This week’s peace picks

There are many interesting events this week to shake us out of our tryptophan-induced post-holiday slumber.

1. The Pathway to Peace in the Middle East Begins with President Obama, Monday November 26, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Venue:  Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Speakers:  Marwan Muasher, Aaron David Miller, William Quandt, Daniel C. Kurtzer

What used to be the measuring stick for a president’s foreign policy legacy – bringing Palestinians and Israeli leaders together to negotiate a lasting peace – has in recent years been largely ignored, overshadowed by the imposing threat of a nuclear Iran and for the first time rarely garnering a mention on the presidential campaign trail.

The outbreak of renewed violence in recent days underscores the pressing need to urgently refocus on reaching a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. In his second term, President Obama should actively reengage in efforts to broker peace in the Middle East through a two-state solution that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace and security.

It is clear that leaders in the region will not take the initiative to restart a serious peace process.  President Obama should therefore focus the resources available to him to actively reengage in efforts to broker peace in the Middle East through a two-state solution that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace and security.

Join the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for a discussion with former U.S. ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer, former Jordanian deputy prime minister and foreign minister Marwan Muasher, former National Security Council official William Quandt, and former U.S. peace negotiator Aaron David Miller.

The forum will take a close look at Pathways to Peace: America and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, a collection of policy essays edited by Ambassador Kurtzer that brings together the world’s leading practitioners and scholars to counter the status quo and make a serious effort to advance Palestinian-Israeli peace. The book argues that a pathway to peace is within reach and that sustained American leadership is what is needed to help “regional leaders bridge their differences.”

Register for this event here.

2.  Ambassador Dennis Ross and U.S. Policy in the Middle East in the Next Administration, Monday November 26, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM, American University School of International Service

Venue:  American University School of International Service, intersection of Nebraska Avenue NW and New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016, The Abramson Family Founders Room

Speakers: Dennis Ross, James Goldgeier

Join us for the fall semester Dean’s discussion with guest, Ambassador Dennis Ross. Dean Goldgeier and Ambassador Ross discuss U.S. Policy in the Middle East in the next U.S. administration.  Ambassador Dennis Ross is the Ziegler Distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Ross served as a counselor from 2001-2009 and rejoined the Institute in December 2011 after serving two years as special assistant to President Obama as well as National Security Council senior director for the Central Region, and a year as special advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, focusing on Iran. For more than twelve years, Ambassador Ross played a leading role in shaping U.S. involvement in the Middle East peace process and dealing directly with the parties in negotiations. Ambassador Ross serves on the SIS Dean’s Council.

Register for this event here.

3. The Price of Greatness:  the Next Four Years of U.S. Foreign Policy, Tuesday November 27, 8:00 AM – 3:45 PM, Newseum

Venue:  Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Avennue NW, Washington, DC 20001, use the Freedom Forum entrance on 6th Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and C Street

Speakers:  Jamie M. Fly, Jon Kyl, William Kristol, Kim Beazley, Jose L. Cuisia Jr., Nirupama Rao, J. Randy Forbes, Bernard-Henri Levi, John McCain, Robert Kagan, Joe Lieberman, Kelly Ayotte, Shin Dong-Hyuk, Christian Caryl, Adam Kinzinger, Tom Cotton, Dan Senor

In the next four years, the United States will face a wide array of international challenges. Iran continues to progress toward a nuclear weapons capability, China is expanding its military and economic power, and uncertainty over the outcome of the Arab Spring persists. These challenges will require substantial American leadership and a willingness to confront the looming budgetary crisis that underpins our involvement in the world.

Full schedule for this event here.

Register for this event here.

4. Center for Peacemaking Practice Lunch:  the Ethics of Practice, Tuesday November 27, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM, George Mason University

Venue:  George Mason University, Arlington Campus, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 2201, Truland Building, Room 555

Speaker:  Lisa Shaw

Do you learn from your own engagement in conflict?  Are you interested in sharing you practical experience with others, or learning more about practical engagement in conflict?  Come and join the Center for Peacemaking Practice for our bi-weekly Practitioner Lunches.  Lunches are open to anyone interested in attending, regardless of experience!

RSVP for this event to cppgmu@gmu.edu.

