Peace Picks April 29-May 3

Too many good events in DC this week: 

1. The Media & Iran’s Nuclear Program: An analysis of US and UK coverage, 2009-2012, Monday, April 29 / 9:00am – 10:30am, Woodrow Wilson Center

Venue: Woodrow Wilson Center 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004 5th Floor Conference Room

Speakers: Jonas Siegel, Saranaz Barforoush, John Steinbruner, Susan Moeller, Reza Marashi, Walter Pincus

How does news coverage of Iran’s nuclear program affect public understanding and policy outcomes? News media traditionally play an important role in communicating about foreign policy is this the case with coverage of Irans nuclear program? How specifically are news media framing the relevant issues? To answer these questions, researchers from the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) undertook a topical analysis of English-language newspaper coverage from 2009 through 2012, a period in which there was considerable public discussion about how the United States and others could and should resolve the dispute.

Register for the event here:
(http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/rsvp?eid=27221&pid=112)

2. Iran-Azerbaijan Relations and Strategic Competition in the Caucasus, Monday, April 29 / 9:00am – 11:30am, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Venue: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1800 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006 Basement Level Conference Rooms A & B

Speakers: Andrew C. Kuchins, Farhad Mammadov, Asim Mollazade, Heydar Mirza, Alex Vatanka, Sergey Markedonov and more

Despite common cultural and religious heritage, relations between Iran and Azerbaijan remain tumultuous. Issues ranging from the status Iran’s ethnic Azeri minority to the frozen conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh to relations with Israel all complicate bilateral ties between Baku and Tehran. Iran-Azerbaijan relations also shape larger geopolitical questions related to the strategic balance in the Caucasus and the role of major regional powers Turkey and Russia. With tensions over Iran’s nuclear program again in the spotlight, the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program is hosting a discussion about the current dynamics of Iran-Azerbaijan relations and their regional and international implications.

Register for the event here:
(http://csis.org/event/iran-azerbaijan-relations-and-strategic-competition-caucasus)

3. Why the United States Should Err on the Side of Too Many (Not Too Few) Nuclear Weapons, Monday, April 29 / 12:00pm – 1:30pm, Elliott School of International Affairs

Venue: Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20052 Lindner Family Commons

Speakers: Matt Kroenig, Assistant Professor of Government, Georgetown University

Enthusiasm for nuclear reductions is driven by three beliefs about arsenal size widely held by experts in Washington: First, a secure, second-strike capability is sufficient for deterrence and nuclear warheads in excess of this requirement can be cut with little loss to our national security. Second, proliferation to rogue states and terrorist networks is a greater threat than nuclear war with great powers, and reductions can advance our nonproliferation objectives in Iran and elsewhere. Third, we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on nuclear weapons since 1945 and, in a time of budget austerity, reductions will result in cost savings. There is just one problem: all three beliefs are incorrect. A more pragmatic assessment suggests that the United States should not engage in additional nuclear reductions and should instead make the necessary investments to maintain a robust nuclear infrastructure for decades to come.

Register for the event here:
(https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDYwNmFlbk41QjZlZ1pySHUxNklHZFE6MA#gid=0)

4. Political Islam and the Struggle for Democracy in Egypt, Monday, April 29 / 6:30pm – 8:00pm, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Venue: Johns Hopkins SAIS – Bernstein-Offit Building 1717 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. Room 500

Speakers: Michele Dunne, Nathan Brown

During this panel, our participant speakers will discuss the political situation in Egypt two years after the revolution. They will consider the results achieved, met and unmet objectives, and political reforms enacted since the spring of 2010. Furthermore, they will indicate the roles of the Muslim Brotherhood as a ruling party and President Morsi. They will discuss the recent happenings and unrest in Egypt and future scenarios.

RSVP to:
menaclub.sais@gmail.com

5.  The Bread Revolutions of 2011 and the Political Economies of Transition, Tuesday April 30/ 10:00am – 11:30am, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Venue: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars-1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 200046th Floor Flom Auditorium

Speakers: Pete Moore, Holger Albrecht, Haleh Esfandiari

The Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center and the United States Institute of Peace Present The Bread Revolutions of 2011 and the Political Economies of Transition. During the 2011 uprisings, Arab protestors channeled decades of discontent with failed economic policy. However, the demise of leaders will not be enough to answer this discontent nor ensure productive development. Scholarship on the political determinates of economic development finds that the common recipe of expanding the private sector and increasing trade openness may be valuable, but alone are not sufficient for successful development. The Arab World’s economic path to 2011 included implementation in these areas, yet reform in underlying socio-economic structures and interests lagged. Addressing these conditions constitutes one of the most serious challenges facing Arab economies and politics.

