2023
18oct16:0017:00Carnage in Gaza and Biden's lsrael Visit: What's next in the Middle East crisis?
Event Description
Speakers: Omar Rahman, Fellow at Middle East Council on Global Affairs Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, DAWN Triestino Mariniello, professor of law at Liverpool John Moores University Moderator: Betül Doğan
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Event Description
Speakers:
- Omar Rahman, Fellow at Middle East Council on Global Affairs
- Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, DAWN
- Triestino Mariniello, professor of law at Liverpool John Moores University
Moderator:
Betül Doğan Akkaş, Middle East Expert
Date & Time:
18 October 2023
16:00-17:00 (Istanbul time)
Location: Zoom
Time
(Wednesday) 16:00 - 17:00
Location
Online - Zoom
17oct19:0020:00Gaza: Preventing a humanitarian disaster
Event Description
Speakers: Crispin Blunt, Member of Parliament (MP), Conservative Party, United Kingdom Daniel levy, President, the president of the US / Middle East Project (USMEP) Omar Shakir, The Israel
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Event Description
Speakers:
- Crispin Blunt, Member of Parliament (MP), Conservative Party, United Kingdom
- Daniel levy, President, the president of the US / Middle East Project (USMEP)
- Omar Shakir, The Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch
Moderator:
Resul Serdar Ataş, Senior Correspondent, Al Jazeera
Date & Time:
17 October 2023
19:00-20:00 (Istanbul time)
Location: Zoom
Time
(Tuesday) 19:00 - 20:00
Location
Online - Zoom
10oct19:0020:00Palestine - Israel: Shattered status quo?
Event Description
Description On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. The scale, the nature, and geographic length of this attack was unprecedented. It has caught Israel and international community off
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Event Description
Description
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. The scale, the nature, and geographic length of this attack was unprecedented. It has caught Israel and international community off guard. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed a war as response. To demonstrate the gravity of this attack, many resorted to historical analogies. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Egypt and Syria’s 1973 attack on Israel, many drew parallel between this latest attack and the Yom Kippur war. Some even likened it to the events of 1948. Setting aside these historical precedents, one thing is already clear: The prevailing national, regional, and international status quo on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been fundamentally shattered. With it, the idea that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is no longer the core issue of regional politics in the Middle East and that the Arab-Israeli normalization can proceed with no regard to the Palestinian question. At this stage, it is crucial to disentangle how we have arrived and where we go from here.
Speakers:
- Wadah Khanfar, President of Al Sharg Forum
- Francesca Albanese, The UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine
- Fadi Quran, Campaign Director, Avaaz
- David Hearst, Editor in chief, Middle East Eye
Moderator:
Galip Dalay, Oxford Universitv
Date & Time:
10 October 2023
19:00-20:00 (Istanbul time)
Location: Zoom
Time
(Tuesday) 19:00 - 20:00
Location
Online - Zoom
The Second Conference The Shifting Global Order and its Repercussions for Al Sharq Region
Event Description
The global order has been going through a significant transformative phase as a result of many drastic developments. The non-western global powers, China and Russia, are deepening their
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Event Description
The global order has been going through a significant transformative phase as a result of many drastic developments. The non-western global powers, China and Russia, are deepening their clout in their zones of influence, albeit through different strategies. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic-induced political and economic problems have been compounded by the Ukraine War. These dramatic changes are expected to yield a multipolar if not nonpolar, world order.
The intensified confrontation between global powers is reshaping regional politics in many ways. On the one hand, a number of countries in the Al Sharq region are in a quest to increase their influence and regional hegemony, capitalizing on the vacuum resulting from global powers’ competition. On the other hand, as world politics approaches a Cold War-like polarization, keeping an independent path has become very challenging for Al Sharq regional powers, which have become under mounting pressure to take sides in this confrontation.
Therefore, today more than ever, Al Sharq Region countries are in need of charting their future amidst many threats and ambiguities. In a region with remarkable geopolitical significance, maintaining political stability and economic development will not be an easy endeavor. Hence, Al Sharq Strategic Research invites experts, scholars, and policymakers to contribute to discussions on the themes seen below.
Time
3 (Saturday) 10:00 - 4 (Sunday) 17:30
Location
Istanbul
Speakers for this event
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Wadah Khanfar
Wadah Khanfar
President of The Al Sharq Forum
Wadah Khanfar is the President of the Al Sharq Forum and former Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. He is a board member of the International Crisis Group and Global Editors Network (GEN). Khanfar has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 global thinkers of 2011 as well as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ of the year.
President of The Al Sharq Forum
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Mohammad Affan
Mohammad Affan
Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum
Mohammad Affan is the Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum. A medical doctor by training, Affan obtained his MA degree in Political Science from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the American University of Cairo (2015). He also holds three post-graduate diplomas: One in “Civil Society and Human Rights”, from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University (2010), another one in Political Research and Studies from the Institute of Arab Research and Studies at the Arab League (2012), and the third diploma in Islamic Studies from the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies in Cairo (2012). Among his publications is his book titled: “Wahhabism and the Brotherhood: the conflict on the concept of the state and the legitimacy of power.” Affan is currently pursuing his PhD in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Exeter Univesity in the UK. His research interests include, Islamism, State-Theory, and Comparative MENA Studies.
Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum
2022
22sep19:3020:00Iraq: Navigating The Road Ahead
Event Description
Webinar description: The violence and internal war among the Iraqi Shia have stopped for now, but the country’s political crisis has only deepened. Despite 11 months passing from its
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Event Description
Webinar description:
The violence and internal war among the Iraqi Shia have stopped for now, but the country’s political crisis has only deepened. Despite 11 months passing from its early parliamentary elections, Iraq has yet to see a new cabinet. This is the longest government formation in Iraq history. Different analyses are being suggested on what are the different possible scenarios and outcomes of the current crisis. While it has problems of its own, another early election is seen as the most likely scenario. An early election is going to confront issues of voter fatigue and people being distrustful of democracy. There is also a scenario of the continuation of the current government under the leadership of Mustafa al-Kadhimi. In this panel, the speakers will share their take on the outlook for the near future in Iraq.
Speakers:
- Fanar Hadad, Assistant Professor, University of Copenhagen.
- Bilal Wahab, Senior Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy,
- Lahib Higel, Senior Iraq Analyst at Crisis Group
Moderator:
Kamaran Palani, Associate Fellow, Al Sharq Strategic Research
Date & Time:
Thursday
22 September 2022
16:30-18:00 (Baghdad & Istanbul time)
Location: Zoom
Time
(Thursday) 19:30 - 20:00
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Tarik Yousef
Tarik Yousef
Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution
Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution
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Carole Nakhle
Carole Nakhle
CEO of Crystol Energy
CEO of Crystol Energy
19jul19:0020:30Economics of De-Escalation in the Middle East
Event Description
Panel description: The political scene of the Middle East has experienced important transformations in a short time frame. The Qatar blockade has been lifted, Turkey and UAE entered a
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Event Description
Panel description:
The political scene of the Middle East has experienced important transformations in a short time frame. The Qatar blockade has been lifted, Turkey and UAE entered a swift rapprochement process and Gulf countries have started normalization talks with Iran. There are various explanations for this abrupt change. Focusing on economic explanations, some assert that governments have started to prioritize economic interests over ideology. This could be partly explained by the increasing cost of lingering conflicts. Another important factor is the increasing focus of the oil-rich countries on the attempts to diversify their economy. The push for diversification increases the stakes for economic cooperation and bilateral trade deals.
This workshop will explore the economics of the de-escalation process. It will address whether the economic factors are driving the new atmosphere of dialogue. Will this rapprochement process last? What will be the impact of higher fuel prices on the de-escalation incentives? How will the trade and economic cooperation in the region evolve and will it ease the diversification attempts of Gulf countries? How would a possible Iran nuclear deal affect the direction of the de-escalation process? This panel will delve into these questions and more.
Speakers:
Tarik Yousef: Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution
Carole Nakhle: CEO of Crystol Energy
Moderator:
Nurullah Gulec: Al Sharq Strategic Research
Time
(Tuesday) 19:00 - 20:30
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Tarik Yousef
Tarik Yousef
Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution
Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution
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Carole Nakhle
Carole Nakhle
CEO of Crystol Energy
CEO of Crystol Energy
15jun17:0019:00The Future of Regional Reset in the Middle East
Event Description
Description: The Middle Eastern rivals are talking to each other and de-escalating their tension. Economic cooperation and political normalization seem to form the new narrative of the region. Whether
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Event Description
Description:
The Middle Eastern rivals are talking to each other and de-escalating their tension. Economic cooperation and political normalization seem to form the new narrative of the region. Whether these flurry of diplomatic outreaches represent a new era in the region or a mere strategic pause in the regional disputes remain to be seen. In spite of these trends, the contest over the domestic political order of the state in the region remains to be an unsettled one. Sources of societal discontent are only worsening.
Guiding Questions
What is the prospect for this process of de-escalation?
Are we witnessing the emergence of a new era in the region? If so, what are the defining qualities of this new era?
What does this new era mean for the process of change in the Arab world?
How are the relations between major regional players evolving?
How does the war in Ukraine affect the ongoing process of regional de-escalation?
Speakers:
Meliha Benli Altunsik | Professor, Department of International Relations, Middle East Technical University
Wadah Khanfar | President, Al Sharq Forum; Former Director General, Al Jazeera Network
Tarik Yousef | Senior Fellow and Director, Middle East Council on Global Affairs
Time
(Wednesday) 17:00 - 19:00
Location
Online - Zoom
30may19:0022:00What Comes After the Lebanese Elections?
Event Description
Webinar description: Al Sharq Strategic Research cordially invites you to a webinar on "What comes after the Lebanese elections?" The discussion will explore the possible scenarios
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Event Description
Webinar description:
Al Sharq Strategic Research cordially invites you to a webinar on “What comes after the Lebanese elections?”
The discussion will explore the possible scenarios to come and the way moving forward politically and economically. The session will be around an hour including Q&A.
The discussion language will be English.
Moderator: Rawan Hammoud: Al Sharq Strategic Research
Time
(Monday) 19:00 - 22:00
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Mohanad Hage Ali
Mohanad Hage Ali
Academician and political journalist and journalism trainer
Mohanad Hage Ali is an academic and a political journalist. He has a PhD in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). As an academic and journalist, Mohanad specializes in the study of Islamic Movements. He has published a book on Hizbullah’s identity project, while his publications include a much-quoted article on the Abu Musab al-Suri and the new al-Qaeda. Mohanad has written extensively on militant groups in the Syrian conflict.
Academician and political journalist and...
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Khaldoun Charif
Khaldoun Charif
Political commentator
Political commentator
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Obeida Tekriti
Obeida Tekriti
Activist, candidate on MMFD lists
Activist, candidate on MMFD lists
10mar19:0022:00The Russian Invasion of Ukraine From a MENA Perspective
Time
(Thursday) 19:00 - 22:00
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Joseph Bahout
Joseph Bahout
Director at Issam Fares Institute AUB, Beirut
Director at Issam Fares Institute AUB, B...
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Mitat Celikpala
Mitat Celikpala
Professor at Kadir Has University
Dr. Mitat Çelikpala is Professor of International Relations and the Dean of Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Kadir Has University, Istanbul. He has also been the board member of the International Relations Council of Turkey since 2004 and the Managing Editor of the Journal of International Relations: Academic Journal. He previously served as an academic advisor to NATO’s Center of Excellence Defense against Terrorism in Ankara (2009-2012) and was Academic Adviser to the Center for Strategic Research (SAM), Turkish Foreign Ministry (2002-2010), and Caspian Strategy Institute, Istanbul Turkey (2012–2013).
Professor at Kadir Has University
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Abdolrasool Divsallar
Abdolrasool Divsallar
Regional Security Initiative, European University
Regional Security Initiative, European U...
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Rawan Hammoud
Rawan Hammoud
Senior research fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Senior research fellow at Al Sharq Strat...
21feb19:0021:00Turkey and the Gulf: New realignments, new priorities?
Event Description
This webinar is a follow-up to the previous event "De-escalation in the Middle East: A strategic pause or the new reality", and focuses on the so-called reconciliation between
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Event Description
This webinar is a follow-up to the previous event “De-escalation in the Middle East: A strategic pause or the new reality”, and focuses on the so-called reconciliation between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey. This event will serve as a forum for a fruitful discussion about Turkey’s access to the GCC in light of the current normalization and mild de-escalation in the extended Middle East. Apart from the rapprochement between Turkey and these two monarchies, what can we expect from the other GCC monarchies, notably Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, in regard to their relations with Turkey? With this in mind, the webinar will examine how to approach Turkey’s relations with the GCC in the current normalization era: can it help to realign regional priorities?
Time
(Monday) 19:00 - 21:00
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Sinan Hatahet
Sinan Hatahet
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Sinan Hatahet is currently a consultant working with a number of think tanks on Syria. His research is concentrated on governance and local councils, anti-radicalization, Islamism, the Kurdish National Movement, and the new regional order in the Middle East. He previously worked as the executive director of the Syrian National Coalition (SC) media office from its creation in late 2012 until September 2014.
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...
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Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
Rice University\'s Baker Institute for Public Policy & Associate Fellow, Chatham House.
Rice University\'s Baker Institute for P...
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Betul Dogan Akkas
Betul Dogan Akkas
Al Sharq Strategic Associate fellow
Al Sharq Strategic Associate fellow
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Simon Mabon
Simon Mabon
Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Lancaster University
Dr. Simon Mabon is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Lancaster University where he directs the Richardson Institute. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Leeds and is the director of the SEPAD Project, funded by Carnegie Corporation which looks at the impact of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran on the contemporary Middle East.
