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Peace Picks, May 6th-May 10th

Lots of Egypt, Pakistan and other interesting events in DC this week:

1. Where is the Cultural Revolution in Egypt Headed? Monday, May 6 / 12:00pm – 1:00pm , Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

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

Speakers: Margot Badran

Drawing on her experience and observations in Egypt over the past two and a half years since the outbreak of the revolution, Badran will look at changes in the everyday lives of Egyptians. She will focus on gender ideas and practices as part of the process of cultural and religious transformation underway and place this in the shifting political contexts.

Register for the event here:
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/where-the-cultural-revolution-egypt-headed

 

2. Egypt in Transition, Monday, May 6 / 12:15pm – 1:45pm, New America Foundation

Venue: New America Foundation, 1899 L St., N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20036

Speakers: Ahmed Maher, Jawad Nabulsi, Leila Hilal, Peter Bergen

As Egypt’s revolutionary process derails, a myriad of political actors are struggling to form a new consensus about how to resolve the current political crisis and start rebuilding the state. The country’s uprising gave birth to a new generation of leaders that are working to seize this transformative moment to redefine their country.

Please join New America’s Middle East Task Force for a conversation with two prominent members of Egypt’s civil society. We will discuss the turmoil facing Egypt, the upcoming legislative elections, next steps for the ‘youth of Tahrir,’ and Egypt’s future trajectory.

Register for the event here:
http://www.newamerica.net/events/2013/egypt_in_transition

 

3. Amidst Iraq’s Turmoil: What Can We Do?/ Monday, May 6 / 2:00pm – 3:30pm, US Institute of Peace

Venue: US Institute of Peace, 2301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.

Speakers: James Jeffrey, Dan Serwer, Mike Pillinger, Sarhang Hamasaeed, Manal Omar

For well over a year, Iraq’s political, security, economic, and social well-being continues to be shaken by internal and external events that have implications for stability in the country and the region. Despite gains, recent events on the ground have taken a swift turn. Internal displacement, the rise of armed groups, and recourse to violence present serious challenges in maintaining peace and sustained development within the country. As international attention has shifted to Syria and North Africa, the hurdles that Iraq faces internally need to be considered in light of these regional circumstances. Cross-border migration, a large number of returnees, and a growing influx of Syrian refugees too have a destabilizing force in Iraq.

How are Iraqis coping with the current crisis, and how can they be better engaged by the international community? What policy levers do the U.S. or other international actors have to help promote stability? What lessons can be applied across the increasingly porous and insecure boundaries of the Middle East?

The International Organization for Migration and the U.S. Institute of Peace invite you to a panel discussion on these urgent issues on May 6th from 2:00pm to 3:30pm.

Register for the event here:
http://www.usip.org/events/amidst-iraq-s-turmoil-what-can-we-do

 

4. The Drone Next Door, Tuesday, May 7 / 9:00am – 1:45pm, New America Foundation

Venue: New America Foundation, 1899 L St., N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20036

Speakers: Will Saletan, Paul Gosar, Rosa Brooks, Missy Cummings, Michael Toscano, Shane Harris and more

Drones have become essential to the American way of war. They’ve given the military nearly constant surveillance from the sky, and allow for quick attacks from afar. And now, like countless other technologies forged in the heat of battle, drones are making their way to the home front, pressed into civilian service. Call them drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, or remote-control planes; these high-tech devices have appealed to Border Patrol and local law enforcement, but also to conservationists, journalists, hobbyists, and more. How do we decide who gets to have their own set of eyes in the skies? What does it mean for your privacy and safety if your neighbors get their own drone?

Register here:
http://www.newamerica.net/events/2013/the_drone_next_door

 

5. Pakistan’s General Elections 2013: Stakes and Prospects, Tuesday, May 7 / 12:00pm – 1:30pm, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

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

Speakers: Simbal Khan, Daniel Markey, Malik Akbar, Steve Inskeep

On May 11, 2013, for the first time in Pakistan’s history, the country will hold general elections after a legislature has completed its term. While much attention has been paid to security’s effects on the elections, other key factors, such as demography, will also influence the outcome. Of Pakistan’s 90 million voters, 40 million will be voting for the first time. This makes the election seem more open than ever. Simbal Khan, Malik Siraj Akbar, and Daniel Markey will discuss the key factors the stakes and prospects for Pakistan’s elections. Steve Inskeep, host of NPR’s Morning Edition, will moderate.