This event will be the fourth in a series of five papers and presentations on “Reshaping the Strategic Culture of the Middle East.

Website: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/the…

6. The Imperatives of the Inter-Religious Dialogue in Nigeria, Tuesday April 30/ 2:00pm-3:30pm,  Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars

Venue: Woodrow Wilson Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

Speakers: H.E. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Sa’Adu Abubakar, John Onaiyekan

This dialogue seeks to ascertain the true nature and scope of religious tensions in Nigeria, as well as elaborate possible ways forward.

The Wilson Center’s Africa Program continues to monitor Nigeria’s progress and welcomes the opportunity to hear from a panel of such respected government and religious leaders.

Speakers:

H.E. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Governor of the Rivers State, Nigeria
Sa’adu Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Society for the Victory of Islam
John Onaiyekan, Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Abuja

Website: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/the…

7. Ten Years After Saddam, Tuesday April 30/ 2:00pm-3:00pm, Center for International Media Assistance

Venue: National Endowment for Democracy, 1025 F Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20004

Speakers: Abir Awad, Tim Eaton, Theo Dolan, Shameem Rassam

It is a decade since the U.S.-led coalition troops entered Iraq in March 2003. “The years that have followed have been turbulent for an Iraq riven by divisions and sectarian violence, as elites have battled one another for control,” according to a policy briefing by BBC Media Action, The media of Iraq ten years on: The problems, the progress, the prospects. “It remains a country that is anything but stable and united.” The report, which the panelists will present and discuss, examines one element of Iraq’s journey over the last ten years: that of its media reform. The paper makes the point that while the Iraqi media landscape of 2013 may not be the free, pluralistic, and professional fourth estate that many in the West had envisioned in 2003, it nonetheless has real strengths. Those strengths–as well as weaknesses– reflect the complexity and reality of modern Iraq.

Website: http://cima.ned.org/events/upcoming-e…

8. Future of US Ground Forces Report Roll-out Event, Wednesday May 1 / 9:00am-10:30am, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Venue: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1800 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006

Speakers: David J. Berteau, Nathan Freier, Barry Pavel, James Dubik, Frank Hoffman

The Center for Strategic and International Studies presents the roll-out event for the report

Beyond the Last War: Balancing Ground Forces and Future Challenges Risk in USCENTCOM and USPACOM with introductory remarks by

David J. Berteau
CSIS Senior Vice President and Director, International Security Program

followed by a discussion with

Nathan Freier
Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies

and

Barry Pavel
Director, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, The Atlantic Council

and

Lieutenant General James Dubik
U.S. Army (Ret.), Senior Fellow, Institute for the Study of War

and

Frank Hoffman
Senior Research Fellow, Institute for National Strategic Studies,
National Defense University

9. Drones and the Rule of Law and War, Wednesday May 1 / 10:00 am-11:15 am, Bipartisan Policy Center

Venue: Bipartisan policy Center, 1225 I Street, NW Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20005

Speakers: John Bellinger, Dafna Linzer, Hina Shamsi, Philip Zelikow

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) Homeland Security Project will host a discussion convening legal and policy experts on the rule of law and war to discuss the use of drones and targeted killings. Join us as panelists evaluate issues like the current frameworks regarding the use of drones, the ramifications of a ‘drone court,’ the targeting of U.S. citizens abroad, and whether Congress should examine what these policies mean for the country.

Thomas Kean
Former Governor of New Jersey
Co-chair, 9/11 Commission
Co-chair, BPC Homeland Security Project

John Bellinger
Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP
Former Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State
Former Legal Adviser, National Security Council

Dafna Linzer
Managing Editor, MSNBC.com
Follow @DafnaLinzer

Hina Shamsi
Director, ACLU’s National Security Project
Follow @HinaShamsi

Philip Zelikow
Associate Dean, University of Virginia’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Former Counselor, U.S. Department of State

John Farmer
Dean, Rutgers School of Law

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Homeland Security Project

Website: http://bipartisanpolicy.org/events/20…

10. Afghanistan after 2014: Regional Impact, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Wednesday May 1/ 2pm-5pm, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Venue: Woodrow Wilson Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

Speakers: Noah Coburn, Marlène Laruelle, Simbal Khan

Spotlight on Central Eurasia Series //

This event explores local and regional perspectives on the future of Afghanistan against the backdrop of the planned NATO withdrawal of military forces from the region. The first session focuses on local politics and governance in Afghanistan, and the second session investigates the ways in which Afghanistan’s neighbors have been discussing and planning for the upcoming changes.