Senior Lecturer in International Relatio...
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Khalid Al Mezaini
Khalid Al Mezaini
Associate Professor at Zayed University
Khalid Al Mezaini is an Assistant Professor, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi. He was working before at Qatar University, where he teaches in the Gulf Studies Program, and a visiting research fellow at LSE. Prior to joining Qatar University, he was a research fellow at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Associate Professor at Zayed University
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Abdulla Baabood
Abdulla Baabood
Chair of the State of Qatar in Islamic Area Studies, Waseda University, Japan
Abdullah Baabood is an academic from Oman with wide regional and international experience. He was previously the director of the Gulf Studies Program at the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University and director of the Gulf Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. Currently, he is the Chair of the State of Qatar for Islamic Area Studies and Visiting Professor, Faculty of International Research and Education, Waseda University, Japan.
Chair of the State of Qatar in Islamic A...
14feb18:0020:30De-escalation in the Middle East:
A strategic pause or the new reality?
Event Description
The webinar will facilitate a comprehensive discussion of regional policies by combining the motivations of Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other states in the region. This will include
Event Description
The webinar will facilitate a comprehensive discussion of regional policies by combining the motivations of Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other states in the region. This will include the impact of their policy making in the Mediterranean.
Time
(Monday) 18:00 - 20:30
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Betul Dogan Akkas
Betul Dogan Akkas
Al Sharq Strategic Associate fellow
Al Sharq Strategic Associate fellow
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Meliha Altunisik
Meliha Altunisik
Professor at the Department of International Relations at METU
Meliha Benli Altunışık is a professor at the Department of International Relations at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University in 1988-89 and was a resident Fulbright Scholar in the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC from January to June 2003. She is the author of Turkey: Challenges of Continuity and Change with Ö. Tür (Routledge/Curzon, 2005) and The South Caucasus: Security, Energy and Europeanization, co-edited with O. Tanrısever (Routledge, 2018). She also published a number of academic articles in journals such as Arab Studies Quarterly; Insight Turkey; Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies; Journal of Historical Sociology; Mediterranean Politics; Middle Eastern Studies; New Perspectives on Turkey; Security Dialogue; Uluslararası İlişkiler.
Professor at the Department of Internati...
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Anoush Ehteshami
Anoush Ehteshami
Professor of International Relations at Durham University
Anoush Ehteshami is a Professor of International Relations at Durham University. He is the Nasser al-Sabah Chair and Director, and the Director of the Institute for Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies at School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University.
Professor of International Relations at ...
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Cinzia Bianco
Cinzia Bianco
Visiting Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations
Cinzia Bianco is a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, based in Berlin, where she is working on political, security and economic developments in the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf region and relations with Europe. Additionally, she is a senior analyst at Gulf State Analytics. Previously, Bianco was a research fellow for the European Commission’s project on EU-GCC relations ‘Sharaka’ between 2013 and 2014. She holds an MA degree in Middle East and Mediterranean Studies from King’s College London and a PhD in Middle East Politics from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, where she worked on threat perceptions in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) after the 2011 Arab uprisings.
Visiting Fellow at the European Council...
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Madawi Al Rasheed
Madawi Al Rasheed
Visiting Professor at the LSE Middle East Center
Madawi is Visiting Professor at the LSE Middle East Centre. In January 2017, she returned to the MEC from a sabbatical year at the Middle East Institute, the National University of Singapore. Previously, she was Research Fellow at the Open Society Foundation. Between 1994–2013, she was Professor of Anthropology of Religion at King’s College London. She was also a Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. She has taught at Goldsmith College, University of London and the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford.
Visiting Professor at the LSE Middle Eas...
31jan21:0023:30Peace at Stake: What is happening in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Event Description
This panel discussed the ongoing crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina with our esteemed guests Dr. Harun Karcic and Dr. Maja Savić Bojanić. This panel is held in partnership
Event Description
This panel discussed the ongoing crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina with our esteemed guests Dr. Harun Karcic and Dr. Maja Savić Bojanić. This panel is held in partnership with Al Sharq Diwan.
Time
(Monday) 21:00 - 23:30
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Harun Karčić
Harun Karčić
Harun Karčić is the editor and host of a foreign affairs show on Al Jazeera's Balkan channel. Over the past decade, he has authored numerous articles on Islam in post-communist Bosnia and Herzegovina and the role played by foreign powers in the region. He also regularly reports on Muslim minorities in Europe and rising right-wing nationalism.
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Maja Savic-Bojanic
Maja Savic-Bojanic
Maja Savic-Bojanic is an Assistant Professor and currently also the Head of the Department of Political Science & International Relations at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology. She also holds the position of an honorary associate professor at the University of Exeter (UK) where she teaches within the Applied Security Strategy Programme.
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Ismail Cidic
Ismail Cidic
Ismail Cidic: President of the Bosnian Advocacy Center. Ismail is an alumnus of Duke University and a Fellow at George Mason University whose research focuses on international relations and foreign policy.
2021
04nov17:0018:30The Impact of Iraqi Elections on Regional Politics
Event Description
On Sunday, October 10, Iraqis voted in a high-stakes early election, coming at a time of formidable security, political and financial challenges at home and abroad, not least
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Event Description
On Sunday, October 10, Iraqis voted in a high-stakes early election, coming at a time of formidable security, political and financial challenges at home and abroad, not least of which is the continuous US-Iran rivalry played out on Iraqi territory.
Over the last two years, Iraq has been overwhelmed with protests, internal instability, financial problems, US-Iran confrontation on Iraqi soil, and discord between various Shia armed groups on the one hand and the federal government on the other. However, against all odds, Iraq has also witnessed an unprecedented diplomatic push, with attempts to integrate the country into the regional political and economic map and establish itself as a significant player and bridge.
Iraq recently organized regional conferences focused on the Arab world, such as a tripartite summit in Baghdad between Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt; and the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership.
Although for Iraq, the ability to bring various regional and international players and rivals to the table in Baghdad is an end in itself, Iraq’s desire to achieve greater regional and economic integration will be a long process, requiring time, consistency, and sustained interest.
Time
(Thursday) 17:00 - 18:30
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Galip Dalay
Galip Dalay
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Research director at Al Sharq Forum and senior associate fellow on Turkey and Kurdish Affairs at Al Jazeera Center for Studies. He previously worked as a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin and as a political researcher at SETA Foundation in Ankara. He is a regular contributor to German Marshall Fund of the United States’ on Turkey policy brief series, and a columnist for Middle East Eye.
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...
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Kamaran Palani
Kamaran Palani
Research Fellow at the Middle Eastern Research Institute (MERI)
Kamaran Mohammad Palani is a Research Fellow at the Middle Eastern Research Institute (MERI). He has an MA in Global Security from Keele University in the UK. He has worked for various local and international NGOs and research centers, including Al Mesalla, Peace and Freedom Organization in Kurdistan, PAX, and the at Salahaddin University-Erbil. His research interests include de facto statehood in the international system, post-war security issues, state-building and democratization in Iraq and the Kurdistan region.
Research Fellow at the Middle Eastern Re...
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Lahib Higel
Lahib Higel
Senior Iraq Analyst at Crisis Group
Senior Iraq Analyst at Crisis Group
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Ranj Alaaldin
Ranj Alaaldin
Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institute, Doha
Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institute, Do...
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Maria Fantappie
Maria Fantappie
Senior Analyst at International Crisis Group
Maria Fantappie is Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Iraq. Maria has conducted fieldwork in Iraq and Syria since 2009, and works with other members of the Middle East & North Africa team to research and produce reports on security, conflict, politics, governance, and social issues on Iraq, Syria and the Kurdish regions. She has engaged policymakers on her research at some of the highest levels of government in the US, Europe and the Middle East.
Senior Analyst at International Crisis G...
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Hassan Ahmadian
Hassan Ahmadian
Assistant Professor at the University of Tehran
Dr. Hassan Ahmadian is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Iran Project, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Dr. Ahmadian is an Assistant Professor of Middle East and North Africa studies at the University of Tehran, and is also a Middle East security and politics fellow at the Center for Strategic Research, Tehran. He received his PhD in Area Studies from the University of Tehran. His research and teaching work is mainly focused on Iran’s foreign policy and relations, political change, civil-military relations and Islamist movements in the Middle East. His research and analyses have appeared in peer-reviewed journals as well as prestigious Persian, English and Arabic outlets.
Assistant Professor at the University of...
04oct15:0016:30A New Era in Qatari Political culture: The advisory Council Elections
Time
(Monday) 15:00 - 16:30
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Zaid Al Hamdan
Zaid Al Hamdan
Politician Advisor
Politician Advisor
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Luciano Zaccara
Luciano Zaccara
Research Assistant Professor in Gulf Politics, Qatar University
Research Assistant Professor in Gulf Pol...
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Marc Owen Jones
Marc Owen Jones
Assistant Professor at HAmad Bin Khalifa University
Assistant Professor at HAmad Bin Khalifa...
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Betul Dogan Akkas
Betul Dogan Akkas
Al Sharq Strategic Associate fellow
Al Sharq Strategic Associate fellow
16jul14:0016:00A Middle East Bet on China? Strategic Partnerships and Regional Rivalries
Event Description
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Event Description
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi unveiled a five-point plan to secure and stabilize the Middle East during a six-nation tour of the region. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of China-Turkey relations, Yi held out the prospect of elevating ties between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership. China already has strategic partnerships with several states in the region, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Egypt. This webinar will explore China’s vision of a future role in the Middle East. It will seek to unpack what China’s strategic partnerships entail, how it hopes to manage relations with regional partners that are at loggerheads, and to what degree Middle Eastern willingness to accommodate China is rooted in exaggerated expectations of Chinese support. Will China transform from being an economic actor and trade partner to a security partner for the region? What kind of role regional partners want China to play in the region? Are they hedging their bets in case the United States withdraws from the region or is it that China offers a new model to follow? Co-organized by Al Sharq Strategic Research and Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, this panel will explore these questions and more.
Time
(Friday) 14:00 - 16:00
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Galip Dalay
Galip Dalay
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Research director at Al Sharq Forum and senior associate fellow on Turkey and Kurdish Affairs at Al Jazeera Center for Studies. He previously worked as a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin and as a political researcher at SETA Foundation in Ankara. He is a regular contributor to German Marshall Fund of the United States’ on Turkey policy brief series, and a columnist for Middle East Eye.
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...
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Kadir Temiz
Kadir Temiz
Assistant professor of Political Science at Istanbul Medeniyet University
Kadir Temiz graduated from Beykent University, department of International Relations in 2006. He holds an MA from Istanbul Technical University, department of humanities and social sciences Political Science Studies with a thesis titled “Confucianism and Alternative Theory of Rights” in 2010. He has also got doctor of philosophy degree from Boğaziçi University, Atatürk Institute for the Modern Turkish History with a dissertation titled “The Rise of China and the Middle East: Chinese Foreign Policy Towards Iran, Israel and Turkey, 2001- 2011.” In 2017. Temiz has studied at Peking University Institute of International Studies and Foreign Language School in the years between 2007 and 2010. He also studied at Shanghai International Studies University, the department of International Relations and Middle East Studies Centre. He also worked at İstanbul Şehir University, department of international relations in the years between 2018 and 2020. Temiz is also affiliated with Boğaziçi University’s Asian Studies Centre. He still continues to study on History of Modern China, Chinese Foreign Policy and International Relations, Politics of East Asia and China’s relations with Middle Eastern countries. He teaches Politics of East Asia, China in World Politics, Chinese Foreign Policy and Current Issues in Chinese Foreign Policy courses at İstanbul Medeniyet University, department of International Relations.
Assistant professor of Political Science...
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James M. Dorsey
James M. Dorsey
Senior research fellow at the Middle East Institute-NUS
James M Dorsey is a senior research fellow focused on the Middle East and North Africa who publishes widely in peer-reviewed journals as well as non-academic publications. A veteran award-winning foreign correspondent for four decades in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Europe and the United States writing for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Financial Times, James has met a multitude of the region’s leaders. As a journalist, James covered primarily ethnic and religious conflicts, including some of recent history’s most dramatic events such as the 1973 Middle East war; the Lebanese civil war; the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the US-backed insurgency that ultimately led to the withdrawal of Soviet troops; the Palestinian intifadas; the Iranian revolution; the US embassy hostage crisis and the Iran-Iraq war; the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the toppling of Saddam Hussein; the Israeli-Palestinian peace process; the wars in Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo and Serbia; the armed struggles in the Western Sahara, Algeria, the Philippines, Kashmir, Eritrea, Tigre, the Ogaden, Chad, Niger, Chechnya, the Caucasus and Georgia; the Columbian drug cartels; the fall of Noriega in Panama; the wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador; the Kurdish insurgency in south-eastern Turkey, post-revolution Iran and Saddam’s Iraq; and the war on terror. James writes a widely acclaimed blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, has published a book with the same title and authors a syndicated column.
Senior research fellow at the Middle Eas...
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Alessandro Arduino
Alessandro Arduino
Principal research fellow at the Middle East Institute-NUS
Dr Alessandro Arduino is the principal research fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), National University of Singapore. He is the co-director of the Security & Crisis Management International Centre at the Shanghai Academy of Social Science (SASS) and an associate at Lau China Institute, King’s College London. His two decades of experience in China encompasses security analysis and crisis management. His main research interests include China, Central Asia and Middle East and North Africa relations, sovereign wealth funds, private military/security companies, and China’s security and foreign policy. Alessandro is the author of several books and he has published papers and commentaries in various journals in Italian, English and Chinese. His most recent book is China’s Private Army: Protecting the New Silk Road (Palgrave, 2018). He has been appointed Knight of Order of the Star of Italy by the president of the Italian Republic.
