Day: November 6, 2011

This week’s “peace picks”

Posted in Uncategorized - November 6, 2011 - 0 Comment

Very busy calendar the first part of the week.  Remember there may be registration and RSVP requirements not cited here.  Best to check on the respective web pages.

1.  The EU-brokered Negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia:  Challenges and Prospects, Woodrow Wilson Center, November 7, 12-1 pm

Nearly three and a half years after Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, the EU is bringing both sides back to the negotiation table. This meeting will address: why Serbian and Kosovar governments are negotiating now?; what is the nature, format and context of these negotiations, and what are the goals that the EU hopes to achieve?

Jovan Teokarevic, associate professor of political science at the University of Belgrade will compare the current negotiations with those that had been unsuccessfully brokered by the UN and describe the strategies; and tactics used by both sides; and the role of international actors – the EU, the US, NATO, EULEX–in this process. A number of possible outcomes will be presented and discussed, including the types of negotiations that might be developed in the future. Most importantly, Teokarevic will address the need for a sustainable solution for the Serbian enclave in northern Kosovo, which would be part of a general reconciliation between Serbians and Kosovar Albanians.

2.  Economic Development in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Absence of Government and Its Consequences, SAIS, Bernstein-Offit 500, November 7, 2-4 pm

Hosted By: SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations (CTR)
Summary: Svetlana Cenic, an independent analyst in Bosnia-Herzegovina; Mujo Selimovic, CEO of MIMS Group; Edin Saracevic, executive director of Personal Inc.; Marco Mantovanelli, country operations adviser of the International Finance Corporation; and Michael Haltzel (moderator), CTR senior fellow, will discuss this topic. For more information and to RSVP, visit http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2454347018/mcivte.
3. Cyber Defense:  International Cooperation and Deterrence, CSIS, November 7, 9 am-2pm
As cybersecurity grows in importance for the international community, individual states and international organizations struggle to adapt existing legal norms and military doctrines to this ongoing change in the global security environment.  In recent years, the transatlantic community began to address these issues by making cybersecurity a critical pillar of the NATO security agenda.  Yet many questions still surround the concepts of cyber defense, deterrence, and collective defense in cyberspace.  Please join us to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by the ideas of cyber deterrence and international cyber defense cooperation, their implications for the transatlantic security relationship, and their possible impact on relations between the alliance and non-NATO powers.

We hope you will be able to join us for this timely and informative discussion.  Please RSVP to ktimlin@csis.org.

Keynote Address:

Dr. Mart Laar,
Minister of Defense, Estonia

Mr. William J. Lynn III
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense

Panel Presentations by:

Dr. Martin Libicki,
Senior Management Scientist, RAND Corporation

Col. Ilmar Tamm,
Director, Collective Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence

Mr. Dmitri Alperovitch,
 President, Asymmetric Cyber Operations, LLC

Ms. Michele Markoff,
Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues, U.S. Department of State

Dr. Stephen Flanagan,
Henry A. Kissinger Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Mr. Frank Kramer,
 Member of the Board, the Atlantic Council

Closing Remarks:

Dr. James Miller,
Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, U.S. Department of Defense

4. What’s Next for the Arab Spring?  Pavilion Room International Trade Center Ronald Reagan Building 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, November 7, 2011 5-6:15 pm
Inspiring, confusing, tumultuous and sometimes violent, there is little doubt that the Arab Spring signifies growing demand for dignity and democracy by the people of the Middle East and North Africa. Please join former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and author, journalist and Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson for a discussion on these momentous developments. A panel of experts from Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen will discuss the reform movement and prospects for further political change.
Panelists are:
Atia Lawgali (Libya) joined the National Transitional Council in Libya as Minister of Culture in May 2011. He previously served as a private consultant for development and management in Tripoli and Benghazi and was manager of the Health Department Information Center in the Ministry of Health in Benghazi from 1988 to 2000.
Sheikh Mohammed Abu Luhoum (Yemen) is a prominent founding member of the recently formed Justice and Building Party. He served as a member of parliament in Yemen’s first legislature after North and South Yemen were unified in 1990 and joined the ruling party in 2004. He served as chairman of various party committees focusing on the economy and development, and was director of bilateral relations at the Ministry of Development.
Dr. Amal Habib Al Yusuf (Bahrain) is an activist and ophthalmic surgeon focusing on defending the rights of Bahraini patients and healthcare workers. She was one of the doctors trapped in the main hospital in Bahrain during the siege by military forces last March.
Mohammad Al Abdallah (Syria) is a lawyer, human rights activist and writer who formed the Committee for Families of Political Prisoners after his father and brother were arrested. Abdallah faced military trials and was imprisoned twice for his writing and lobbying. Abdallah worked for Human Rights Watch in Lebanon, and now writes for several English and Arabic newspapers and blogs.
Rafat Al Akhali (Yemen) is a youth activist who returned to Yemen from Canada to participate in the protests. Akhali is a leader in Resonate! Yemen, an organization that promotes youth engagement on policy initiatives.
Dr. Muneera Fakhro (Bahrain) was a candidate in Bahrain’s November 2006 and October 2010 parliamentary elections. Fakhro earned her doctoral degree in social policy, planning and administration from Columbia University and served as an associate professor at the University of Bahrain until 2006. She has published three books and authored studies focusing on gender and democracy.
Dr. Azza Kamel (Egypt) is the director of Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development and the founder of the Women Research Centre. As a civic activist, Kamel has published numerous studies on gender equality, the impact of violence against women, the portrayal of women and men in the media, and voter education.
5.  Tail Wags the Dog: U.S.-Pakistan Relations and the Internal Dynamics of Pakistan, SAIS, Rome Building Auditorium, November 6, 5-6:30 pm
Summary: Najam Sethi, editor-in-chief of The Friday Times in Pakistan, and Touqir Hussain (moderator), senior Pakistan fellow in the SAIS South Asia Studies Program and former Pakistani ambassador to Brazil, Japan and Spain, will discuss this topic. For more information and to RSVP, contact southasia@jhu.edu.
6.  NDU National Security Symposium – Forging an American Grand Strategy:  Securing a Path Through a Complex Future, November 8-9
Far too elaborate and complex to reproduce the whole program here.  Check out the Agenda.
7.  Book Discussion:  Counterstrike, CSIS, November 8, 5-6:30 pm