This event is free and open to the public but requires event registration. Please RSVP.

Cosponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute and Asia Program, and the Central Asia Program, George Washington University.

Speakers:

Noah Coburn, Professor, Bennington College, and author, ‘Bazaar Politics: Pottery and Power in an Afghan Market Town’ (2011)
Marlène Laruelle, Research Professor and Director, Central Asia Program, IERES, George Washington University
Simbal Khan, Director, Afghanistan and Central Asia, Institute for Strategic Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan

Website: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/afg…

11. The Strategic Environment in Southern Asia, Wednesday, May 1 / 3:30pm – 5:00pm, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Venue: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036

Speakers: Frederic Grare, C. Raja Mohan, C. Uday Bhaskar

The strategic environment in Southern Asia is rapidly changing. Over the next decade, the United States, China, and India will form a critical strategic triangle while the individual relationships of these three nations with ASEAN, Iran, and Pakistan will have significant regional and global implications. Although globalization will lead to more robust engagement among the major actors, this will inevitably result in dissonances that pose complex challenges in the southern Asian security domain. Please join Uday Bhaskar and C. Raja Mohan as they discuss the critical role of the United States and China in dealing with the delicate strategic framework in South Asia. Carnegie’s Frederic Grare will moderate.

Website: http://carnegieendowment.org/events/?…

12. The Nuclear Security Summit in 2014: Challenges and Opportunities, Thursday, May 2 / 9:00am – 10:30am, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

Venue: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036

Speakers: Togzhan Kassenova, Piet De Klerk

Following the Nuclear Security Summits in Washington in 2010 and Seoul in 2012, the Netherlands will host the next summit in The Hague on March 24 and 25, 2014. The summit process, begun in 2010, is a response to growing awareness of the risk that weapons-usable fissile material might be acquired by non-state actors and terrorist groups. It seeks to further the goal of securing all nuclear material worldwide through engagement with key heads of state and international organizations. Please join Ambassador Piet de Klerk for a discussion of the continued importance of nuclear security, how the Summit in The Hague will build on the meetings in Washington and Seoul, challenges for the future, the expectations for 2014 and the Dutch role in this process. Togzhan Kassenova will moderate.

Website: http://carnegieendowment.org/events/?…

13. The Road to Damascus: U.S.-Turkish Cooperation Towards a Post-Assad Syria, Bipartisan Policy Center, Thursday, May 2 / 10:30am – 12:00pm 

Venue: Bipartisan Policy Center, 1225 I Street, NW Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20005

Speakers: Mort Abramowitz, Eric S. Edelman, Alan Makovsky

Ridding Syria of President Bashar al-Assad has been the goal of the United States for almost two years. Should this objective be achieved, however, an enormous challenge will still remain: stabilizing and rebuilding Syria in a way that advances U.S. strategic goals and values. However, this will require the cooperation of Turkey—a U.S. ally with keen interests in Syria. Ankara’s interests, however, do not perfectly match Washington’s, posing the challenge for policymakers of finding the right tools to align more closely the two countries’ visions of Syria’s future.

Join BPC as it announces the creation of its Turkey Task Force, co-chaired by former Ambassadors to Turkey Morton Abramowitz and Eric Edelman, and releases a paper on the opportunities and obstacles to U.S.-Turkish cooperation towards a post-Assad Syria.

Read the press release here.

Mort Abramowitz
Co-chair, BPC Turkey Task Force
Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey

Ambassador Eric S. Edelman
Co-chair, BPC Turkey Task Force
Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey

Alan Makovsky
Senior Professional Staff Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee

Paula Dobriansky
Former Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs

Press Release

Foreign Policy Project

Website: http://bipartisanpolicy.org/events/20…

14. Africa and The Global Arms Trade Treaty, Thursday, May 2 / 12:00pm – 2:00pm, Institute for Policy Studies,

Venue: Institute for Policy Studies, 1112 16th St. NW, Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036 Conference Room

Speakers: Rachel Stohl, Adotei Akwei

Join us for a remarkable panel discussion on the impact and future of the small arms trade in Africa.

Can an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) help? How can world leaders and national governments both within and without Africa best help leverage the ATT to help deal with existing small arms violence and prevent violence in the future?

Join IPS’ Foreign Policy In Focus for a panel discussion examining the ATT and its implications for Africa with a specific focus on what the ATT is and what it is not, as well as what is next to help the treaty come in to force. Key areas of concern, such as conflict, commission of human rights abuses, the impact of the unauthorized/illicit arms sales on development and security in Africa will also be addressed.

