Peace picks this week

A light week after the Inauguration, with back-to-back discussions Thursday of the Israeli elections:

1.  Legacies of a Lost Empire: Unresolved Territorial and Identity Problems in the Post-Soviet Era

Date and Time: Tuesday, January 22 / 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Address: Woodrow Wilson Center

1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

Speaker: Pilar Bonet (Chief Correspondent in Moscow, in charge of the Russian Federation, CIS countries, and Georgia, El País)

Description: More than twenty years after the collapse of the USSR, a number of frozen conflicts dating from the collapse persist to this day. They endure as hostages to geostrategic thinking, and are fueled by ethnic and identity contestation on the ground. Pilar Bonet, Chief Correspondent, Moscow, El Pais, former Title VIII-supported Research Scholar and Wilson Center Public Policy Scholar has covered many of these conflicts, and will concentrate her discussion on the cases of Transnistria, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia.

Register for this event here: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/legacies-lost-empire-unresolved-territorial-and-identity-problems-the-post-soviet-era

2. Libya: A State in Search of Itself

Date and Time: Thursday, January 24, 2013 
6:30 PM – 7:45 PM

Address: Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
, 1957 E Street NW

Speakers: Mary-Jane Deeb (Chief, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress), 
Karim Mezran (Senior Fellow, Rafiq Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council)

Moderator: Ambassador Edward Skip Gnehm, Director, Middle East Policy Forum

Description: Despite successful parliamentary elections in July 2012, Libya faces numerous obstacles to state development. Rife with internal divisions and regional tensions, Libya struggles to achieve national cohesion and advance the political process. Moreover, the country’s fractious and divisive political environment inhibits institution building and complicates efforts to restore internal security. In light of Libya’s institutional and security challenges, the panelists will discuss current developments and prospects for Libya’s political future.

Register for this event here: https://docs.google.com/a/aucegypt.edu/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFJiRVdla1I1R2k2NE53NUYyaEhnc0E6MQ

3. The Israeli Elections: What Do They Mean for the United States?

Date and Time: January 24, 2013, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

Address: Brookings Institution, Saul/Zilkha Rooms

1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW

Speakers: Martin S. Indyk and Natan B. Sachs

Moderated by: Daniel L. Byman

Description: Israelis head to the polls next week, just one day after President Barack Obama’s second inauguration as the peace process remains stalled and changes sweeping the Arab world introduce new challenges for Israel. The tense relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, the projected winner of next week’s elections, raises questions as to how the two countries will cooperate in dealing with these challenges, and others, including Iran’s nuclear program. What do the election results tell us about Israel’s trajectory in the coming years? How will the United States and the region react to a new Israeli government? 

On January 24, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings will host a discussion on the election outcomes and their meaning for Israeli domestic and foreign policy and for the incoming Israeli government’s relationship with the United States. Panelists will include Brookings Fellow Natan Sachs, who has spent the last four weeks in Israel observing the election campaign, and Vice President Martin Indyk, director of Foreign Policy at Brookings and former U.S. ambassador to Israel. Senior Fellow Daniel Byman, Saban Center Research Director, will provide introductory remarks and moderate the discussion.

Register for this event through sending an email to: events@brookings.edu

5. Elections in Israel

 Date and Tme: Thursday, January 24, 2013 
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

 Address: Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street NW

Speakers:Yoram Peri (Abraham S. and Jack Kay Chair in Israel Studies, University of Maryland)

, Ilan Peleg (Charles A. Dana Professor of Government & Law, Lafayette College)

, Gershon Shafir (Professor of Sociology, University of California, San Diego), 

Jonathan Rynhold (Schusterman Visiting Professor in Israel Studies, GW)

Moderated by: Marc Lynch

 Description: Three leading political scientists will discuss the outcomes and implications of Israel’s January 2013 parliamentary elections.

Register for this event here: http://tinyurl.com/cqzscq3