Principal research fellow at the Middle ...
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Omer Aslan
Omer Aslan
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Omer Aslan is an Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum, and a researcher at the Institute for Security Sciences at the Turkish National Police Academy (TNPA). He previously worked at the political research department of the Ankara-based SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research. He received his B.A. degree in political science from Bilkent University. After finishing MSc in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, he entered the Ph.D. program in political science at Bilkent University in 2010. Ömer is now a Ph.D. candidate at the same university, currently working on his dissertation in the field of civil-military relations. Among his publications are “A Turkish Muslim Between Islamism and Turkish Nationalism: Seyyid Ahmet Arvasi (1932–88)”, and “‘Unarmed’ we Intervene, Unnoticed we Remain: The Deviant Case of ‘February 28th Coup’ in Turkey “. Research Interests: Military and Politics in the Muslim World, External Actors and Military Coup d’états, Police and Politics.
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic R...
03mar17:0017:15Europe and Great Power Competition in the Middle East
Event Description
The Middle East has increasingly become an arena for great power competition. While Donald Trump’s foreign policy saw the United States withdraw troops from Iraq and north western Syria, Russia
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Event Description
The Middle East has increasingly become an arena for great power competition. While Donald Trump’s foreign policy saw the United States withdraw troops from Iraq and north western Syria, Russia has emerged as a key power broker in the region, while China has also expanded its regional economic and political footprint.
Meanwhile, Europe has sought to establish itself as a mediator, preserving a rules-based international order and brokering political agreements. However, it has arguably been little engaged with the diplomatic shifts in the Middle East and risks becoming marginalized in the region by other international powers.
In this discussion, the panellists explore Europe’s relationships with the United States, China and Russia in the context of the Middle East. What does Europe’s struggle for influence in the region mean for its geopolitical and geosecurity interests? What strategy will the Biden administration adopt in the region? And to what extent has China’s influence expanded throughout the region in recent years?
This event is being held in partnership with the Al Sharq Forum and is part of the Europe and its Neighbourhood conference series. It is open to all Chatham House members as well as Al Sharq Forum supporters and stakeholders. Register now to share, debate and develop ideas on this critical international issue. For guests of the Al Sharq Forum, please email Sam Martin to register.
Time
(Wednesday) 17:00 - 17:15
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Joseph Bahout
Joseph Bahout
Director at Issam Fares Institute AUB, Beirut
Director at Issam Fares Institute AUB, B...
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Ranj Alaaldin
Ranj Alaaldin
Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institute, Doha
Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institute, Do...
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Özgür Ünlühisarcıklı
Özgür Ünlühisarcıklı
Director of GMF’s office in Ankara
Özgür Ünlühisarcıklı is the director of GMF’s office in Ankara, Turkey. Prior to joining GMF, he was the manager of the Resource Development Department of the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey. Previously, Ünlühisarcıklı worked as the director of the ARI Movement, a Turkish NGO promoting participatory democracy, and as a consultant at AB Consulting and Investment Services
Director of GMF’s office in Ankara
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Nikolay Kozhanov
Nikolay Kozhanov
Visiting lecturer at the European University at St. Petersburg
Nikolay Kozhanov is an academy associate at the Russia and Eurasia Program of Chatham House and a visiting lecturer at the European University at St. Petersburg. From 2006 to 2009, he served as an attaché at the political section of the Russian embassy in Tehran. He got his PhD from the St. Petersburg State University. His area of expertise involves Iran's foreign and domestic policies as well the issue of Russian presence in the Middle East.
Visiting lecturer at the European Univer...
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Nader Kabbani
Nader Kabbani
Director of Research, Brookings Doha Center; Senior Fellow, Brookings Global Economy and Development Program
Director of Research, Brookings Doha Center; Senior Fellow, Brookings Global Economy and Development Program
Director of Research, Brookings Doha Cen...
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Yu Jie
Yu Jie
Senior Research Fellow on China, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House
Senior Research Fellow on China, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House
Senior Research Fellow on China, Asia-Pa...
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Hürcan Aslı Aksoy
Hürcan Aslı Aksoy
Deputy Head of Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS), German Institute of International and Security Affairs
Deputy Head of Centre for Applied Turkey...
17feb17:0018:15Europe’s Role in MENA Conflict Zones: A Declining Influence?
Event Description
Europe has long-standing ties with countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. However, a year into the coronavirus crisis, Europe has turned inwards, closing its borders and
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Event Description
Europe has long-standing ties with countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. However, a year into the coronavirus crisis, Europe has turned inwards, closing its borders and focusing on internal responses to the pandemic.
The pandemic has exacerbated existing conflicts in the MENA region, affecting European geopolitical and geosecurity interests, including those of the UK. But, while the EU, has been the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to Syria, and has played an instrumental role in the Libyan conflict in its role brokering the Libyan Political Agreement, a disjointed European approach to the region recently has allowed for other international powers to gain influence.
In this discussion, the panellists explore key issues for European countries about their engagement and role in the MENA region. What does Europe’s declining influence mean for its geopolitical and geosecurity interests? How will the new US administration affect European policy towards Syria and Libya? How will other powers like Russia and Turkey respond? And has the pandemic affected the EU’s long-term capacity for conflict prevention and peacebuilding in the region?
Time
(Wednesday) 17:00 - 18:15
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Tarik M. Yousef
Tarik M. Yousef
Director of Brooking Doha Center and Senior fellow
Tarik M. Yousef is a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development program and the Director of the Brookings Doha Center. His career has spanned the academic world at Georgetown University and the Harvard Kennedy School; the public policy arena at the IMF, the World Bank and more recently the NGO space at Silatech. He has a PhD in economics from Harvard University
Director of Brooking Doha Center and Sen...
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Maria Fantappie
Maria Fantappie
Senior Analyst at International Crisis Group
Maria Fantappie is Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Iraq. Maria has conducted fieldwork in Iraq and Syria since 2009, and works with other members of the Middle East & North Africa team to research and produce reports on security, conflict, politics, governance, and social issues on Iraq, Syria and the Kurdish regions. She has engaged policymakers on her research at some of the highest levels of government in the US, Europe and the Middle East.
Senior Analyst at International Crisis G...
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Christian Hanelt
Christian Hanelt
Senior Expert for Middle East, Gulf Region, North Africa, EU Southern Neighbourhood, Bertelsmann Stiftung
Senior Expert for Middle East, Gulf Regi...
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Daniela Huber
Daniela Huber
Head, Mediterranean and Middle East Programme, Istituto Affari Internazionali
Head, Mediterranean and Middle East Prog...
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Michelle Pace
Michelle Pace
Associate Fellow, Europe Programme, Chatham House
Associate Fellow, Europe Programme, Chat...
04feb14:0016:00The Arab Uprisings, a Decade on: A New Reality or a New Snapshot?
Event Description
Undoubtedly, the Arab Uprisings have proved to be one of the most transformative developments in the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) since the end of colonialism in
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Event Description
This public webinar aims to take stock of the Arab uprisings and set out to address the following questions: What are the features of the ‘new reality’ in the Middle East? How did these Uprisings expose the systematic and socio-political illnesses and malformations in the MENA region? And to what extent this experience informed the ongoing debate on democracy worldwide? What do these uprisings tell us about the nature of the state and regional system in the Middle East? What lessons should we draw from these processes?
Time
(Thursday) 14:00 - 16:00
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Wadah Khanfar
Wadah Khanfar
President of The Al Sharq Forum
Wadah Khanfar is the President of the Al Sharq Forum and former Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. He is a board member of the International Crisis Group and Global Editors Network (GEN). Khanfar has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 global thinkers of 2011 as well as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ of the year.
President of The Al Sharq Forum
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Dr. Larbi Sidiki
Dr. Larbi Sidiki
Professor of Arab Democratization at Qatar University
Professor of Arab Democratization at Qat...
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Dr. John Keane
Dr. John Keane
Professor of Politics at the University of Sydney
Professor of Politics at the University ...
27jan17:0018:30The Arab Spring: 10 Years On
Event Description
The legacy of the Arab uprisings, ten years on since they erupted across the region, has been mixed. The journey towards democratization remains slow and there have been modest political,
Event Description
Time
(Wednesday) 17:00 - 18:30 TSİ
Location
Online - Zoom
Organizer
Chatham HouseChatham House
Speakers for this event
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Wadah Khanfar
Wadah Khanfar
President of The Al Sharq Forum
Wadah Khanfar is the President of the Al Sharq Forum and former Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. He is a board member of the International Crisis Group and Global Editors Network (GEN). Khanfar has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 global thinkers of 2011 as well as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ of the year.
President of The Al Sharq Forum
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Lurdes Vidal Bertran
Lurdes Vidal Bertran
Director of the Arab and Mediterranean World Department, IEMed
Director of the Arab and Mediterranean W...
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Kristina Kausch
Kristina Kausch
Senior Resident Fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States\' (GMF) Brussels office
Kristina Kausch is a Senior Resident Fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States' (GMF) Brussels office. Her research focuses on Europe’s relations with the Middle East and North Africa, and political transformations in the Arab world. Prior to joining GMF, she was a non-resident associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the head of its Middle East program, and research coordinator at FRIDE. She has edited three books and published articles in academic journals.
Senior Resident Fellow at The German Mar...
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Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
Rice University\'s Baker Institute for Public Policy & Associate Fellow, Chatham House.
Rice University\'s Baker Institute for P...
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Tarek Megerisi
Tarek Megerisi
Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations
Policy Fellow, European Council on Forei...
2020
25nov19:0022:00EASTERN MEDITTERNEAN WEBINAR
Event Description
Turkish - Greek maritime disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean has morphed into a conventional geopolitical confrontation between Turkey and a set of countries, including Greece, France, the UAE, and Egypt.
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Event Description
Turkish – Greek maritime disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean has morphed into a conventional geopolitical confrontation between Turkey and a set of countries, including Greece, France, the UAE, and Egypt. As the files and actors of this crisis have expanded, the solution has become even more intractable. Taking the complexity and multidimensionality of the topic along with the diversity of the actors involved in the Eastern Mediterranean into consideration, Al Sharq Strategic Research hosted a webinar on the subject with a view geared towards projecting potential scenarios and implications of the crisis on the actors involved and beyond. Of others, this roundtable style webinar aimed at addressing the following questions:
• How does one understand the nature of the emerging security and energy equation in the Eastern Mediterranean?
• Where is the Turkish – Greek disputes heading? Compromise or confrontation?
• Similarly, how is the Turkish – French row likely to unfold in the Eastern Mediterranean from now onward?
• How solid are the emerging regional alignments in this region?
• What role can the EU play in this crisis?
• After the election, will there be any change in the US position towards the region?
Time
(Wednesday) 19:00 - 22:00
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Can Kasapoglu
Can Kasapoglu
Director of EDAM
Director of the Security & Defense Research Program at the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM).
Director of EDAM
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Mitat Celikpala
Mitat Celikpala
Professor at Kadir Has University
Dr. Mitat Çelikpala is Professor of International Relations and the Dean of Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Kadir Has University, Istanbul. He has also been the board member of the International Relations Council of Turkey since 2004 and the Managing Editor of the Journal of International Relations: Academic Journal. He previously served as an academic advisor to NATO’s Center of Excellence Defense against Terrorism in Ankara (2009-2012) and was Academic Adviser to the Center for Strategic Research (SAM), Turkish Foreign Ministry (2002-2010), and Caspian Strategy Institute, Istanbul Turkey (2012–2013).
Professor at Kadir Has University
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Ioannis N. Grigoriadis
Ioannis N. Grigoriadis
Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chair
Associate Professor at Bilkent University/ The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chai...
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Dimitrios Triantaphyllou
Dimitrios Triantaphyllou
Head of Department at Kadir Has University
Head of Department of International Relations at Kadir Has University
Head of Department at Kadir Has Universi...
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Omer Aslan
Omer Aslan
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Omer Aslan is an Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum, and a researcher at the Institute for Security Sciences at the Turkish National Police Academy (TNPA). He previously worked at the political research department of the Ankara-based SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research. He received his B.A. degree in political science from Bilkent University. After finishing MSc in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, he entered the Ph.D. program in political science at Bilkent University in 2010. Ömer is now a Ph.D. candidate at the same university, currently working on his dissertation in the field of civil-military relations. Among his publications are “A Turkish Muslim Between Islamism and Turkish Nationalism: Seyyid Ahmet Arvasi (1932–88)”, and “‘Unarmed’ we Intervene, Unnoticed we Remain: The Deviant Case of ‘February 28th Coup’ in Turkey “. Research Interests: Military and Politics in the Muslim World, External Actors and Military Coup d’états, Police and Politics.
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic R...
13oct12:0014:00Seminar on Political Islam Movements in the Second Wave of Arab Uprisings
Event Description
In December 2018, eight years after Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia sparked the Arab Uprisings, fuel and bread riots erupted in Sudan’s north-eastern city of Atbara. Popular
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Event Description
In December 2018, eight years after Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia sparked the Arab Uprisings, fuel and bread riots erupted in Sudan’s north-eastern city of Atbara. Popular mobilizations intensified during 2019 and spread to four other Arab republics in what came to be referred to as the second wave of the Arab Uprisings. These events culminated in the ousting of the Algerian and Sudanese Presidents, Abdul-Aziz Bouteflika and Omar al-Bashir respectively, as well as the resignation of the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al- Hariri and his Iraqi counterpart Adel Abdel Mahdi. This wave of events came as a total surprise since they happened at a time when people in the Arab world had developed an “Arab Spring fatigue.”
