Peace picks July 15 – 21

1. The Legacy of the July 15 Coup Attempt on Civil-Military and US-Turkey Relations | Monday, July 16, 2018 | 10:30 am – 3:30 pm | The SETA Foundation | Register Here

On July 15, 2016, the Turkish people demonstrated their commitment to democracy and civil rights by peacefully resisting and stopping an attempted coup by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces. In the two years since, Turkey has changed its system of government and overhauled its military forces, reforms which have had marked effects on the nature of civil-military relations in Turkey. These changes will have significant impact on the future of the US-Turkey relations as well as the democratic development of the country.

On July 16, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC will host a conference on the anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt with a Keynote Address by Dr. Ravza Kavakci Kan, Deputy Chairperson of the AK Party. Two panel discussions will focus on the future of civil-military relations in Turkey and the changes in Turkey since the 2016 coup attempt will mean for the future of the US-Turkey security partnership, which has long been a strong bond between the two nations.

10:30 – 12:00  Panel I: The Future of Civil-Military Relations in Turkey

     Sener Akturk, Associate Professor, Koç University Department of International Relations

     Edward Erickson, Scholar-in-Residence in the Clark Center for Global Engagement, State University of New York at Cortland

     Mark Perry, Author and Foreign Policy Analyst

Moderated by Kadir Ustun, Executive Director, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC

12:00 – 1:00    Keynote Address by Dr. Ravza Kavakci Kan, Deputy Chairperson of the AK Party

1:00 – 1:30      Lunch

1:30 – 3:00      Panel II: The Future of the US-Turkey Security Partnership

     Mark Kimmitt, Defense Consultant, MTK Defense Consultants

     Richard Outzen, Senior US Army Advisor & Member of Policy Planning Staff, US Department of State

     Kadir Ustun, Executive Director, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC

Moderated by Kilic B. Kanat, Research Director, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC

2. Second Anniversary of the July 15 Coup Attempt | Monday, July 16, 2018 | 11:00 am – 12:30 pm | Turkish Heritage Organization | Held at the United States Institute for Peace, Auditorium – 2301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 | Register Here

Please join THO and Bau International University on  Monday, July 16, for an exclusive interview with Ret. General, Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, Salih Zeki Colak. This event will focus on the second anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt that took place in 2016.

Speakers:

Salih Zeri Colak – Retired General, Commander of the Turkish Land Forces

Dr. M. Hakan Yavuz –  Professor of Political Science, University of Utah

Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr. – Chairman Emeritus, Stimson Center

3. JCPOA 2.0: Iran, Europe, Trump, and the Future of the Iran Deal | Monday, July 16, 2018 | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | National Iranian American Council | Capitol Visitor Center, Room SVC-210/212 | Register Here

Nearly two months have passed since President Trump exited from the Iran nuclear deal and announced the reimposition of nuclear-related sanctions on Iran. While major businesses have withdrawn from the Iranian market in the wake of the decision, the remaining parties to the accord have continued to engage in dialogue about how to keep the accord alive.

Speakers:

John Glaser – Director of Foreign Policy Studes, Cato Institute

Kelsey Davenport – Director for Nonproliferation Policy, Arms Control Association

Reza Marashi – Research Director, National Iranian American Council

Jamal Abdi – Vice President of Policy, National Iranian American Council

4. Are Americans Giving Up on Democracy? | Tuesday, July 17, 2018 | 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm | New America | Register Here

How committed are Americans to the values, norms and processes of democracy itself? As non-democratic and illiberal movements take hold across the globe, and with democratic norms and voting rights under threat in the U.S., this question has gained urgency. Recently, two major studies of public attitudes, from the Democracy Fund’s Voter Study Group and from Pew Research Center, have delved deeply and rigorously into this question.

Please join us for a lunchtime conversation about the state of our democracy, what citizens want to see from their country, and how to move forward. Lee Drutman of New America and Jocelyn Kiley from Pew Research Center will present the key findings of the results, followed by a discussion involving journalists and academics who have watched the shifting ground of American democracy from different angles.