Register here:
http://carnegieendowment.org/2013/05/07/pakistan-s-general-elections-2013-stakes-and-prospects/g1os

 

6. The International Response to Syria’s Humanitarian Catastrophe, Tuesday, May 7 / 12:15pm – 1:15pm, Middle East Institute

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

Speaker: Valerie Amos

The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome Valerie Amos, the UN under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs, for a discussion about the humanitarian crisis inside Syria. Now in its second year, the Syrian conflict has generated more than 1.3  million refugees and left 4.25 million internally displaced. According to the UN, some  6.8 million people are in desperate need of assistance. And yet security limitations on the ground in Syria have made the delivery of emergency relief extremely challenging. Amos will lay out the current conditions inside Syria as well as put forward suggestions for what more the international community can be doing to alleviate the crisis.

http://www.mei.edu/events/international-response-syrias-humanitarian-catastrophe

 

7. Religion and Politics in Revolutionary Egypt, Wednesday, May 8 / 9:00am – 10:30am, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

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

Speakers: Nathan J. Brown, Jonathan Brown, Jocelyne Cesari

In the wake of Egypt’s revolution, a sea change is undeniably under way: Islam is playing a different and more powerful role in Egyptian public life. But focusing on the growing influence of Islamic forces masks an unpredictable evolution proceeding underneath the surface. The Muslim Brotherhood, Salafis, and a host of state institutions dedicated to Islam are themselves being reshaped by their growing involvement in politics, often in ways that are difficult to predict and even more difficult for their leaders to control. Join us for a discussion at the Carnegie Endowment where Nonresident Senior Associate Nathan J. Brown will present his new paper Islam and Politics in the New Egypt. Jocelyn Cesari of Harvard University and Jonathan A. C. Brown of Georgetown University will offer their comments.

Register for the event here:
http://carnegieendowment.org/2013/05/08/religion-and-politics-in-revolutionary-egypt/g0n8

 

8. Case Study: Regulating the Private Health Sector in Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 8 / 12:00pm – 1:00pm, O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

Venue: Georgetown University Law Center, 111 G Street, NW ∙ Washington, DC 20001, E.B. Williams Library, Room 358

Speakers: Michele Forzley

Afghanistan is transitioning from a system in which government provides services to one in which government is the regulator of a changing public health care system and a new emerging private health sector. In the years since the Taliban era ended, the Government of Afghanistan has taken many steps to encourage the development of a market economy and in 2012 its Cabinet passed a law to regulate the private health sector. This law empowered and directed the Ministry of Public Health, (MoPH) to undertake the regulatory functions of licensing, setting standards, monitoring, evaluating performance of private health actors and enforcing the law with sanctions. To implement this new law, many of the departments of the MoPH will have to develop new procedures and forms and undertake additional or new regulatory functions. In accordance with the current national health policy objective of good governance, these new procedures and functions must reflect good governance and rule of law principles. Since last year, Professor Forzley has been working as a consultant and legal advisor to assist the Afghanistan MoPH to implement the new law in accordance with rule of law and good governance principles. Her presentation will cover a background on Afghanistan, its health system and the new private sector, the main functions of the new law, how procedures and systems are being developed to reflect good governance principle and future planned work.

More info here:

Click to access May8_MicheleForzleyBrownBag.pdf

 

9. Auditing Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 8 / 12:15pm – 1:45pm, New America Foundation

Venue: New America Foundation, 1899 L St., N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20036

Speakers: John F. Sopko, Peter Bergen

The United States has spent tens of billions of dollars on the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, and making sure that money goes where it is supposed to go has been one of the toughest jobs of the conflict. As America transitions control of security operations and other governance processes to the Afghans, this job will become even harder.