Within Al-Sharq Forum taskforce, the researchers were mainly concerned with how the Political Islam movements (PIM) and parties as the predominant socio-political actors in both the first and second wave countries have affected, and in turn have been affected, by these uprisings. In contrast to the first wave, where PIM were in the opposition struggling against incumbent rulers and regimes, these movements were positioned differently in the second wave. In all of the four cases we see some sections of Islamists either as rulers or as supporters of and partners in the existing regime. Being the target of popular mobilizations rather than their active organizers (or being both in some cases) creates a very different dynamic for Political Islam in all these cases under study. In each case study, the researchers discuss the socio-political contexts in order to highlight the conditions under which PIM act and react. They also map the positions of Islamist actors in each case study and discuss the ways in which these uprisings affected their political orientation, strategy, and behavior.
Time
(Tuesday) 12:00 - 14:00
Location
Online - Zoom
Speakers for this event
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Emad Shahin
Emad Shahin
Senior Fellow at Georgetown University
Emad Shahin is the Dean of the College of Islamic Studies (CIS), Hamad bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation and a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University. Before joining CIS, he was the Hasib Sabbagh Distinguished Visiting Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies, visiting professor of Political Science at Georgetown University and the editor-in-chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics. He is tenured professor of public policy, The American University in Cairo (on leave). Shahin holds a Ph.D. (1989) from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, M.A. (1983) and BA (1980) from the American University in Cairo. He has taught in leading universities in the United States including Harvard, Notre Dame, Georgetown, George Washington, and Boston University. His research and teaching interests focus on Islam and Politics Comparative Politics, Democracy and Political Reform in Muslim societies, and Political Economy of the Middle East.
Senior Fellow at Georgetown University
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Mohammad Affan
Mohammad Affan
Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum
Mohammad Affan is the Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum. A medical doctor by training, Affan obtained his MA degree in Political Science from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the American University of Cairo (2015). He also holds three post-graduate diplomas: One in “Civil Society and Human Rights”, from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University (2010), another one in Political Research and Studies from the Institute of Arab Research and Studies at the Arab League (2012), and the third diploma in Islamic Studies from the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies in Cairo (2012). Among his publications is his book titled: “Wahhabism and the Brotherhood: the conflict on the concept of the state and the legitimacy of power.” Affan is currently pursuing his PhD in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Exeter Univesity in the UK. His research interests include, Islamism, State-Theory, and Comparative MENA Studies.
Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum
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Ismail Yaylaci
Ismail Yaylaci
Assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir University
Ismail Yaylaci is an assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir University in the department of political science and international relations. He received his PhD from University of Minnesota Social Sciences Institute Political Science in 2014. His research interests are: international relations theory, critical social and political theory, Islamism, and Middle Eastern politics.
Assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir Un...
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Chafic Choucair
Chafic Choucair
Researcher at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
Chafic Choucair is a researcher at the Al Jazeera Center for Studies specializing in the affairs of the Mashreq (Levant region) and Islamist movements. He holds a PhD in Islamic studies. His research interests include crises in the Levant region, especially the Syrian issue; the Arab-Israeli struggle; Sunni and Shiite trends; and jihadist groups and their intellectual and jurisprudential rhetoric and political orientations.
Researcher at Al Jazeera Centre for Stud...
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Tamer Badawi
Tamer Badawi
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Tamer Badawi is a Research Fellow at Al Sharq Forum. He received an M.A. in International Relations (with a major in International Political Economy) from Central European University in 2016 and a B.A. in Oriental Studies from Alexandria University in 2013. He is a regular contributor to Sada, an online publication managed by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He also contributes reports to the Doha-based Aljazeera Center for Studies. Research interests: The political economy of the Middle East, economic development in post-JCPOA Iran, and global energy market trends.
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic R...
2019
Event Description
The 5th annual conference on Europe and its Neighbourhood: Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management in the 21st Century, hosted by Sharq Forum, Chatham House, and International Crisis Group, will focus on
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Event Description
The 5th annual conference on Europe and its Neighbourhood: Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management in the 21st Century, hosted by Sharq Forum, Chatham House, and International Crisis Group, will focus on how Europe and its leaders can respond to the challenges of conflict management and prevention. At a time of uncertainty for Europe’s political ideals and its vision for a common future, its ability to shape and influence developments in its neighbouring regions is a more open question than at any time in the recent past.
This year’s discussions will bring together perspectives from across Europe and neighbouring regions to discuss:
- Europe’s leadership and policy direction amid increased geopolitical rivalry and competition for influence
- Conflict prevention and responses to current and potential conflicts in neighbouring regions
- Spotlight on regional developments and implications for European leaders
In partnership with:
The Chatham House Rule
To enable as open a debate as possible, this conference will be held under the Chatham House Rule.
Time
(Tuesday) 09:30 - 17:30
Schedule
- Day 1
- 10 December 2019
08:00 Registration and refreshments08:00 - 09:00 Registration
09:00 Welcome and chair’s opening remarks09:00 - 09:15Welcome and chair’s opening remarks
09:15 Session One | Europe’s Influence in a Competitive Global Order 09:15 - 10:30The reawakening of great power competition and the limitations of the current, rules-based international order are a challenge to Europe’s role and influence in the world. Europe’s internal politics can to an extent be characterized as a battle of wills between pro-Europeans and anti-Europeans, and the EU’s standing as an exemplar of effective multilateralism stands in contrast to the level of support for its institutions among the populations of many of its member states. In this context, and with a resolution to the Brexit conundrum potentially on the horizon, this session will assess what the future holds for Europe’s role and influence in its neighbourhood and globally.
• How is Europe’s relationship with its neighbourhood changing, and how much will it change over the coming decade, due to the rise of populism throughout the continent and beyond?
• What is the vision of the EU’s new leadership for Europe’s relationships with its neighbourhood?
• The EU is arguably the world’s leading rules-maker, but how can it operate effectively in an environment less conducive to rules-based understandings of international politics?
• What does the experience of recent years suggest about the limitations of the EU and its institutions, in the context of member states’ interests and their wish to retain control over foreign and security policy?10:30 Session Two | Economic Engagement and Trade between Europe and its Neighbourhood 10:30 - 11:15This discussion will focus on common economic interests and ways to maintain significant trade flows between Europe and its neighbouring regions. How has the rise of geopolitics affected Europe’s economic engagement with its neighbours? How can Europe use trade and investment tools to counter the regional influence of other heavyweight powers? What do the conflicts in Europe’s neighbourhood mean for trade and economic stability in Europe?
11:15 Refreshments11:15 - 11:45Refreshments
11:45 Session Three | Conflicts in Europe’s Wider Neighbourhood: Prevention and Response 11:45 - 13:00Amid ongoing conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, the potential for new or further escalation of armed conflicts in other regions such as the Western Balkans, the Black Sea, North Africa and the Gulf has increased. Europe faces the possibility of having to respond simultaneously to numerous crises along its peripheries, testing its political, diplomatic, military and crisis response capabilities.
• Given the lack of consensus in Europe on neighbourhood policy, what are the risks of new wars and armed conflicts in Europe’s neighbourhood?
• What are the most likely scenarios for the evolution of current conflicts? Is Europe capable of dealing with further escalations in its neighbourhood?
• What approaches and capacities for conflict prevention does Europe currently possess? What will it take to amass the necessary political will to meaningfully address the sources of conflict?
• How will the current state of transatlantic relations with the US affect Europe’s ability to project regional influence in its neighbourhood?13:00 Lunch13:00 - 14:00Lunch
14:00 Breakout discussions - participants can choose to attend one from among the two sessions below 14:00 - 15:15Discussion A | Entrenched Regimes in MENA: Reforming the Unreformable?
During the 2011 Arab uprisings, people in the ‘squares’ demanded drastic change in the way they were governed, and in the way services were being delivered. Eight years later, the region’s surviving and resurgent autocratic regimes have done little to accommodate such demands. Yet the political, economic and social challenges they faced then are still there, and often have been compounded by subsequent developments. This raises the question: Can these regimes reform themselves sufficiently to head off new mass protests and potentially their own collapse? And what could external actors do to nudge them toward reforms that don’t just create further instability and possibly trigger civil war?
Discussion B | Russia, China and the West
Current relations between Russia and China counter assumptions many have held until recently about the dynamics between the two countries. Arguably, the Sino-Russian relationship is now more than an ‘Axis of Convenience’. Though the countries are not equal in terms of economic power, they are cooperating more closely than at any time in recent history. In what ways might China–Russia cooperation manifest itself in Europe and its neighbouring regions? And at what point (if at all) – and how – will Western powers counter this transcontinental bloc of influence and power?15:15 Afternoon refreshments15:15 - 15:45 Afternoon refreshments
15:45 In conversation | Iran, its Neighbourhood and Europe 15:45 - 16:15Relations between Iran and the US have continued to deteriorate following the Trump administration’s decision in May 2018 to withdraw the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the reinstatement of US sanctions. European leaders have remained committed to upholding the deal and have maintained a degree of influence over its terms. However, as Iran breaches these for the first time since the deal was signed in 2015, what does the future hold in terms of Iran’s goals and ambitions regionally? What are the implications of an unravelling deal for its partners in Europe? And what do recent actions suggest about Europe’s influence and ability to navigate US and Iranian interests in the region?
16:15 Session Four | European Security and Defence 16:15 - 17:152019 represents the 20th anniversary of the Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU, part of a framework that has helped member states to work together on several defence- and crisis management-related issues. The UK, a key security contributor, will be out of the EU post-Brexit at a time of significant challenges to Europe’s security architecture. The future shape of European security cooperation seems more open, and uncertain, than it has for decades.
• To what extent is the idea of strategic autonomy in EU security and defence matters likely to gain support, given Brexit uncertainty and US pressure on NATO members to contribute more?
• Is there enough consensus in Europe on the most significant regional threats and the capabilities needed to counter them?
• Will current efforts to strengthen EU civilian tools make European security initiatives more effective?
• What mechanisms for European defence cooperation exist outside of NATO?
• Where are the key areas of priority for Europe’s security architecture and defence capabilities?
17:15 Close of conference and post-conference reception17:15 - 17:30Close of conference and post-conference reception
Speakers for this event
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Milica Delevic
Milica Delevic
Director, Governance and Political Affairs, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
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Wadah Khanfar
Wadah Khanfar
President of The Al Sharq Forum
Wadah Khanfar is the President of the Al Sharq Forum and former Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. He is a board member of the International Crisis Group and Global Editors Network (GEN). Khanfar has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 global thinkers of 2011 as well as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ of the year.
President of The Al Sharq Forum
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Marcin Kaczmarski
Marcin Kaczmarski
Lecturer in Security Studies, University of Glasgow
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Nora Muller
Nora Muller
Executive Director, Körber-Stiftung International Affairs
Executive Director, Körber-Stiftung Int...
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Arturo Varvelli
Arturo Varvelli
Co-Head, MENA Centre, Italian Institute for International Political Studies
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Robert Malley
Robert Malley
Vice President for Policy, International Crisis Group
Vice President for Policy, International...
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Yu Jie
Yu Jie
Senior Research Fellow on China, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House
Senior Research Fellow on China, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House
Senior Research Fellow on China, Asia-Pa...
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Brad Staples
Brad Staples
Chief Executive Officer, APCO Worldwide
Chief Executive Officer, APCO Worldwide
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Sanam Vakil
Sanam Vakil
Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House
Associate Fellow, Middle East and North ...
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Lord Mark Malloch-Brown
Lord Mark Malloch-Brown
Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations (2006) anc Co-Chair, International Crisis Group
Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations...
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Galip Dalay
Galip Dalay
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Research director at Al Sharq Forum and senior associate fellow on Turkey and Kurdish Affairs at Al Jazeera Center for Studies. He previously worked as a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin and as a political researcher at SETA Foundation in Ankara. He is a regular contributor to German Marshall Fund of the United States’ on Turkey policy brief series, and a columnist for Middle East Eye.
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...
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DLAWER ALA - ALDEEN
DLAWER ALA - ALDEEN
President of Middle East Research Institute (MERI)
Dlawer Ala’Aldeen is the Founding President of the Middle East Research Institute, a policy research institute and think tank based in Erbil, Kurdistan Region (KR) of Iraq (meri-k.org). Between 2009-2012, he was the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Kurdistan Regional Government, where he lead an ambitious reform program to modernise the higher education system in KR. Prior to this, he was the Professor of Medicine in Nottingham University, UK. He worked in capacity building and nation-building projects in Iraq since 1992 and published extensively on the political dynamics, governance system and democratisation in the Middle East, Iraq and KR.
President of Middle East Research Instit...
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Dorothee Schmid
Dorothee Schmid
Expert on Mediterranean and Middle East issues
Dorothee Schmid is an expert on Mediterranean and Middle East issues. Schmid joined IFRI (The French Institute for International Relations) in 2002 in Paris. She has produced extensive analysis on EU and French policies in the region, induced democratization, the political economy and regional balance of powers. She established the Contemporary Turkey Program in 2008 in order to follow in real time the rise of Turkish foreign policy and the transformations of the Turkish regime. The present agenda of IFRI’s Middle East and Turkey department includes the dynamics of political transitions in the post-Arab spring period, the future of the rentier-state culture, rising conflicts, territorial reorganizations and the new competition for influence among powers. Before focusing on academic research, Dorothée Schmid worked as a country-risk analyst for Bank Crédit agricole-Indosuez and as a Euromed attaché for Cités Unies France, a federation of French local authorities. She has carried out various consulting missions for public institutions (the European Commission, French Ministry of Economy, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs), NGOs and private companies. She authored many articles and reports about Turkey and the Middle East and regularly appears in the French and international media.