Panelists:

Rachel Stohl, Senior Associate with Managing Across Boundaries initiative, Stimson Center and
Adotei Akwei, Managing Director for Government Relations, Amnesty International

Co-sponsors: Travis Roberts – Founder of Fight Back/Rebuilt campaign, Carl LeVan – IPS Associate Fellow and professor in the School of International Studies at American University, Estelle Bougna Fomeju – Senior at American University and Sciences Po Paris, Intern for IPS’ Foreign Policy in Focus.

Website: http://www.ips-dc.org/events/africa_a…

15. Turkey’s Peace Process, Thursday, May 2 / 3:00pm – 4:30pm, SETA Foundation at Washington DC

Venue: SETA Foundation at Washington, DC1025 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Suite 1106, Washington, DC 20036

Speakers: Henri Barkey, Erol Cebeci, Kadir Ustun

Resolution of Turkey’s Kurdish question has been the subject of much debate. Today, there is more hope about the prospects of success than ever before with the ongoing peace talks with Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). This latest attempt comes after previous initiatives such as the so-called “Democratic Opening” of 2009 and the following secret talks dubbed the “Oslo Process.” In the wake of heightened stakes in the Middle East, a possible end to PKK violence and resolution of the Kurdish question through democratic means could have dramatic implications for regional security and Turkey’s democratization. What are the possibilities and limits of finally resolving the Kurdish question?

Join us for a discussion with Henri Barkey, professor of international relations at Lehigh University, and Erol Cebeci, executive director of the SETA Foundation at Washington, DC, moderated by Kadir Ustun, research director at the SETA Foundation.

Website: http://setadc.org/events/50-upcoming-…

16. Israel’s Periphery Doctrine: Then and Now, Thursday, May 2 / 3:30pm – 4:30pm, International Institute for Strategic Studies 

Venue: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2121 K Street, NWSuite 801

Speakers: Yossi Alpher

During its first three decades, Israel employed a grand strategy whereby it leapfrogged over the ring of hostile Arab neighboring states and forged partnerships with non-Arab and non-Muslim countries and minorities in the region.  Most well known are Israel’s alliances with Iran and Turkey and its aid to the Iraqi Kurds.  Beginning in the late 1970s, the peace process and the collapse of friendly periphery regimes rendered the doctrine of secondary importance.  Now, with Islamists and even Salafists threatening to surround Israel, is a new periphery strategy viable?

Yossi Alpher
Co-editor, The Bitterlemons Guide to the Arab Peace Initiative

17. The Way of the Knife, Friday, May 3 / 12:00pm – 1:00pm, Center for American Progress 

Venue: Center for American Progress, 1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005

Speakers: Mark Mazzetti, Ken Gude

In his most recent book, Mark Mazzetti argues that the most momentous change in American warfare over the past decade has taken place away from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq in the corners of the world where large armies can’t go. The Way of the Knife is the untold story of that shadow war—a campaign that has blurred the lines between soldiers and spies and lowered the bar for waging war across the globe. The United States has pursued its enemies with armed drones and special operations troops, trained local assets to set up clandestine spying networks, and relied on mercurial dictators, untrustworthy foreign intelligence services, and proxy armies.

Please join us for a discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Mark Mazzetti on his provocative new book.

Copies of The Way of the Knife will be available for purchase.
Featured author:
Mark Mazzetti, author, The Way of the Knife; correspondent, The New York Times

Moderated by:
Ken Gude, Chief of Staff, Vice President, Center for American Progress
A light lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m.

Website: http://www.americanprogress.org/event…

18. Post-2014 Afghanistan: Pakistan’s Concerns, Anxieties and Expectations: A Conversation with Ambassador Sherry Rehman, Friday, May 3 / 5:30pm – 7:00pm, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Venue: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, 1619 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. Rome Auditorium

Speakers: Sherry Rehman

Pakistani Ambassador to the US will speak about post 2014 Afghanistan. Question and answer session to follow Ambassador’s remarks.

19. The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat, Friday, May 3 / 7:00pm – 8:00pm, Politics and Prose 

Venue: Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008

Speakers: Vali Nasr

As senior advisor to Richard Holbrooke from 2009 to 2011, Nasr, dean of SAIS and author of The Shia Revival, witnessed both how the Obama administration made its foreign policy and how these decisions played out abroad. His book finds that Obama failed to chart a new course in the Middle East, and warns that the next Arab Spring may be an angry uprising against America.

Website: http://www.politics-prose.com/event/b…