5. Less is Better:  Nuclear Restraint at Low Numbers, Tuesday November 27, 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Venue:  Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Speakers:  James M. Acton, Malcolm Chalmers, Joan Rohlfing

Current prospects for likely future nuclear reductions remain limited to the long-standing bilateral U.S.-Russia framework. However, consideration must be given to multilateral nuclear restraint as well as the arsenals of the United States and Russia. In his recent paper Less Is Better: Nuclear Restraint at Low Numbers, funded by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Malcolm Chalmers explores the steps that other nuclear-armed states would need to take to enable progress to low numbers. Are binding numerical limits required soon or should they be a more distant long-term goal? What steps are feasible in the short term? What can be done to build trust among key actors?

Please join the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Program and the Nuclear Threat Initiative for a discussion of the paper’s key findings with a reception to follow. Joan Rohlfing will deliver opening remarks. James Acton will moderate.

Register for this event here. (http://www.carnegieendowment.org/events/forms/?fa=registration&event=3866)

6. Civilians and Modern War: Armed Conflict and the Ideology of Violence, Tuesday November 27, 7:15 PM – 9:15 PM, George Mason University

Venue:  George Mason University, Arlington Campus, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 2201, Truland Building, Room 555

Speakers:  Daniel Rothbart, Karina Korostelina, Mohammed Cherkaoui

Join Us for Food – and a Lively Discussion!  This book explores the issue of civilian devastation in modern warfare, focusing on the complex processes that effectively establish civilians’ identity in times of war.
Civilians and Modern War provides a critical overview of the plight of civilians in war, examining the political and normative underpinnings of the decisions, actions, policies, and practices of major sectors of war. In sixteen chapters the contributors seek to undermine the ‘tunnelling effect’ of the militaristic framework regarding the experiences of noncombatants.

Underpinning the physicality of war’s tumult are structural forces that create landscapes of civilian vulnerability. Such forces operate in four sectors of modern warfare: nationalistic ideology, state-sponsored militaries, global media, and international institutions. Each sector promotes its own constructions of civilian identity in relation to militant combatants: constructions that prove lethal to the civilian noncombatant who lacks political power and decision-making capacity with regards to their own survival.

RSVP for this event to carevent@gmu.edu.

7. WJP Rule of Law Index 2012 Special Presentation, Wednesday November 28, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM, Newseum

Venue:  Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Avennue NW, Washington, DC 20001, Knight Studio, 3^rd Floor, use the Freedom Forum entrance on 6th Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and C Street

On Wednesday, November 28, the WJP Rule of Law Index 2012 report covering 97 countries and jurisdictions, representing over 90 percent of the world’s population, will be released at an event in Washington, D.C.

The WJP Rule of Law Index^® is an assessment tool that offers a comprehensive picture of adherence to the rule of law. The 2012 report is the third in an annual series and includes, for the first time, a total of 97 countries and jurisdictions.

The Index and its findings have been referenced in major global media, including The Economist, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and El País; stimulated discussions and actions on the rule of law in countries around the world; and been cited by heads of state and chief justices, as supporting evidence of the need to advance rule of law reforms in their countries.

The report is a product of five years of intensive development, testing, and vetting – including interviewing 97,000 members of the general public and more than 2,500 experts in the following 97 countries.

 RSVP for this event to ruleoflawindex@wjpnet.org.

8. Homeland Security:  a Look Back and Ahead, Wednesday November 28, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, George Washington University

Venue:  The George Washington University, 805 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, Jack Morton Auditorium

Speakers: Joseph Lieberman, Steven Knapp, Frank Cilluffo, Rick “Ozzie” Nelson

Please join HSPI and CSIS for a discussion featuring Senator Joseph Lieberman, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. During his distinguished Senate career, Senator Lieberman has been at the forefront of a range of national and homeland security issues and challenges. He championed legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security, and has played a leadership role on counterterrorism policy and efforts to increase U.S. investment in defense and transform our armed forces to better meet the threats of the 21st century. Senator Lieberman will look back and ahead, addressing key past events as well as homeland security challenges for the future.

Register for this event here.

9. Department of Homeland Security at 10: Past, Present, and Future, Wednesday November 28, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM, Open Society Foundations

Venue:  Open Society Foundations, 1730 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006S,

Speakers: Stephen Vladeck, Michael German, Seth Grossman, Jamil Jaffer, Wendy Patten

On November 25, 2002, then President George W. Bush signed the Homeland Security Act, which established the Department of Homeland Security and called for the largest federal government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947. On Wednesday, November 28, join the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and the Open Society Foundations for a panel discussion covering a decade of DHS accomplishments, successes, failures, and controversies, as well as suggested national security policies looking forward.  A light lunch will be served at 11:45.