Expert on Mediterranean and Middle East ...
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Fuat Keyman
Fuat Keyman
Director of Istanbul Policy Center and a Professor of International Relations at Sabancı University
Fuat Keyman is the Director of Istanbul Policy Center and a Professor of International Relations at Sabancı University. Keyman is a leading Turkish political scientist and an expert on democratization, globalization, international relations, Turkey – EU relations, Turkish foreign policy, and civil society development. He is a member of the Science Academy. He has worked as a member on the Council of Wise People as part of the Peace Process to the Kurdish issue. He also serves on advisory and editorial boards for a number of respected international and national organizations as well as for academic journals.
Director of Istanbul Policy Center and a...
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Ibrahim Turhan
Ibrahim Turhan
Member of Turkish Parliament
Ibrahim Turhan is a member of Turkish Parliament. He previously served as the Chairman and CEO of the İstanbul Stock Exchange, 2012 - 2015. Mr. Turhan was also a member of the Leaders' Circle as well as the Advisory Board of the Global Economic Symposium organized by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Prior to these roles, Mr. Turhan served in a number of capacities with the Central Bank of Turkey, including Deputy Governor post
Member of Turkish Parliament
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Tarik M. Yousef
Tarik M. Yousef
Director of Brooking Doha Center and Senior fellow
Tarik M. Yousef is a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development program and the Director of the Brookings Doha Center. His career has spanned the academic world at Georgetown University and the Harvard Kennedy School; the public policy arena at the IMF, the World Bank and more recently the NGO space at Silatech. He has a PhD in economics from Harvard University
Director of Brooking Doha Center and Sen...
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Kristina Kausch
Kristina Kausch
Senior Resident Fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States\' (GMF) Brussels office
Kristina Kausch is a Senior Resident Fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States' (GMF) Brussels office. Her research focuses on Europe’s relations with the Middle East and North Africa, and political transformations in the Arab world. Prior to joining GMF, she was a non-resident associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the head of its Middle East program, and research coordinator at FRIDE. She has edited three books and published articles in academic journals.
Senior Resident Fellow at The German Mar...
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Richard Gowan
Richard Gowan
Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations
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Baroness Ashton of Upholland
Baroness Ashton of Upholland
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, First Vice President of the European Commission (2009-14)
28nov19:0022:00THE OTHER GAME: MIDDLE EAST POWERS IN AFRICA
Event Description
Western analysis on “foreign” influence in Africa is usually focused on, even obsessed with, the presence of China, which is understood as the West’s main rival. This said China is
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Event Description
Western analysis on “foreign” influence in Africa is usually focused on, even obsessed with, the presence of China, which is understood as the West’s main rival. This said China is only one player albeit an important one in Africa. Usually overlooked by Western analysts is the role of Middle Eastern countries in Africa. Arab, Persian and Ottoman Turkish presence in the region precedes Chinese and in some cases even European presence in Africa. But there is also another aspect in international relations when it comes to Africa: the fact that African countries choose their partners carefully and do not lack understanding of the strategic consequences of their choices, this holds true for the Horn of Africa and its vicinity as well as for Western Africa.
Welcome: Georg Lennkh, Bruno Kreisky Forum Board Member,
Framing: Walter Posch, Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management (IFK)
Hassan Ahmadian, University of Tehran, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Roland Marchal, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique CNRS, Paris
Galip Dalay, Sharq Forum, Istanbul
Annette Weber, Senior Fellow at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik SWP, Berlin
Sandrine Perrot, Institut d’Etudes Politiques Sciences Po, Paris (tbc)
Moderator: Gudrun Harrer, Senior Editor, Der Standard; Lecturer on Modern History and Politics of the Middle East, University of Vienna and Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
In Cooperation with the Directorate for Security Policy, Federal Ministry of Defense, Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management (IFK) and the Al Sharq Forum, Istanbul
Time
(Thursday) 19:00 - 22:00
04jul14:0017:00Panel Discussion: Political Islam Movements in the Post-Arab Uprising Period
Event Description
Organized in partnership with the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut, the panel looked at how ‘Political Islam’ movements and parties acted and reacted in response to
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Event Description
Organized in partnership with the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut, the panel looked at how ‘Political Islam’ movements and parties acted and reacted in response to the different challenges and opportunities created by the Arab uprisings. This included massive mobilization that induced leadership changes (Tunisia and Egypt), limited demonstrations with a reformist agenda (Morocco, Jordan and Kuwait) and bloody civil war (Syria and Yemen).
Themes:
- Studying political Islam phenomenon: Approaches and limitations.
- Ideological and structural adaptation of political Islam movements post-Arab uprisings: the example of the Ennahda Movement Party.
- The rise of political coalitions in an age of pragmatism: The case of Political Islam in post-Arab Spring Kuwait
- Transformation of political Islam in the post-Arab uprisings era: Prospects for the future.
Time
(Thursday) 14:00 - 17:00
Location
Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs
Schedule
- Day 1
- 4 July 2019
14:00 Introductory Remarks14:00 - 14:20Introductory RemarksSpeakers: Dr. Tarek Mitri
14:00 Panel14:00 - 17:00Mohammad Affan, Co-chair of the Al Sharq Forum task force on Political Islam. Ezzeddine Abdelmoula, Manager of research at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. Courtney Freer, fellow at MENA Programme, London School of Economics. Saif Al Din Abdul Fattah, Prof of Political Theory, Cairo University Moderator: Rudeynah Baalbaky, Program Coordinator at IFI
Speakers for this event
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Mohammad Affan
Mohammad Affan
Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum
Mohammad Affan is the Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum. A medical doctor by training, Affan obtained his MA degree in Political Science from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the American University of Cairo (2015). He also holds three post-graduate diplomas: One in “Civil Society and Human Rights”, from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University (2010), another one in Political Research and Studies from the Institute of Arab Research and Studies at the Arab League (2012), and the third diploma in Islamic Studies from the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies in Cairo (2012). Among his publications is his book titled: “Wahhabism and the Brotherhood: the conflict on the concept of the state and the legitimacy of power.” Affan is currently pursuing his PhD in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Exeter Univesity in the UK. His research interests include, Islamism, State-Theory, and Comparative MENA Studies.
Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum
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Dr. Tarek Mitri
Dr. Tarek Mitri
Director of Issam Fares Institute
Director of Issam Fares Institute
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Ezzeddine Abdelmoula
Ezzeddine Abdelmoula
Manager of Research at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
Ezzeddine Abdelmoula is the Manager of Research at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Abdelmoula holds a PhD in politics from Exeter University, a Masters of International politics from SOAS and a Masters of political philosophy from La Sorbonne, Paris. He edited and translated books and contributed research papers and book chapters including “Al-Jazeera & Televised Revolution” in Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring (2014). His recent book, “Al Jazeera and Democratization: the Rise of Arab Public Sphere” appeared in 2015
Manager of Research at Al Jazeera Centre...
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Courtney Freer
Courtney Freer
Research Officer at Kuwait Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science
Courtney Freer is a Research Officer at the Kuwait Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Arab Gulf states, with a particular focus on Islamism and tribalism. Her DPhil thesis at Oxford University revised rentier state theory by examining the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. She previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Brookings Doha Center.
Research Officer at Kuwait Programme at ...
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Seif al-Din Abdul Fattah
Seif al-Din Abdul Fattah
Professor of Islamic Sciences at Cairo University
professor of Islamic Sciences at Cairo University
Professor of Islamic Sciences at Cairo U...
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Rudayna Baalbaky
Rudayna Baalbaky
IFI, Arab and International Affairs Program Coordinator
Rudayna Baalbaky is the coordinator of the Arab and International Affairs Program at AUB’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs. She holds an MA in Political Science (Comparative Politics) from the Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth.
IFI, Arab and International Affairs Prog...
2018
Event Description
Al Sharq Forum, Chatham House, International Crisis Group, and Institut Montaigne will host the fourth annual conference on Europe and its Neighbourhood: Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management in the 21st Century,
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Event Description
Al Sharq Forum, Chatham House, International Crisis Group, and Institut Montaigne will host the fourth annual conference on Europe and its Neighbourhood: Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management in the 21st Century, focusing on the political, security and societal challenges that Europe’s leaders must address, and how they can do so at a time when the traditional ties and strategic relations within Europe and between Europe and its allies are under increasing strain.
This year’s discussions will bring together perspectives from across Europe and neighbouring regions to discuss:
- Challenges for decision-making and political leadership in a changing Europe
- The competition for power and influence in Europe’s neighbourhood
- Conflict and instability in key regions and Europe’s capacity to address common security challenges.
In partnership with:
Time
All Day (Thursday)
Schedule
- Day 1
- 6 December 2018
09:30 Session One | The Future of European Leadership: Implications for Europe’s Role in a Transforming Global Order09:30 - 10:30Traditional institutions and leaders in Europe are under increasing pressure from nationalist and ‘populist’ political ideas and the indecision surrounding a post-Brexit settlement between the UK and the EU is exacerbating a sense of uncertainty for Europe’s decision-makers. This opening discussion will explore what European leadership may look like in the coming years including its impact on conflict prevention and management.
- Amid concerns about the stability of the global ‘liberal order’ and differences over the practical implementation of core EU principles within its membership, what are the values that Europe’s leaders are able, collectively, to protect in Europe and project further afield? - What kind of EU–UK relationship can be expected post-Brexit? What will it mean for cooperation on foreign and security policy? How will Brexit impact cooperation with the EU on issues of nuclear security and deterrence? - What is the political climate for European reforms? To what extent can proposed reforms of the EU project, and Franco-German-led attempts to promote them, bridge divisions between member states? - What is the view of what Europe should be and the contribution it can be expected to make to global peace and security in countries that lie beyond its borders? - What can Europe do to prevent the collapse of the liberal international order?10:30 Session Two | Europe’s Regional Influence: Relations with Heavyweight Neighbours and Traditional Allies10:30 - 11:30Europe’s leaders have interacted largely with the US as the major international power in the neighbourhood, but now they contend increasingly with the interests of other major powers, particularly Russia and China. This generates new questions and challenges for building strategic relationships and competing for regional influence. This discussion will assess Europe’s ability to assert itself and act as a stabilizing force in its neighbourhood in the face of a transforming regional and international order. - What sort of future role will Europe have in conflict prevention and resolution in its neighbourhood? How far can this stretch? - To what extent is Europe’s ability to project influence dependent on its relationship with the US? How can the current vulnerabilities in transatlantic unity be exploited by other powers? - How will Europe’s relationships with China evolve? - What will happen to EU–Russia relations in coming years in light of the current US–EU dynamics? - How are Europe’s relations with regional heavyweights such as Turkey and Iran set to evolve?
13:00 Discussion A | Contours of Conflict and the Prognosis in the Levant and North Africa13:00 - 14:00This discussion will focus on the current dynamics in countries in the Levant and North Africa – Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria – assessing local policy and the security environment, trends in migration and Europe’s ability and appetite for engagement in the region. The nature of the crises in the region is undergoing a major transformation. This in return necessitates the recalibration of European policy towards the region at a time when it is becoming a theatre upon which established (US, Russia) and emerging (India, China) international players are interacting with each other and vying for influence. - To what extent is the political and economic instability in North Africa impacting on European countries and their will to engage in new investments in these countries? - Given the US withdrawal from JCPOA, what alternative path will and can Europe take to prevent the regional arm-race and confrontation? - What policy goals does Europe have towards the region beyond stemming tides of refugees and radicalism? - Is Europe’s much desired quest for ‘stability’ possible without transformation in its southern neighbourhood? - What policy options does Europe have in dealing with deepening humanitarian crises (Syria, Yemen, Libya) in the region? - How is Europe interacting with both old and new international players in the Mediterranean? - Is a European-wide consensus on dealing with the migration issue possible? - How should European leaders address and respond to public sentiments about immigration?
14:00 Discussion B | Contours of Conflict and the Prognosis in the Eastern Neighbourhood14:00 - 15:00The conflict in Ukraine is in its fifth year since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine with military and financial support. A resolution appears difficult to achieve given Russia’s continued support for the destabilization and the lack of political will in Kyiv to tackle the Minsk agreement’s political provisions. Russia’s playbook in Ukraine and its instrumentalization of other conflicts in Georgia, Moldova and the South Caucasus feed deep-rooted concerns elsewhere along Russia’s borders. - What are the motives and forecast for Russia fomenting tension on multiple fronts? - Are the post-Soviet states around Russia’s borders doing enough to justify Western political and donor support? - Are the EU and NATO living up to expectations of the roles they can play in mitigating tension and promoting peace, and what needs to change? - What does the current US administration’s stance to US-Russia relations and its approach to NATO mean for the reality in the neighbourhood?
15:00 Session Three | Europe and its Neighbourhood: The Need for a Security Dialogue15:00 - 16:00This closing discussion will assess the contemporary threat landscape for Europe’s security and the decisions that need to be taken amidst demands by the US for increased defence expenditure by its NATO partners and questions over President Trump’s commitment to the post-Second World War transatlantic security alliance. - What are the biggest security threats facing Europe? What should be the primary responses? - What sort of security role will institutions such as NATO have in the future? How might a credible European alternative to US leadership on security matters emerge? - Given the security interdependency between Europe and its neighbourhood, what are the best ways for Europe and its neighbours to address these shared security challenges? - How will competition between regional hegemons resist the shift to conflict? - How will Brexit impact cooperation with the EU on issues of nuclear security and deterrence? - What is the role of the different options – diplomatic and military - in Europe’s deterrence strategies?
