Peace Picks March 31 – April 4

1. Ground Truth Briefing: The U.S.-Saudi Relationship: Too Big To Fail?

Monday, March 31 | 9 – 10am

Woodrow Wilson Center; 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

REGISTER TO ATTEND

In the wake of President Obama’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia, please join us as three veteran observers and analysts of the Saudi and Washington scenes assess the state of relations between the two countries and prospects for the future.

What ails the U.S.-Saudi relationship? Can it be fixed? Or are we witnessing the weakening of one of America’s special relationships in the region?

SPEAKERS
David Ottaway, Senior Scholar
Middle East Specialist and Former Washington Post Correspondent

Abdulaziz Sager
Chairman, Gulf Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Jim Smith
Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (2009-2013) and USAF Brigadier General, retired

Jane Harman; Director, President and CEO

Aaron David Miller, Vice President for New Initiatives and Distinguished Scholar
Historian, analyst, negotiator, and former advisor to Republican and Democratic Secretaries of State on Arab-Israeli negotiations, 1978-2003

2. A Pivotal Year in Afghanistan: 2014 Presidential Election and the Planned Drawdown of U.S. and NATO Forces

Monday, March 31 | 10 – 11:30am

Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium; 1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW

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Afghans will go to the polls on April 5 to vote for the next president of their country, the first person who will lead Afghanistan since President Hamid Karzai took office following the overthrow of the Taliban. The election will also mark the first democratic transition of power in Afghanistan’s history. But with many candidates in the running, a clear winner may not emerge — perhaps leading to a runoff election later in the year. At the same time, U.S. and NATO forces continue drawdowns ahead of a deadline at the end of 2014, while attempts are made to secure a lasting presence of a smaller footprint to help ensure Afghan forces can keep the country secure.

On March 31, the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at Brookings will host a discussion on the upcoming elections in Afghanistan as well as the planned drawdown of foreign troops by the end of 2014.

SPEAKERS
John R. Allen
Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy

Ronald E. Neumann
Former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan President, American Academy of Diplomacy

Najib Sharifi
Senior Analyst, Afghanistan Analysis and Awareness

Moderated by
Michael E. O’Hanlon
Director of Research, Foreign Policy
Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence

3. Qatar: ‘Understood’ and ‘Misunderstood

Tuesday, April 1| 8am EST – 1pm EST

Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-339; 45 Independence Ave SW

RSVP (acceptances only) via email to rsvp@ncusar.org is required
Please note: seating capacity is limited. Include the following information when you RSVP: name, company, title, phone, email.

On April 1, 2014, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations is hosting a public affairs briefing on “Qatar – ‘Understood’ And ‘Misunderstood’: A Conversation with His Excellency Mohamed Bin Jaham Al Kuwari, Ambassador of Qatar to the United States.” Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, will serve as moderator.

Few Arab countries are as misunderstood as the State of Qatar. Selected by FIFA to host the 2022 World Cup; allegedly the world’s richest country per capita; site of ten branch university campuses of some of the world’s most prominent institutions of higher education; renowned as the leading supplier of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to the rest of the world and accounting for a quarter of the world’s LNG exports; forward deployed headquarters of the US Central Command, from which the air components of the American-led military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq were coordinated; and of Arabia and the Gulf’s nine countries, arguably the one to have experienced the least disruptive restructuring of its pre-oil economic and political moorings – Qatar is all these things and more. It is hard to know how or where to begin in any effort to describe and explain the dynamics of change and constancy within Qatar’s government, the country’s economics, political dynamics, and key foreign policies as well as its relations with its neighbors and beyond.

4. After Annexation: Assessing Crimea’s Future With Mustafa Dzhemilev

Wednesday, April 2 | 9:30 – 10:45am

Carnegie Endowment, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW

REGISTER TO ATTEND

Mustafa Dzhemilev, the renowned leader of the Crimean Tatar National Movement and member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, will discuss the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis. He will reflect on how the situation is likely to impact to the future of the Tatar community and other minorities in Crimea. Carnegie’s Andrew S. Weiss will moderate the discussion.

Dzhemilev is a legendary figure in the Soviet-era dissident and human rights community, thanks to his long record of activism on behalf of the dispossessed Crimean Tatar community. The Crimean Tatars were deported en masse from Crimea by Stalin in 1944. Beginning in the early 1960s, Dzhemilev was arrested and imprisoned multiple times for anti-Soviet political activities. Recently, Dzhemilev has been at the forefront of organizing the political response of the Crimean Tatar community to the Russian intervention in Crimea.

5. India’s Improbable Democracy: Resilience and Inadequacies

Wednesday, April 2 | 10:30am – 12pm

Carnegie Endowment, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW

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Since 1947, India has forged and consolidated the world’s largest democracy—an endeavor that is far from complete. India continues to wrestle with such diverse challenges as ethnic conflict, governance deficits, and stunning economic disparities among regions and peoples. On the eve of India’s much anticipated 2014 general election, Ashutosh Varshney, author of Battles Half Won: India’s Improbable Democracy, will examine the successes and failures of Indian democracy while placing it in comparative perspective. Carnegie’s Ashley J. Tellis will moderate.

6. Countering Violent Extremism in Pakistan: Why Women Must Have a Role

Wednesday, April 2 | 4pm

Atlantic Council; 1030 15th Street, NW, 12th Floor (West Tower)

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Pakistan is at a crucial juncture as it tries to contain and combat militant violence that has devastated communities, families, and lives across all provinces. Pakistani women are frequent targets of radical ideologies and terrorism, giving them unique perspectives on how to counter violent extremism in their communities and homes. But despite the potential to be powerful participants in creating and implementing policies aimed at reducing the appeal of radicalization and extremism, women in Pakistan are instead often marginalized in security decision-making processes.