Register for this event here.

10.  The Future of U.S.-Egyptian Relations:  Engagement without Illusions, Wednesday November 28, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Venue:  The Washington Institute, 1828 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 1050, Stern Library and Conference Room

Speakers:  Vin Weber, Gregory Craig

As the Gaza conflict underscores, today’s Egypt — with its first-ever civilian president, Islamist leader Muhammad Morsi — is a very different country from the one with which successive U.S. administrations built a strategic partnership for more than thirty years. Fundamental change in Egypt mandates an equally fundamental reassessment of the bilateral relationship. In a report by the bipartisan Task Force on the Future of U.S.-Egypt Relations, two veteran foreign policy practitioners examine the profound yet uncertain change in Cairo since the heady days of Tahrir Square and offer specific recommendations to the Obama administration on how to secure U.S. interests with the “new Egypt.” To discuss these issues, The Washington Institute cordially invites you to a Policy Forum luncheon with Vin Weber and Gregory B. Craig.

Register for this event here.

11. Fortress Israel, Wednesday November 28, 12:15 PM – 1:45 PM, New America Foundation

Venue:  New America Foundation, 1899 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 400

Speakers: Patrick Tyler, Peter Bergen

As footage of rocket attacks in Israel and Gaza once again fill television screens around world, we are reminded of how flammable the Israeli/Palestinian issue remains today. Former New York Times Chief Correspondent Patrick Tyler argues in his new book, Fortress Israel, that the pervasive influence of Israel’s military establishment has overwhelmed every competing institution, especially those devoted to diplomacy and negotiation. As a result, political leaders find themselves with few diplomatic options in the long term struggle with the Arabs. Tyler laments that the handful of Israeli leaders who have set peace as a strategic objective have failed or, as in the case of Yitzhak Rabin, were killed by extremists.

On November 28, the New America Foundation will host Tyler for a conversation about Fortress Israel, and the Israeli military officials who have created and sustained their nation’s highly martial culture.

Register for this event here.

12. The Future of the Pakistan-U.S. Relationship Between Now and 2014, Wednesday November 28, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM, USIP

Venue:  USIP, 2301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

Speakers: Sajit Ghandi, Simbal Khan, Michael Phelan, Moeed Yusuf

As we approach the 2014 transition in Afghanistan, the role of regional neighbors in contributing to and/or undermining transition processes becomes more important than ever before. Pakistan’s outlook regarding the “end game” in Afghanistan, and the dynamics of the Pakistan-U.S. relationship, remain crucial in this regard. The steadily deteriorating Pakistan-U.S. relationship during the past two years has been very detrimental to the collaboration needed for both sides to come up with a more convergent vision for the “end game” in Afghanistan. The state of the Pakistan-U.S. relationship over the next two years will be a critical factor in determining Pakistan’s role in the 2014 transition in Afghanistan. Both sides must improve ties despite a deep lack of trust and the negative political and public opinion they face in each other’s capitals.

Please join USIP for a panel discussion on the near to medium term future of the Pakistan-U.S. relationship. Panelists will examine whether the U.S. outlook towards Pakistan is likely to change in President Obama’s second term and if so, how? What will be the pros and cons of the likely policy shift? What are the expectations from both sides going forward?

Register for this event here.

13. Book Talk:  the Soldier and the Changing State, Wednesday November 28, 2:30 PM – 5:00 PM, National Defense University

Venue:  National Defense University, 300 5^th Avenue SW, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC 20319, Lincoln Hall, Room 1119

Speakers: Zoltan Barany, Dennis Blair, Samuel Worthington

Discussion of book The Soldier and the Changing State: Building Democratic Armies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas by Professor Zoltan Barany, University of Texas, Austin. Hosted by the Center for Complex Operations at the National Defense University

RSVP for this event to mark.ducasse.ctr@ndu.edu.

14. The Changing Strategic Environment in the Middle East, Wednesday November 28, 6:00 PM, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service

Venue:  Georgetown University, 37th and O Street NW, Washington, DC 20007, Healy Hall

Speaker: Dan Schueftan

Dr. Dan Schueftan is the Director of the National Security Studies Center at the University of Haifa, a Senior Lecturer at the School of Political Sciences there and at the Israel Defense Forces National Defense College. He is the Aaron and Cecile Goldman Visiting Professor in the Department of Government during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Register for this event here.