17:30 Close of conference and post-conference reception17:30 - 17:30 Close of conference and post-conference reception
Speakers for this event
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Wadah Khanfar
Wadah Khanfar
President of The Al Sharq Forum
Wadah Khanfar is the President of the Al Sharq Forum and former Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. He is a board member of the International Crisis Group and Global Editors Network (GEN). Khanfar has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 global thinkers of 2011 as well as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ of the year.
President of The Al Sharq Forum
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Brad Staples
Brad Staples
Chief Executive Officer, APCO Worldwide
Chief Executive Officer, APCO Worldwide
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Galip Dalay
Galip Dalay
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Research director at Al Sharq Forum and senior associate fellow on Turkey and Kurdish Affairs at Al Jazeera Center for Studies. He previously worked as a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin and as a political researcher at SETA Foundation in Ankara. He is a regular contributor to German Marshall Fund of the United States’ on Turkey policy brief series, and a columnist for Middle East Eye.
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...
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Kristina Kausch
Kristina Kausch
Senior Resident Fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States\' (GMF) Brussels office
Kristina Kausch is a Senior Resident Fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States' (GMF) Brussels office. Her research focuses on Europe’s relations with the Middle East and North Africa, and political transformations in the Arab world. Prior to joining GMF, she was a non-resident associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the head of its Middle East program, and research coordinator at FRIDE. She has edited three books and published articles in academic journals.
Senior Resident Fellow at The German Mar...
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Jana Puglierin
Jana Puglierin
Head of Programme, Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies, German Council on Foreign Relations
Head of Programme, Alfred von Oppenheim ...
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Michael Kohler
Michael Kohler
Director Neighbourhood, DG for Development Cooperation. European Commission
Director Neighbourhood, DG for Developme...
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Robert Malley
Robert Malley
Vice President for Policy, International Crisis Group
Vice President for Policy, International...
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Lord Mark Malloch-Brown
Lord Mark Malloch-Brown
Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations (2006) anc Co-Chair, International Crisis Group
Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations...
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Tarik M. Yousef
Tarik M. Yousef
Director of Brooking Doha Center and Senior fellow
Tarik M. Yousef is a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development program and the Director of the Brookings Doha Center. His career has spanned the academic world at Georgetown University and the Harvard Kennedy School; the public policy arena at the IMF, the World Bank and more recently the NGO space at Silatech. He has a PhD in economics from Harvard University
Director of Brooking Doha Center and Sen...
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Fuat Keyman
Fuat Keyman
Director of Istanbul Policy Center and a Professor of International Relations at Sabancı University
Fuat Keyman is the Director of Istanbul Policy Center and a Professor of International Relations at Sabancı University. Keyman is a leading Turkish political scientist and an expert on democratization, globalization, international relations, Turkey – EU relations, Turkish foreign policy, and civil society development. He is a member of the Science Academy. He has worked as a member on the Council of Wise People as part of the Peace Process to the Kurdish issue. He also serves on advisory and editorial boards for a number of respected international and national organizations as well as for academic journals.
Director of Istanbul Policy Center and a...
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Soli Özel
Soli Özel
Professor of International Relations at Kadir Has University
Soli Özel is a professor of International Relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul and a columnist at Habertürk daily newspaper. He worked as a guest lecturer at Georgetown, Harvard, Tufts and other US universities and has taught at UC Santa Cruz, SAIS, the University of Washington and the Hebrew University. He is also a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations
Professor of International Relations at ...
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Anne Applebaum
Anne Applebaum
Professor in Practice, Institute of Global Affairs, LSE
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Anna Arutunyan
Anna Arutunyan
Senior Analyst, Russia, International Crisis Group
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Bernard Cazeneuve
Bernard Cazeneuve
Prime Minister of France (2016-17)
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Michel Duclos
Michel Duclos
Ambassador of France to Syria (2006-09), and Special Advisor, Geopolitics, Institut Montaigne
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Claudia Gazzini
Claudia Gazzini
Senior Analyst, Libya, International Crisis Group
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Liana Fix
Liana Fix
Program Director International Affairs, Körber Foundation
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Susan Jakes
Susan Jakes
Editor, ChinaFile, and Senior Fellow, Center on US-China Relations, Asia Society
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Nader Kabbani
Nader Kabbani
Director of Research, Brookings Doha Center; Senior Fellow, Brookings Global Economy and Development Program
Director of Research, Brookings Doha Center; Senior Fellow, Brookings Global Economy and Development Program
Director of Research, Brookings Doha Cen...
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Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski
President of Poland (1995-2005)
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Ramtane Lamamra
Ramtane Lamamra
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Algeria (2013-17) and Board Member, International Crisis Group
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Alain Le Roy
Alain Le Roy
Executive Secretary General, European External Action Service (2015-16)
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Dominique Moïsi
Dominique Moïsi
Visiting Research Professor, King’s College London; Special Advisor, Institut Montaigne
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Tom Tugendhat MP
Tom Tugendhat MP
Member of Parliament for Tonbridge and Malling, and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
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Leslie Vinjamuri
Leslie Vinjamuri
Head, US and the Americas Programme; Dean, Queen Elizabeth II Academy
Event Description
Political Islam – both as an ideology and a social movement – has witnessed massive changes since the onset of the Arab uprisings in late 2010. Despite all its
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Event Description
Political Islam – both as an ideology and a social movement – has witnessed massive changes since the onset of the Arab uprisings in late 2010. Despite all its shortcomings, the Arab uprisings have permanently altered the political dynamics in the Al Sharq region and left a lasting impact on its social and political structures, including political Islam movements (PIMs).
After decades of limited political participation, suppression, marginalization, co-option and containment, PIMs found themselves in an utterly new reality. In some cases, PIMs in the region were able to gain prominence and international acceptance for the first time in their histories. In other cases, positioned as non-state actors, PIMs were involved in protracted civil wars fueled by complicated regional alliances and enmities. In several cases, they fell victim to bloody crackdowns concomitant with anti-political Islam and counter-revolutionary campaigns. Overall, the Arab uprisings have changed the dynamics of inclusion/exclusion of PIMs in the Al Sharq region in a wide variety of ways.
These dramatic events are having far-reaching impacts on PIMs in terms of ideology, structure, and geopolitical posturing. Defections, radicalization, de-politicization, moderation, and organizational re-modeling are just some examples of the new dynamics that have been trigged by the Arab uprisings and brought onto center stage. Thus, the goal of this forthcoming conference is to inquire into and assess the different structural and ideological transformations of PIMs that are taking place in the post-Arab uprisings era and to foresee the possible trajectories that the phenomenon of political Islam and PIMs may pursue in the near future.
Time
(Monday) 09:00 - 06:00
Schedule
- Day 1
- 19 November 2018
09:00 Opening Speech 09:00 - 09:30Opening Speech Speakers: Wadah Khanfar
09:30 Session 1: PIMs in Changing Regional Geopolitics09:30 - 11:00Over the past seven years, the conflicts that ensued the Arab uprisings have shaken the existing geopolitical arrangements of the region and drawn international and regional actors to preserve their entrenched regional interests. This session is dedicated to examining how PIMs responded to the challenge of geopolitical change and the eruption of an armed conflict. In addition, how they managed to deal with the foreign powers and on what basis they built their alliances will also be a topic for discussion. Speakers: Galip Dalay, Ali Laarayedh, Ismail Yaylaci, Louay Safi
11:30 Session II: Arab Uprisings as a Validity Challenge to PIMs Ideology and Strategy11:30 - 13:00Arab Uprisings could be considered a moment of reality to PIMs in the region. Indeed, their ideological premises and strategic choices were challenged by the new reality created by the Uprisings. Therefore, the goal of this session is to discuss how Arab Uprisings with all the opportunities and challenges they brought about to the political scene of the Middle East and North Africa have affected PIMs strategy regarding political power, using violence, trans-ideological coalitions, etc. Furthermore, to what extent these changes had repercussions on PIMs ideological propositions will also be discussed.Speakers: Mohammad Affan, Lucia Ardovini
14:00 Session III: Bending or Breaking: Organizational Adaptations of PIMs14:00 - 15:30In order to minimize the risks and maximize the gains, PIMs managed to induce organizational changes to cope with the new reality in the post-Uprisings era. This structural transformation included redefining the relationship between the religious movement and the affiliated party, the establishment of a violent wing or a militia, the reconsideration of the structural relationship with the international Muslim Brotherhood entity. In other cases, the harsh security crackdown, failed coping strategy, and mistreatment of internal diversities led to organizational divisions and even fragmentation. How the Arab Uprisings affected the structure of the PIMs and to what extent the organizational remodeling proved to be beneficial for their purposes are what will be addressed in this session.Speakers: Ezzeddine Abdelmoula, Khalil Al-Anani, Omar Ashour, Tamer Badawi
16:00 Session IV: PIMs in a Trumpian World: Challenges, Strategies and Alliance-building16:00 - 17:30The regional and international order is currently witnessing deep changes. The apparent US withdrawal, the perceived growing influence of Russia and China, internal disputes within the EU, and the rise of populism indicate that the world order is in a process of reshaping. Regionally, as a result of then Arab Uprisings, several countries have entered in the cycle of civil strife while others have emerged as new regional powers trying to re-architect the region according to their own agenda and interests.
Accordingly, the aim of this session is to make sense of the nature of regional and international changes on a broader level and to realize the threats and opportunities they carry to PIMs in particular. Speakers: Jamal Khashoggi, Basheer Nafi, Cemil Aydin, David Hearst, Bernard Cazeneuve
Speakers for this event
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Wadah Khanfar
Wadah Khanfar
President of The Al Sharq Forum
Wadah Khanfar is the President of the Al Sharq Forum and former Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. He is a board member of the International Crisis Group and Global Editors Network (GEN). Khanfar has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 global thinkers of 2011 as well as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ of the year.
President of The Al Sharq Forum
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Galip Dalay
Galip Dalay
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Research director at Al Sharq Forum and senior associate fellow on Turkey and Kurdish Affairs at Al Jazeera Center for Studies. He previously worked as a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin and as a political researcher at SETA Foundation in Ankara. He is a regular contributor to German Marshall Fund of the United States’ on Turkey policy brief series, and a columnist for Middle East Eye.
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...
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Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Khashoggi
Saudi Arabian Dissident Journalist
Jamal Khashoggi is a Saudi journalist, columnist, author, and general manager of the upcoming Al Arab News Channel. He previously served as a media aide to Prince Turki al Faisal while he was Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States. Khashoggi has written for various daily and weekly Arab newspapers, including Asharq al-Awsat, al-Majalla and al-Hayat, and was editor-in-chief of the Saudi-based al-Watan. He was a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan, and other Middle Eastern countries. He is also a political commentator for Saudi-based and international news channels.
Saudi Arabian Dissident Journalist
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Basheer Nafi
Basheer Nafi
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum and Senior Research Fellow at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. He writes weekly columns for Middle East eye. His research interests include Egypt, Iraq, Political Islam, and Middle Eastern Politics in general.
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...
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Ali Laarayedh
Ali Laarayedh
Ali Laarayedh is the former Prime Minister of Tunisia, he served in the office of Prime Ministry from 2013 to 2014. Previosly, he was the Minister of Interior Affairs in Tunisia between 2011 and 2013.
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Cemil Aydin
Cemil Aydin
Professor of Middle Eastern History and Global History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Cemil Aydin is a Professor of Middle Eastern History and Global History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His research and publications offer new ways to understand the historical roots of the contemporary world order by describing the process of imperial era conflicts and decolonization, especially from the perspective of non-Western actors of the Muslim world and East Asia. He studied at the Bogazici University, İstanbul University, and the University of Tokyo before receiving his Ph.D. in History and Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University in 2002. Cemil Aydin’s publications include his book on the Politics of Anti-Westernism in Asia (Columbia University Press, 2007), Regionen und Reiche in der politischen Geschichte des langen 19. Jahrhunderts (1750–1924)” (Region and Empire in the Political History of the Long 19th Century (1750–1924) in Geschichte Der Welt, 1750-1870: Wege Zur Modernen Welt (A History of the World, 1750-1870)“ (Beck Publishers, July 2016) pp: 35-253, and The Idea of the Muslim World: A Global Intellectual History (Harvard University Press, Forthcoming 2017 Spring)
Professor of Middle Eastern History and ...
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David Hearst
David Hearst
Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye
David Hearst is the Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye, an independent website based in London covering the Middle East in English and French. He writes a column for the Huffington Post’s “The World Post” section and appears as a commentator on the Middle East for Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, TRT, Alaraby TV, Russia Today, Masr Al-Aan TV. Prior to that, he was Chief Foreign Leader writer of The Guardian, Associate Foreign Editor, and Moscow Bureau Chief, European Correspondent, and Northern Ireland correspondent.
Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye
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Ezzeddine Abdelmoula
Ezzeddine Abdelmoula
Manager of Research at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
Ezzeddine Abdelmoula is the Manager of Research at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Abdelmoula holds a PhD in politics from Exeter University, a Masters of International politics from SOAS and a Masters of political philosophy from La Sorbonne, Paris. He edited and translated books and contributed research papers and book chapters including “Al-Jazeera & Televised Revolution” in Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring (2014). His recent book, “Al Jazeera and Democratization: the Rise of Arab Public Sphere” appeared in 2015
Manager of Research at Al Jazeera Centre...
