid the agency being used as a political smokescreen. Now that Washington is reducing its military presence in Iraq, and Iran's influence in Baghdad is growing, are we witnessing a seismic shift in the balance of power in the region? Empire finds out.