15. Gender and Genocide:  Masculinity, Femininity & the Potentials of GBV as an Early Warning Indicator of Genocide, Wednesday November 28, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM, George Mason University

Venue:  George Mason University, Arlington Campus, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 2201, Truland Building, Room 555

Speakers:  Elizabeth Mount, Kate O’Hare, Andrea Bartoli, Leslie Dwyer, Tetsushi Ogata

This conversation plans to go beyond discussions of sexual violence, exploring gender as a central element which foments and justifies genocide. Furthermore, gender neutral frameworks fail to identify distinguishing types of violence characteristic of early stages of genocide. Conceptualizing gender as a central defining component of genocide offers told useful for developing an early warning system.

Register for this event here.

16.  Israel’s Right to Defend Itself:  Implications for Regional Security and U.S. Interests, Thursday November 29, 7:30 AM, Rayburn House Office Building

Venue:  The House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 2170 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515

Speaker:  Elliott Abrams

17. Dissertation Defense: Displacement of the Kashmiri Pandits: Dynamics of Policies and Perspectives of Policymakers, Thursday November 29, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM, George Mason University

Venue:  George Mason University, Arlington Campus, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 2201, Truland Building, Room 555

Speakers:  Sudha Rajput, Karina Korostelina, Kevin Avruch, Carlos Sluzki

The magnitude of the social phenomenon of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is a daunting humanitarian challenge with twenty-five million people currently in displacement. Based on the premise that the displacement of over 250,000 Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley, beginning in 1989, had ruptured the very fabric of this community, this study investigates the impact of positions and perspectives of the policyholders, the host community and the IDPs and scrutinizes the resulting three-way dynamic. Through semi-structured field-based interviews with high level officials, the business leaders of the host communities and the IDPs living in a myriad of camps, this study unfolds the many political, social, cultural and psychological dimensions of this displacement.

The findings reveal that the policymaking process is a direct function of the perception of the policymakers about the IDPs and their mindset about the reasons for their displacement. In addition, the official positions and labels preclude long-term solutions for those internally displaced and spillover into the IDP/Host dynamic. The ambiguous narratives meant to favor the elite, have the potential to empower the IDPs, which negates the policy impact. Armed with an understanding of the key variables that shape the policymaking process and the IDP/Host dynamic, the findings are key to policy formulation and societal reforms. The study identifies specific roles for the international community as well as the national governments in addressing and in the handling of internal displacement and empowers the Conflict Resolution practitioners with tools to perform an accurate diagnostics of the displaced communities worldwide.

18. The Battle for Syria, Friday November 30, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM, Johns Hopkins SAIS

Venue:  Johns Hopkins SAIS, Rome Building, 1619 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036, Rome Auditorium

Speaker:  Radwan Ziadeh

Radwan Ziadeh, executive director of the Washington-based Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies, will discuss this topic and provide insights on the recent events in Syria.

RSVP for this event to menaclub.sais@gmail.com.

19. Nuclear Policy Talks: Etel Solingen on Sanctions, Statecraft, and Nonproliferation, Friday November 30, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM, Elliott School of International Affairs

Venue:  Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, Lindner Family Commons, Room 602

Speaker:  Etel Solingen

Etel Solingen, Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science, UC Irvine.  Dr. Solingen will speak on her new book, Sanctions, Statecraft, and Nonproliferation.

Register for this event here.

20. Inside Syria, Friday November 30, 12:15 PM – 1:45 PM, New America Foundation

Venue:  New America Foundation, 1899 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 400

Speakers: Janine di Giovanni, Peter Bergen

By some estimates, the violent conflict wracking Syria has taken almost 40,000 lives since it began in March 2011. The world has been able to experience a portion of the horror alongside Syrian civilians through the footage and images of the fighting that have poured out of the country, though few Western journalists have been able to cover the war first-hand.

Please join the New America Foundation’s National Security Studies Program for a discussion with award-winning war reporter Janine Di Giovanni about her experiences inside Syria. Di Giovanni, whose on-the-ground reporting on the war was recently featured in The New York Times, Granta and Newsweek, is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, has won five major journalistic awards, was one of the only reporters to witness the fall of Grozny, Chechnya, and has written five books, the last of which recently won Memoir of the Year in Britain. She currently lives in Paris and served as the President of the Jury of the Prix Bayeux for War Reporters in 2010.

Register for this event here.