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Khalil Al-Anani
Khalil Al-Anani
Associate Professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar
Dr. Khalil al-Anani is an Associate Professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar. He previously taught at Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, George Mason University, and Durham University. His research focuses on Comparative Politics, Democratization, Religion and Politics, Islamist Movements, Social Movements, Egyptian Politics, Identity Politics, and Arab Politics.
Associate Professor at the Doha Institut...
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Omar Ashour
Omar Ashour
Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of University of Exeter
Omar Ashour is a Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of University of Exeter and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House in London. He is currently working on a book analysing the military tactics and strategies of IS in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Egypt. He specializes in asymmetric armed conflict, Islamist movements, insurgency/counterinsurgency, terrorism studies, and democratization. He is a regular contributor to media outlets including the BBC, Al-Jazeera, Sky News, CNN, al-Arabiya and others and his op-eds are frequently published in many media outlets in seven languages, in over 40 countries. He previously served as a senior consultant for the United Nations on security sector reform, counter-terrorism, and de- radicalization issues. He is the author of The DeRadicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist Movements.
Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at t...
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Omer Aslan
Omer Aslan
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Omer Aslan is an Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum, and a researcher at the Institute for Security Sciences at the Turkish National Police Academy (TNPA). He previously worked at the political research department of the Ankara-based SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research. He received his B.A. degree in political science from Bilkent University. After finishing MSc in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, he entered the Ph.D. program in political science at Bilkent University in 2010. Ömer is now a Ph.D. candidate at the same university, currently working on his dissertation in the field of civil-military relations. Among his publications are “A Turkish Muslim Between Islamism and Turkish Nationalism: Seyyid Ahmet Arvasi (1932–88)”, and “‘Unarmed’ we Intervene, Unnoticed we Remain: The Deviant Case of ‘February 28th Coup’ in Turkey “. Research Interests: Military and Politics in the Muslim World, External Actors and Military Coup d’états, Police and Politics.
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic R...
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Mohammad Affan
Mohammad Affan
Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum
Mohammad Affan is the Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum. A medical doctor by training, Affan obtained his MA degree in Political Science from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the American University of Cairo (2015). He also holds three post-graduate diplomas: One in “Civil Society and Human Rights”, from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University (2010), another one in Political Research and Studies from the Institute of Arab Research and Studies at the Arab League (2012), and the third diploma in Islamic Studies from the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies in Cairo (2012). Among his publications is his book titled: “Wahhabism and the Brotherhood: the conflict on the concept of the state and the legitimacy of power.” Affan is currently pursuing his PhD in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Exeter Univesity in the UK. His research interests include, Islamism, State-Theory, and Comparative MENA Studies.
Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum
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Ismail Yaylaci
Ismail Yaylaci
Assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir University
Ismail Yaylaci is an assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir University in the department of political science and international relations. He received his PhD from University of Minnesota Social Sciences Institute Political Science in 2014. His research interests are: international relations theory, critical social and political theory, Islamism, and Middle Eastern politics.
Assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir Un...
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Louay Safi
Louay Safi
Professor of political science
Louay Safi is professor of Political Science and Islamic Philosophy at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Qatar and senior fellow at the Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding, Georgetown University. He is the co-founder and first chair of the Syrian American Council (2005-2011), and co-founder and former board member of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (1999-2007). He writes and lectures on issues relating to democracy, human rights, leadership, American Muslims, and Islam and the West.
Professor of political science
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Tamer Badawi
Tamer Badawi
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Tamer Badawi is a Research Fellow at Al Sharq Forum. He received an M.A. in International Relations (with a major in International Political Economy) from Central European University in 2016 and a B.A. in Oriental Studies from Alexandria University in 2013. He is a regular contributor to Sada, an online publication managed by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He also contributes reports to the Doha-based Aljazeera Center for Studies. Research interests: The political economy of the Middle East, economic development in post-JCPOA Iran, and global energy market trends.
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic R...
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ZEYNEP KOÇ
ZEYNEP KOÇ
Research Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Zeynep Coskun koç is a Research Fellow at Al Sharq Forum. Prior to joining Al Sharq, she was a Dr. Herchel Smith Fellow at the University of Cambridge conducting Economic and Anthropological research concerning the MENA region. Zeynep has an MPhil in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge and a B.A. from Williams College in Economics and Arabic Studies. Her research interests include Turkish Foreign Policy, Regional Kurdish Politics, Iraq, Energy Politics and Nationalism
Research Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Re...
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Nabil Al Bukiri
Nabil Al Bukiri
Researcher and chairman of The Arabic Forum
researcher and chairman of The Arabic Forum for Studies
Researcher and chairman of The Arabic Fo...
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Abdulrahman Al Haj
Abdulrahman Al Haj
University professor&one founders of Syrian National Council (SNC).
Abdulrahman Al Haj is a university professor. His research falls at the intersection of politics, religion and society. He published three books and many articles: "Rising of Shiites in Syria: 1919-2007", "State and Community: Aspirations of Religious groups in Syria: 2000-2010", "Political Discourse in the Qur'an: Power, Community and Values". Al-Haj is one of the founders of the Syrian National Council (SNC).
University professor&one founders of Syr...
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Intissar Fakir
Intissar Fakir
fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for Int...
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Abdelwahab El-Affendi
Abdelwahab El-Affendi
Dean of the school of social Sciences and Humanities and professor of politics at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
dean of the school of social Sciences and Humanities and professor of politics at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
Dean of the school of social Sciences an...
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Seif al-Din Abdul Fattah
Seif al-Din Abdul Fattah
Professor of Islamic Sciences at Cairo University
professor of Islamic Sciences at Cairo University
Professor of Islamic Sciences at Cairo U...
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Abdulkader Tayob
Abdulkader Tayob
Professor of Islamic studies at the University of Cape Town
Professor of Islamic studies at the Univ...
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Amgad Jerbil
Amgad Jerbil
Palestinian researcher in political science and international relations
Palestinian researcher in political scie...
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Sam Heller
Sam Heller
Crisis Group senior analyst on non-state armed groups
Crisis Group senior analyst on non-state...
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Bernard Rougier
Bernard Rougier
Director of the Centre d’Études et de Documentation Economiques
Director of the Centre d’Études et de...
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Hussein El-Kazzaz
Hussein El-Kazzaz
Former senior leader in the Freedom and Justice Party
Former senior leader in the Freedom and ...
29oct18:3021:30Remembering Jamalby Middle East Monitor & Al Sharq Forum
Event Description
In association with the Middle East Monitor, Al Sharq Forum is organizing this international memorial in honour of Jamal Khashoggi. Jamal, a leading journalist and columnist on MENA, and an outspoken
Event Description
In association with the Middle East Monitor, Al Sharq Forum is organizing this international memorial in honour of Jamal Khashoggi.
Jamal, a leading journalist and columnist on MENA, and an outspoken critic of the Saudi Arabian regime, was killed on October 2nd at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Turkey.
Join us for an evening of remembrance for the life, work and thoughts of Jamal Khashoggi.
Time
(Monday) 18:30 - 21:30
Location
One Birdcage Walk, 1 Birdcage Walk
SW1H 9JJ
Schedule
- Day 1
- 29 October 2018
18:30 Who was Jamal Khashoggi?18:30 - 21:30Who was Jamal Khashoggi?
Jamal Khashoggi was one of the most experienced and accomplished journalists of his generation. His professional interest extended far beyond that of his native Saudi Arabia, from Sudan and Algeria to Afghanistan and Palestine.
On a personal level he was humble and passionate. He was affable and a pleasure to work with. Middle East Monitor is proud to have hosted Jamal Khashoggi at our event in London just one month ago.
Jamal's deep and passionate love for his country and the people of the region was exemplified through his writing. Freedom of expression, integrity in public office, good governance, accountability and transparency were all issues close to his heart. He had a desire to see the region’s wealth fairly distributed and equal opportunity for all its peoples.
Jamal Khashoggi may have been silenced physically but his memory and his thoughts will have a lasting and enlightened impact on young people in the region and journalists across the world.
Speakers for this event
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Wadah Khanfar
Wadah Khanfar
President of The Al Sharq Forum
Wadah Khanfar is the President of the Al Sharq Forum and former Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. He is a board member of the International Crisis Group and Global Editors Network (GEN). Khanfar has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 global thinkers of 2011 as well as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ of the year.
President of The Al Sharq Forum
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David Hearst
David Hearst
Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye
David Hearst is the Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye, an independent website based in London covering the Middle East in English and French. He writes a column for the Huffington Post’s “The World Post” section and appears as a commentator on the Middle East for Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, TRT, Alaraby TV, Russia Today, Masr Al-Aan TV. Prior to that, he was Chief Foreign Leader writer of The Guardian, Associate Foreign Editor, and Moscow Bureau Chief, European Correspondent, and Northern Ireland correspondent.
Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye
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Sami Zeidan
Sami Zeidan
Sami Zeidan is an award winning Senior Presenter with Al Jazeera English since 2005. He was chosen to present the channel’s first live words when AJE launched on November 15th, 2006. Sami joined Al Jazeera after presenting with a number of the largest broadcasters in the world including CNN, CNBC and NBC. As a news anchor and talk show presenter Sami has interviewed a wide range of legendary world leaders, including South African President Nelson Mandela and Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, just to mention a few. Sami’s engaging interviewing style earned him wide recognition and he has been selected to host interviews for the network’s talk show Talk To Al Jazeera. As a reporter Sami has covered several seats of power including the United Nations, the White House and the European Commission, as well as conflict zones stretching from Syria to Korea.
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Rt Hon Crispin Blunt MP
Rt Hon Crispin Blunt MP
Member of Parliament for Reigate, Surrey
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Martin Chulov
Martin Chulov
Middle East correspondent for the Guardian
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Bill Law
Bill Law
Sony award-winning journalist
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Ajmal Masroor
Ajmal Masroor
British Broadcaster
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Hugh Miles
Hugh Miles
Award-winning freelance journalist and editor of ArabDigest.org
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Peter Oborne
Peter Oborne
Former Chief Political Columnist of the Daily Telegraph
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Michelle Stanistreet
Michelle Stanistreet
Secretary General of the National Union of Journalists
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Sue Turton
Sue Turton
Filmmaker and war correspondent
25jun09:0012:30MED YOUNG LEADERS: MID-TERM MEETING
Event Description
In preparation of the annual meeting on the occasion of the Rome MED conference that shall be held in November 2018, the MED Young Leaders community and Al Sharq Youth
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Event Description
In preparation of the annual meeting on the occasion of the Rome MED conference that shall be held in November 2018, the MED Young Leaders community and Al Sharq Youth community will take part in a “Mid-Term Meeting” aimed at sharing the collective experience on topics of common interest for the youth in the broader Mediterranean region. The event will follow a close-door preparatory Workshop, and will focus on the youth perspective and role in building a regional security dialogue in the MENA region. The event will be divided into two main sessions, which will focus on the role of both regional and international players, and their impact on shaping a security dialogue in the region.