Please join us for a panel event featuring women from Pakistan’s parliament, civil society, and security sectors who are actively working to moderate extremism in their communities and region. The women will discuss the security challenges in Pakistan from their distinct perspectives, highlight their roles in countering violent extremism, and discuss policy recommendations that more effectively address women’s roles in the peace and security of Pakistan and the region.

Watch the event live here

7. On Power and Norms: Libya, Syria and the Responsibility to Protect

Wednesday, April 2 | 12:00 – 2pm

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On Wednesday, April 2, 2014, the Transatlantic Academy will host a lunch discussion with non-resident fellow Nathalie Tocci on the responsibility to protect. In 2011 the United Nations Security Council legitimized a no-fly zone over Libya under the normative rubric of the “responsibility to protect”. As the Libya intervention gained steam, another uprising broke out in Syria. In contrast to Libya, discord between Western actors and emerging powers underpinned the standstill at the Council. What explains such radically different outcomes? The international responses to the crises in Libya and Syria may look like evidence of a tipping point in the international system which is undergoing a profound power shift. And yet the two crises unfolded almost in parallel. At a normative level, Libya and Syria may be read as the moment of inflection in the liberal order pioneered and diffused by the “West”, with the recalcitrance of the “Rest” now becoming normatively consequential. What do the stories of Libya and Syria tell us about normative evolution at the global level when it comes to key notions like civilian protection, intervention and state sovereignty? Charlie Kupchan, TA Senior Fellow, will provide commentary, and Patrick Quirk, TA Fellow, will moderate.

8. The Second Arab Awakening & the Battle for Pluralism
This event is sponsored by the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University

Wednesday, April 2 | 6pm – 7:30pm

Lindner Family Commons Room 602; 1957 E St, NW, 6th Floor

REGISTER TO ATTEND 

Marwan Muasher will discuss his new book, The Second Arab Awakening: And the Battle for Pluralism, which focuses on political change in the Arab world, beginning with the first “Awakening” in the nineteenth century and extending into future decades when—if the dream is realized—a new Arab world defined by pluralism and tolerance will emerge. Muasher places the Arab Spring in a historical context, arguing that the US, Europe, Israel, and Arab governments alike were all deeply misguided in their thinking about Arab politics and society when the turmoil of the Arab Spring first erupted.

Mr. Muasher is the former Foreign Minister of Jordan, and is currently vice president for studies at Carnegie, where he oversees research in Washington and Beirut on the Middle East. Beginning as a journalist for the Jordan Times and later serving as the first Jordanian ambassador to the state of Israel, Mr. Muasher’s career has spanned the areas of diplomacy, development, civil society, and communications.

9. Turkey’s Local Elections: Results and Implications

Thursday, April 3 | 10am – 11:30am

Bipartisan Policy Center; 1225 Eye St. NW

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The Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) Turkey Initiative will host a panel to discuss the results of Turkey’s local elections on March 30 and their significance for Turkey’s domestic political struggles, foreign policy and relations with the United States.

Next week, amid political turbulence, Turkey will vote in municipal elections. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodğan is engaged in a political struggle with his erstwhile allies in the Gülen movement. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Turks have once again taken to the streets to protest his increasing authoritarianism. This election will provide clues about what to expect in Turkey in the near future and set the stage for presidential elections in August and parliamentary elections in 2015. The discussion will build on analysis from the BPC paper, Turkey’s Local Elections: Actors, Factors, and Implications. 

SPEAKERS
Ambassador Morton Abramowitz
Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, BPC Turkey Initiative Co-Chair

Ambassador Eric Edelman
Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, BPC Turkey Initiative Co-Chair

Svante Cornell
Research Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program

Alan Makovsky
Former Professional Staff Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee

Moderated by:
Blaise Misztal
Acting Director, BPC Foreign Policy Project 

10. Escaping the Crisis Trap: New Options for Haiti

Friday, April 4 | 12pm – 2pm

5^th floor, Woodrow Wilson Center; 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

REGISTER TO ATTEND

In collaboration with the Institute for State Effectiveness (ISE) and the Legatum Institute, the Wilson Center invites you to join a discussion on Haiti’s potential for growth, development and stable governance.

Looking back at lessons from past efforts to support Haiti’s development and recovery, and forward to Haiti’s great assets and real potential, a new study argues that there’s an opportunity for Haitians and their partners to set a different agenda for the future. What lessons must we learn for future aid responses? What would it take for citizens to build a consensus on an agenda for creating an accountable Haitian state and an inclusive economy? Please join us for a discussion of ‘Escaping the Crisis Trap: New Options for Haiti’, authored by Clare Lockhart, co-founder and director of The Institute for State Effectiveness (ISE) and Johanna Mendelson Forman, non-resident Senior Associate for the Program on Crisis, Conflict, and Cooperation (C3) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

SPEAKERS
Anne Applebaum
Director, Transitions Forum, Legatum Institute

Clare Lockhart
Co-founder and Director of ISE

Johanna Mendelson Forman
Non-resident Senior Associate
Program on Crisis, Conflict, and Cooperation (C3), CSIS

Hans Tippenhauer
Port-au-Prince-based President of Fondation Espoir

Jocelyn McCalla
CEO, JMC Strategies

Moderated by:
Eric L. Olson
Associate Director, Latin American Program

Lunch will be provided at this event.
Watch the event live here