The New America Foundation’s National Security Studies Program is pleased to welcome the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko on May 8 for a discussion on Afghanistan’s upcoming transition, and some of the most worrying trends he sees in the way U.S. taxpayer dollars are used in the country.

Register here:
http://www.newamerica.net/events/2013/auditing_afghanistan

 

10. The Future of American-Iraqi Relations, Wednesday, May 8 / 7:00pm, Al-Hewar Center

Venue: Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry Street, S.E., Vienna, VA

Speakers: Phebe Marr

A conversation with Dr. Phebe Marr, a prominent American historian of modern Iraq with the Middle East Institute, about “The Future of American-Iraqi Relations.”

Dr. Marr has been research professor at the National Defense University and is a retired professor of history at University of  Tennessee and Stanislaus State University in California.

More info here:
http://www.alhewar.com/newevents.html

 

11. Human Rights in Tunisia’s Transition: A View from the Field, Thursday, May 9 / 10:00am – 11:30am, Project on Middle East Democracy

Venue: US Institute of Peace, 2301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.

Speakers: Amel Azzouz, Amna Guellali, Daniel Brumberg, Stephen McInerney, Joyce Kasee

Between 2012-2013, Tunisia’s political scene has witnessed increasing polarization and occasional violence, culminating in the assassination of Chokri Belaid in February 2013. In this context, Tunisia’s National Constituent Assembly is considering the third and perhaps final draft of its proposed constitution.  The constitution-writing process has been protracted by disagreements about allusions to Islam and cultural values, and the primacy of human rights as they are internationally defined.

As Tunisia is led by a provisional government, how does the country rank on human rights, addressing political violence by intolerant groups, protecting freedom of expression and the rights of women and minorities, and writing a constitution that safeguards the rights of all Tunisians?

Register here:
http://www.usip.org/events/human-rights-in-tunisia-s-transition-view-the-field

 

12. Governance Opportunities and Challenges for the Incoming Pakistani Administration, Thursday, May 9 / 2:00pm – 3:30pm , Atlantic Council            

Venue: Atlantic Council of the United States, 1101 15th Street, NW, 11th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005

Speakers: Alex Thier

Please join the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center for “Governance Opportunities and Challenges for the Incoming Pakistani Administration,” a conversation with Alex Thier, assistant to the administrator, Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs, US Agency for International Development.

Pakistan’s General Election is set for May 11 and regardless of which party comes to power, the next administration will face a number of daunting challenges related to successful governance. High unemployment, circular debt in Pakistan’s energy sector, and widespread corruption only hit the tip of the iceberg when it comes to severe challenges that Pakistan is facing. The election results could also bring a shift in the central government’s relationship not only with the provinces but also with the people. Despite this, every challenge also presents an opportunity for Pakistan.

USAID’s program in Pakistan has been working on transforming a number of these challenges into opportunities, including supporting energy sector reforms, encouraging trade liberalization, and increasing political parties’ responsiveness to constituent concerns. USAID’s Alex Thier will speak to these efforts and offer his insight on how Pakistan, amongst all its transitions, can make the governance choices that will accelerate a positive trajectory of economic and civic growth.

RSVP to:
southasia@acus.org

 

13. Egypt’s Revolution, Two Years On: Transition in Distress?, Thursday, May 9 / 2:30pm, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Venue: 1150 22nd St NW Washington, DC 20037

Speakers: Anwar E. El Sadat and Helmy el-Gazzar

As part of the 2013 Soref Symposium, the Washington Institute will host a conversation with Anwar E. El Sadat, founder and chairman of the El Sadat Association for Social Development & Welfare and a former member of the Egyptian parliament, and Helmy el-Gazzer, from the shura committee of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

This event is open to the press and will also be streamed live at: https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/.

 

14. U.S. Defense Policy in the Middle East, Thursday, May 9 / 7:00pm, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Venue: 1150 22nd St NW Washington, DC 20037

Speakers: Chuck Hagel

The keynote address of the 2013 Soref Symposium will feature remarks by U.S. defense secretary Chuck Hagel, as he discusses U.S. military and security policy in the Middle East.

This event is open to members of the media and will be streamed live at https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/.