Time
(Monday) 09:00 - 12:30
Location
Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus
Harbiye Mahallesi, Cumhuriyet Cd. No:50, 34367 Şişli/İstanbul
Schedule
- Day 1
- 19 June 2018
09.20 WELCOMING REMARKS09.20 - 09.30Galip Dalay, Director, Al Sharq Forum, Turkey Valeria Talbot, Senior Research Fellow and Co-Head of ISPI’s Middle East and North Africa Centre, ISPI, Italy
09.30 OPENING SPEECHES09.30 - 10:00Wadah Khanfar, President, Al Sharq Forum, Istanbul, Turkey Federica Ferrari Bravo, Consul General, Italian Consulate General, Istanbul, Turkey
10.00 REGIONAL POWERS AND ALLIANCES: IMPLICATIONS ON SHARED SECURITY10.00 - 11:30What are the new axis or regional blocs? What implications do they have on the regional security? How can the MENA region move from the further fragmentation generated by the emerging regional blocs to engage in a new regional security dialogue? What principles and values need to be taken into account? From state to society, from regime to people, whose security should form the basis of the regional dialogue? chair Galip Dalay Imen Ben Mohammed, Member of Parliament, Tunisia Hassan Imran, Researcher in International Relations, Palestine Mustafa Kaymaz, Researcher, Al Sharq Forum, Turkey Adnan Tabatabai, CEO, Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO), Germany
11.30 Coffee Break11.30 - 11.45Coffee Break
11.45 OLD AND NEW: FOREIGN ACTORS IN THE MIDDLE EAST11.45 - 13:30What are the old and new players able to affect the course of events in the Mediterranean? What are the features of new actors’ (China, India, etc.) engagement with the region? How have the roles of the traditional actors (Europe, US, Russia) in the region evolved? How do the old and new actors interact with each other in the region? How does their interaction impact the regional security? What role can and do Europe play on the regional security in Mediterranean? chair Valeria Talbot Abdul Rahman Alageli, Former Security File Coordinator, Office of the Prime Minister; Former Deputy Head, Inter-Ministerial Committee on Border Security, Atlantic Council, Libya Adam Bensaïd, Senior Cabinet Manager, Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation, Organization of Islamic Cooperation Farah Hallaba, Expert and Researcher in Middle East Political Sociology and Minorities, Egypt Elham Hassanzadeh, Managing Director, Energy Pioneers, United Kingdom
13.15 Closing remarks 13.15 - 13.20Closing remarks
06may08:0020:00Towards New Security Arrangements for the MENA Region
Simultaneous Translation - Simultane Çeviri - الترجمة الفورية
■ Simultaneous translation will be available in Turkish, Arabic and English
■ Konferansımızda Türkçe, İngilizce ve Arapça simültane çeviri olacaktır
■ الترجمة الفورية ستكون متاحة باللغات: الانجليزيه، التركية، والعربية
Event Description
Conference Booklet Al Sharq Forum together with the Afro-Middle East Centre (AMEC) hosted the third annual security conference in Istanbul on May 6 2018, to discuss
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Event Description
Time
(Sunday) 08:00 - 20:00
Location
Istanbul Marriott Hotel Sisli
Schedule
- Day 1
- 6 May 2018
09:00 Opening Ceremony09:00 - 10.00 Opening CeremonySpeakers: Wadah Khanfar
10:00 Plenary Session 1 The Changing Nature of Conflicts and Threat Perceptions: Areas of Contention and Cooperation for a New Security Architecture in the MENA Region10:00 - 11.30 Plenary 1: The Changing Nature of Conflicts and Threat Perceptions: Areas of Contention and Cooperation for a New Security Architecture in the MENA Region - This session will focus on the changing nature of conflicts and threats perceptions in the MENA region and their impact on the dynamics of cooperation and conflict in the region. The gap in regional actors’ threat perceptions has been one of the main driving factors behind the deepening regional crisis. The changing nature of threat perceptions in the eyes of regional and international players has also shaped the changing nature of the conflicts in the region. In return, changes in conflicts have generated new areas of threats or threat perceptions. To break this vicious cycle, it is not only important that we have a better understanding of the changing nature of the conflicts and the threat perceptions of the major players in the region, it is also crucial that regional players have a better comprehension of where the areas of contention are and where cooperation can start. The actors of the region dynamically dissolve and form alliances as they adapt to perceived threats and opportunities in the region. Therefore, it is also important to look at how regional actors make and break ties while assessing the durability of regional blocs likely to emerge in the foreseeable future. ● What is the nature of current conflicts in the region and how have they evolved? ● How have the threat perceptions of major players changed in the region? ● Can there be a regional consensus on regional threat perceptions? How and on what issues could this consensus emerge? ● What other tools and methods can be added to the existing ones to improve channels of communication among regional actors? ● What are the contemporary regional axes in the MENA region? What are the dynamics behind their formation? ● How solid and stable is each regional axis? What are the discrepancies in foreign policy objectives and approaches among states within the same regional axis? ● How do political ties affect social and economic relations in the region?Speakers: Seyed Kazem Sajjadpour, Galip Dalay, Jamal Khashoggi, Mesut Ozcan, Falah Mustafa Bakir, Joost Hiltermann, Mustafa Abushagur
11.30 Coffee Break11.30 - 12.00 Coffee Break
12.00 Parallel Sessions 1 State and Non-State Actors12.00 - 13.30 Parallel Session 1: State and Non-State Actors - The MENA region is teeming with armed non-state actors, who enjoy different modalities of power relations with regional actors. But the phenomenon of non-state actors is largely a function and product of the regional state system. Any discussion on the non-state actors in the region will remain incomplete unless it also includes a discussion on the nature and deficiency of the states of the region. This session aims to address the following questions: ● What is the defining nature of the regional state system? How does it create conducive grounds for the emergence of non-state actors? ● State-centric vs. decentralized approaches: How can we comprehend and address the question of non-state actors in the region? ● How do non-state actors gain audience and acceptance in the region? How do they problematize the state in the region? ● What are the typologies of non-state actors in the region? ● How do regional powers interact with non-state actors? ● Elimination vs. Integration: What should be the modalities and criteria of engagement with non-state actors?Speakers: Joseph Bahout, Basheer Nafi, Dlawer Ala - Aldeen, Omar Ashour, Sinan Hatahet, Erica Gaston, Ronnie Kasrils
12.00 Parallel Session 2 Traditional Actors and New Players: The Role of Global Actors in the Region 12.00 - 13.30Parallel Session 2: Traditional Actors and New Players: The Role of Global Actors in the Region - The Sharq region has been one prominent location where global actors like the U.S., Russia and European countries have become involved and/or invested in the region. The degrees of engagement of these actors have varied with different conjectural realities. Now the Sharq region is also in the scope of transregional actors like China and India. The aim of this session is to evaluate the roles and policies of traditional actors like the U.S., the EU and Russia in the face of new players in the region, and how these nonregional actors are affecting regional interactions, alliances, axes and conflicts. ● How did the policies of traditional actors evolve in the region? ● What are the driving objectives of new players for getting involved in the region? ● How are new actors engaging with the region, and what tools do they employ? How effective are these tools? ● How do old and new players interact with the region? Do they compete with or complement one another? ● How do regional and non-regional actors engage with the region?Speakers: Zeynep Coskun, Garth le Pere, Kristina Kausch, Nikolay Kozhanov, Payam Mohseni, Magdalena Kirchner, Engseng Ho
13.30 Lunch Break13.30 - 15.00 Lunch Break
15.00 Parallel Session 3 Shifting markets, changing climate, rising conflicts - energy and security challenges for the Middle East15.00 - 16.30Parallel Session 3: Shifting markets, changing climate, rising conflicts - energy and security challenges for the Middle East - The security dynamics in the region have often been categorized around armed conflicts, coups, military confrontations, intervention and invasions. However, the MENA region is also facing an array of ‘nonconventional’ security threats such as the scarcity of water and food, energy insecurities, and climate change. This session will discuss how these issues affect different dimensions of regional security, and whether these areas are conducive to cooperation in the region. ● How vital is the water-food-energy nexus in the region, and what is the regional approach to confronting these non-conventional threats? ● How aware are the public and political establishment of the security challenges climate change is posing? ● How can we achieve bilateral and multilateral cooperation over these threats? ● What could be the format for intra-regional cooperation on non-conventional security threats? Speakers: David Jalilvand, Charles Elinas, Nadim Farajalla, Rana El Hajj, Malek Kabariti, Louy Al Khatib
15.00 Parallel Session 4: Regional Rivalries, Civil Strife and a Security Quagmire: The case of Yemen and Scenarios for Solutions15.00 - 16.30Parallel Session 4: Regional Rivalries, Civil Strife and a Security Quagmire: The case of Yemen and Scenarios for Solutions - The political chaos in Yemen has turned into one of the worst civil and regional conflicts in the MENA region. From civil war to the Saudi-led campaign and blockade, the crisis in Yemen deepens day by day with no concrete efforts to abate the situation. The UN has declared the humanitarian situation in Yemen to be the worst humanitarian crisis and worst cholera outbreak in recent history. Beyond its internal conflicts, Yemen has become another focal point for regional powers to clash in their efforts to achieve regional dominance and influence. Given its already fractured society and turmoiled political history, Yemen can no longer endure the burden of these clashes and the deepening security crisis. There has been political improvements and agreements reached as a result of 2014 National Dialogue effort, and 2016 UN sponsored talks. Now it is imperative to restart the discussion on Yemen by looking beyond the current quagmire in hopes of envisioning and encouraging a political solution in Yemen in the footsteps of the previous efforts. The aim of this session is to evaluate the security crisis in Yemen and to come up with dynamic thinking, which would lead the path to de-escalation and political reconciliation. • Who are the major stakeholders in the Yemeni crisis? How can we curb war gains to deter violence and to encourage negotiations? • What has been the role of international actors and institutions in responding to the Yemeni crisis? • How can we insulate Yemen from regional actors’ clashes over power and influence? How can we break down sectarian tensions in the country? What are the subjects of national consensus? • What should be the basis for starting the political reconciliation process? What are the main obstacles lying on the way to a political solution? From where can cooperation and consensus emerge? How can we think beyond political affiliations to start de-escalation? What should be the principle for de-escalation? Can human security be the main agreed grounds for achieving de-escalation?Speakers: Mohammad Affan, Mohammad Al Sabri, Abdalwahhab Muawdah, Mohammad Abdul Malek, Ibrahim Al Dalemi
16.30 Coffee Break16.30 - 16.50 Coffee Break
16.50 Plenary Session 2 Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation Towards a New Security Arrangement in the Region16.50 - 18.20Plenary Session 2: Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation Towards a New Security Arrangement in the Region - The security crisis in the region means that working towards a new security arrangement in the region indispensable for a peaceful future in the region. Possible solutions to this regional security crisis can be sustainable if only built in a larger security framework for the region. The main building block in this framework should be regional cooperation. This final session will explore avenues for and possibilities of regional cooperation and a new security arrangement. ● What are the shared interests, values, threats, and/or challenges in the MENA region that could allow regional cooperation? ● What existing or potential bilateral, trilateral or multilateral engagements (or bases for such relationships) are there in the region that can pave the way for regional cooperation? ● What/Who should be the referent object and concept of a new regional security architecture in the region? Individuals and human security; societies & communities; economic and environmental security; or states & national security? ● Can regional human movement (migration, refugees) and the need for infrastructure for regional connectivity provide an impetus for regional cooperation?Speakers: Dorothee Schmid, Na’eem Jeenah, Kayhan Barzegar, Mohammed Dangor, Louay Safi, Filippo Dionigi, Mehmet Asutay
Speakers for this event
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Omar Ashour
Omar Ashour
Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of University of Exeter
Omar Ashour is a Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of University of Exeter and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House in London. He is currently working on a book analysing the military tactics and strategies of IS in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Egypt. He specializes in asymmetric armed conflict, Islamist movements, insurgency/counterinsurgency, terrorism studies, and democratization. He is a regular contributor to media outlets including the BBC, Al-Jazeera, Sky News, CNN, al-Arabiya and others and his op-eds are frequently published in many media outlets in seven languages, in over 40 countries. He previously served as a senior consultant for the United Nations on security sector reform, counter-terrorism, and de- radicalization issues. He is the author of The DeRadicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist Movements.
Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at t...
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Hakkı Uygur
Hakkı Uygur
Deputy Director of İRAM (Iranian Studies Center)
Hakkı Uygur is the Deputy Director of İRAM (Iranian Studies Center). He was born in Berlin, Germany in 1975. After being graduated from high school in Istanbul, he went to Iran for higher education. He received his master’s degree from IKUI Tehran University in History of Islamic Culture and Civilization. He got his PhD program in Persian Language and Literature from Tehran University in 2015
Deputy Director of İRAM (Iranian Studie...
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David Jalilvand
David Jalilvand
Berlin-based analyst and consultant
David Ramin Jalilvand is a Berlin-based analyst and consultant. His work focuses on the interplay of energy and international politics, with a special focus on Iran and the Middle East.
Berlin-based analyst and consultant
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Firas Masri
Firas Masri
Political officer at The Shaikh Group (TSG)
Firas Masri is a political officer at The Shaikh Group (TSG) working in the Syria Track II Dialogue Initiative. He was a research assistant at the Brookings Doha Center focusing on conflict resolution, geopolitics, post-conflict reconstruction, and security issues related to the MENA region, specifically the Gulf region. Firas holds a BA in Middle East Studies and Arabic from Emory University and an MA in Middle East Studies and Security Policy from George Washington University.
Political officer at The Shaikh Group (T...
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Assaad Achi
Assaad Achi
Executive Director of Baytna Syria
Assaad Al Achi is a Syrian economist and activist. He is the executive director of Baytna Syria. He worked for the American Oil and Gas Company ConocoPhillips. Al Achi became part of the revolutionary movement in Syria, joining the Syrian National Council in December 2011 and helping establish the Assistance Coordination Unit of the Syrian Opposition Coalition in December 2012. He graduated from the American University of Beirut with a bachelor’s in business administration and holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Executive Director of Baytna Syria
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Mohammad Al Sabri
Mohammad Al Sabri
Leader of the Nasserite Unionist People’s Organization
He is a member and Spokesman of the Presidency of the National Assembly, member of the General Secretariat of the Unified Popularist Nasserite Organization, member of the Supreme Council of the Joint Meeting Parties, member of the National Council for the Peaceful Revolution in Yemen, member of the executive board of the Social Democratic Forum, He is a member of the Comprehensive Dialogue Conferenc, memember of the executive board of the National Council.
Leader of the Nasserite Unionist People...
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Wadah Khanfar
Wadah Khanfar
President of The Al Sharq Forum
Wadah Khanfar is the President of the Al Sharq Forum and former Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. He is a board member of the International Crisis Group and Global Editors Network (GEN). Khanfar has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 global thinkers of 2011 as well as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ of the year.
President of The Al Sharq Forum
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Omer Aslan
Omer Aslan
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research
Omer Aslan is an Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum, and a researcher at the Institute for Security Sciences at the Turkish National Police Academy (TNPA). He previously worked at the political research department of the Ankara-based SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research. He received his B.A. degree in political science from Bilkent University. After finishing MSc in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, he entered the Ph.D. program in political science at Bilkent University in 2010. Ömer is now a Ph.D. candidate at the same university, currently working on his dissertation in the field of civil-military relations. Among his publications are “A Turkish Muslim Between Islamism and Turkish Nationalism: Seyyid Ahmet Arvasi (1932–88)”, and “‘Unarmed’ we Intervene, Unnoticed we Remain: The Deviant Case of ‘February 28th Coup’ in Turkey “. Research Interests: Military and Politics in the Muslim World, External Actors and Military Coup d’états, Police and Politics.
Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic R...
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Mariya Petkova
Mariya Petkova
Bulgarian journalist
Mariya Petkova is a Bulgarian journalist covering the Middle East, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. She is currently deputy editor at Al Jazeera English
Bulgarian journalist
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Ismail Yaylaci
Ismail Yaylaci
Assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir University
Ismail Yaylaci is an assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir University in the department of political science and international relations. He received his PhD from University of Minnesota Social Sciences Institute Political Science in 2014. His research interests are: international relations theory, critical social and political theory, Islamism, and Middle Eastern politics.
Assistant professor