Eric Schmitt
Terrorism Correspondent, The New York Times

and

Thom Shanker
Pentagon Correspondent, The New York Times

Introductory Remarks by

H. Andrew Schwartz
Senior Vice President, CSIS External Relations

Moderated by

Thomas M. Sanderson
Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, CSIS Transnational Threats Project

Tuesday, November 8, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
1800 K Street, NW, CSIS B1 Conference Center

A reception will begin at 5:00 p.m. with light refreshments and snacks. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Books will be available for purchase. RSVP required for admission.

8.  Ripples Across the Sands:  The Impact of the Fall of Gaddafi ion Security in the Maghreb and Sahel, Atlantic Council, November 9, 2-4:30 pm
Please join the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center on November 9 for a panel discussion on the impact of the fall of Muammar Gaddafi on security in the Maghreb and Sahel. The panel will begin with a briefing on the current situation and will then proceed to a discussion of these questions from a variety of angles, including that the new Libyan government and the US military’s efforts at building regional counterterrorism capabilities and encouraging cooperation between local partners. It will conclude with a sobering analysis of the potential threat for even greater insecurity in the event that the current challenges are not addressed.

While the death of Muammar Gaddafi and the virtual collapse of his regime forces have freed Libyans from more than four decades of tyranny, it has also complicated the security situation for their neighbors in the Maghreb and Sahel. Fighters loyal to the deposed dictator have taken refuge abroad and, as cross-border attacks they have carried out from Algeria show, still pose a threat, not only to the new government in Tripoli, but to regional stability. Moreover, there is the question of the impact that the arrival of mercenaries and others who fought for Gaddafi as well as copious quantities of arms will have in a region already beset by various armed movements from Taureg tribesmen to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to the Nigerian group Boko Haram to the Polisario Front separatists as well as penetrated by narco-traffickers and other criminals.

Panel Discussion with

Geoffrey D. Porter
President
North Africa Risk Consulting, Inc.

Fadel Lamen
President
American Libyan Council

Roger Peña
Senior Legislative Assistant for Defense and Foreign Affairs
Office of Senator Kay Hagan

Edward M. Gabriel
Former US Ambassador to Morocco

Moderated by

J. Peter Pham
Director, Michael S. Ansari Africa Center
Atlantic Council

DATE: Wednesday, November 9, 2011
TIME: 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM
LOCATION: Atlantic Council
1101 15th Street NW, 11th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

RSVP with your name and affiliation to ksmith@acus.org.

Religion has been a source of conflict throughout human history, but religion can also be a tremendous force for peacebuilding.

9. Religion and Peacemaking:  Reflections on Current Challenges and Future Prospects, USIP, November 9, 9 am-1 pm

For ten years, USIP’s Religion and Peacemaking program has helped lead an evolution of the field. There has been a demonstrated interest in engaging religious leaders in efforts to advance conflict management and peacebuilding. Religious peacebuilding is now integrated into U.S. government policies.

To mark the program’s anniversary, USIP will host a workshop to reflect on what the wider field of religious peacebuilding has achieved and how best to move forward over the next decade. On November 9, a panel of practitioners, policymakers and academics will address the challenges and opportunities of religious peacebuilding and how outside actors, including the U.S. government, can support such opportunities.

Speakers:

  • Richard Solomon, Introductory comments
    U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Joshua Dubois
    White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
  • Suzan Johnson Cook
    Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom
  • Scott Appleby
    Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
  • Rabbi Michael Melchior
    Mosaica Center for Inter-Religious Cooperation
  • Jackie Ogega
    Religions for Peace
  • Qamar-ul Huda
    U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Mohammed Abu-Nimer
    American University
  • David Smock, Moderator
    U.S. Institute of Peace
10.  New Silk Road Strategy: Views From the Region, SAIS , Rome Auditorium, November 9, 5:30-7 pm

Fall 2011 Rumsfeld Fellows Samiullah Mahdi (Afghanistan); Ramid Namazov (Azerbaijan); Khatuna Mshvidobadze (Georgia); Uluk Kydyrbaev (Kyrgystan); Bayasgalan Naranzul (Mongolia); Kakhorjon Aminov (Tajikistan); Jamshed Rahmonberdiev (Tajikistan); Dadebay Kazakov (Turkmenistan); Hikmat Abdurahmanov (Uzbekistan), and Frederick Starr (moderator), CACI chairman, will discuss this topic. A reception will precede the forum at 5 p.m. For more information and to RSVP, contact saiscaciforums@jhu.edu or 202.663.7721.

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