Speakers:

Lee Drutman – Senior Fellow, Political Reform, New America

Jocelyn Kiley – Associate Director, US Politics, Pew Research Center

Perry Bacon, Jr. – Political Writer, FiveThirtyEight

Vanessa Wiliamson – Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings Institution

Henry Olsen – Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center

5. Supporting Democracy in Challenging Times | Tuesday, July 17, 2018 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Center for Strategic and International Studies | Register Here

For more than three decades, the United States has provided bipartisan support to secure freedom, human rights and democratic governance for countries around the world through the work of the National Endowment for Democracy, along with its four core institutes, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the Solidarity Center.

Over the past decade, the work of promoting democracy has been increasingly challenging amidst a phenomenon of democratic recession and resurgent authoritarianism, which is increasingly viewed by scholars as a new era of ideological and political contestation. Systemic corruption, deep inequality and injustice, and the failure of governments to address the needs of ordinary citizens breed political instability, terrorism, and massive flows of refugees – conditions that threaten our own security and well-being.  Authoritarian leaders are capitalizing on these conditions and accelerating their efforts to penetrate and corrupt fragile states through aggressive political, economic, technological and cultural mechanisms with the goal of reaping political influence and acquiring strategic resources. Please join us at CSIS on July 17 as we host the heads of the NED, CIPE, IRI, NDI, and the Solidarity Center to discuss the new challenges in supporting democracy.

Speakers:

Carl Gershman – President, National Endowment for Democracy

Andrew Wilson – Executive Director, Center for International Private Enterprise

Daniel Twining – President, International Republican Institute

Kenneth Wollack – President, National Democratic Institute

Shawna Bader-Blau – Executive Director, Solidarity Center

Daniel F. Runde – William A. Schreyer Chair and Director, Project on Prosperity and Development, CSIS

6. Oil and Iran: How Renewed Sanctions Will Affect Iran and World Markets | Wednesday, July 18, 2018 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Atlantic Council | Register Here

In exiting the Iran nuclear deal, the Trump administration has vowed to drastically reduce Iran’s oil exports below figures reached during negotiations over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Administration officials have been traveling the globe urging importers of Iranian oil to cut purchases to zero by Nov. 4, the deadline for re-imposition of US secondary sanctions. The panel will discuss whether this goal is realistic and the impact the US campaign is having on global production and prices as well as on Iran.

Speakers:

Moderator: Barbara Slavin – Director, Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council

Anna Borshchevskaya – Ira Weiner Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Amos J. Hochstein – Senior Vice President, Marketing, Tellurian Inc.

Robin Mills – CEO, Qamar Energy

Brian O’Toole – Non-resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council

Sara Vakhshouri – Founder and President, SVB Energy International

7. From Washington to Brussels: A Discussion on the NATO 2018 Summit | Thursday, July 19, 2018 | 8:30 am – 9:15 am | Center for Strategic and International Studies | Register Here

Please join us on Thursday, July 19 for a timely conversation with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), Co-Chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group and members of the U.S. delegation to the July 11-12 NATO Summit, for post-summit analysis as well as a discussion of the vital role that bipartisan Congressional leadership plays in tackling transatlantic security challenges.  Our speakers will share details about the specific role the newly constituted Senate NATO Observer Group will play in providing Congressional support for NATO and U.S. strategic interests in Europe.

8. No Friends, No Enemies? Trans-Atlantic Relations after Trump’s Europe Trip | Thursday, July 19, 2018 | 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm | Brookings Institution | Register Here

What is the state of the Atlantic alliance following the July NATO summit and the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki? Where are relations heading between the Trump administration and the European Union, which Trump has claimed “was set up to take advantage” of the United States? What are the implications of the Trump administration’s protectionism for trans-Atlantic relations? Where do Brexit Britain and post-election Turkey fit in an evolving West? Under pressure from within and without, can the European Union forge a stronger independent foreign policy and preserve multilateralism and liberal order in a world where these concepts are under assault?

On July 19, the Center on the United States and Europe, in partnership with the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), will host a panel discussion examining recent developments in Europe and trans-Atlantic relations, including the outcomes of Trump’s July trip to Brussels, London, and Helsinki. Following the discussion, the panelists will take questions from the audience.

Speakers:

Introduction: Bahadir Kaleagasi – CEO, TUSIAD

Moderator: Susan B. Glasser – Staff Writer, The New Yorker

Robert Kagan – Stephen & Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

Kemal Kirişci – Senior Fellow, TUSIAD; Director, The Turkey Project, Brookings Institution

Angela Stent – Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

Thomas Wright – Director, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings Institution