peacefare.net

Peace Picks | September 6 – 10, 2021

Notice: Due to public health concerns, upcoming events are only available via live stream.

1. Iraq’s October ElectionsL A Game Changer or More of the Same? | September 7, 2021 | 10:00 AM EST | The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington | Register Here

Two years after massive protests erupted in Iraq, early parliamentary elections will be held in October. Although the elections were one of the demands of the demonstrators, they are likely to be boycotted by these same activists as well as a large part of the Iraqi electorate. Yet, formal and informal coalitions have registered to run candidates with the hope of influencing the formation of the next government. If a massive boycott occurs, will the election be a gamechanger to address the new demands of Iraqi society, or will the results preserve the status quo and further de-legitimize the Iraqi state?

Speakers:

Munqith Dagher

CEO and Founder, Independent Institute of Administration and Civil Society Studies

Rahman Al-Jebouri

Senior Fellow, Institute of Regional and International Studies, American University of Iraq Sulaimani

Patricia Karam

Regional Director, Middle East North Africa Division, International Republican Institute

2. Taliban 2.0: What we Should Expect for Afghanistan’s New Rulers | September 8, 2021 | 9:30 AM EST | The Middle East Institute | Register Here

A quarter-century ago, the Taliban established a theocratic authoritarian Islamist regime that engaged in systematic internal repression, denial of human rights to Afghans and remained an international pariah. Initial indications are mixed at best whether their new government will be different this time around. While the Taliban have refrained from large-scale reprisal killings, their return has prompted a mass exodus and mounting worries over how they will treat free media, women, minorities, and dissent. 

Will the Taliban now act on their statements of forming an inclusive government, respecting Afghanistan’s diversity, and ensuring services and jobs for all Afghans including women, or return to establishing a Sunni clerical dictatorship? Will they honor their counterterrorism commitments and work with the West to ensure aid flows or once again adopt isolation? How can Washington and its allies still influence the Taliban’s behavior? 

Speakers:

Hameed Hakimi

Research Associate, Chatham House

Sahar Halaimzai

Co-founder and Leader Tiem4RealPeace; Nonresident senior fellow, Atlantic Council

Abubakar Siddique

Editor, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Gandhara website

Iulia Joja (moderator)

Project Director, Afghanistan Watch; Senior fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative, MEI

3. The Global Impact of 9/11: Twenty Years On | September 9, 2021 | 10:00 AM EST | The Wilson Center | Register Here

The September 11, 2001, attack on the United States redefined international security threats and altered the nature of warfare globally. To commemorate the 20^th anniversary, the Wilson Center examines the lasting impact of 9/11 and the global war on terror internationally, with a specific regional focus on the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe. Experts will discuss the enduring legacy of 9/11 in terms of conflict and regional instability, jihadism, politics, and U.S. global leadership.

Speakers:

Bruce Hoffman

Global Fellow; Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service; Visiting Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Senior Fellow, U.S. Military Academy’s Combating Terrorism Center

Michael Kugelman

Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia

Fernando Reinares

Global Fellow; Senior Analyst and Director, Program on Violent Radicalization and Global Terrorism at the Elcano Royal Institute; Professor of Political Science and Security Studies, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid

Nadia Oweidat

Assistant Professor of History and Security Studies, Kansas State University

Robin Wright

USIP-Wilson Center Distinguished Fellow; Author and Columnist for The New Yorker

4. Palestinian Protests and the Future of the Palestinian Struggle | September 9, 2021 | 11:00 AM EST | The Middle East Institute | Register Here

Since the Palestinian Authority’s killing of political activist Nizar Banat in June, Palestinians have been holding protests in Ramallah and other parts of the West Bank. The PA has responded with tear gas, stun grenades, and harassment of human rights defenders and journalists, in what has been described as a “concerted crackdown on freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest.” In recent weeks, dozens of protesters – including prominent human rights activists – were detained by PA security forces.

While the detainees have since been released, the crackdown highlights the Palestinian leadership’s diminishing tolerance for dissent as well as a deeper crisis of legitimacy. What’s behind these latest protests as well as the PA’s crackdown against them? What is the relationship between the protests in Ramallah and recent Palestinian popular political mobilizations in Gaza, Jerusalem, and inside the Green Line? And what do these Palestinian initiatives mean for the overarching struggle against ongoing Israeli occupation and dispossession?

Speakers:

Hanan Ashrawi

Spokesperson of the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East Peace Process; member of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)

Fadi Quran

Campaigns Director, Avaaz

Khaled Elgindy (moderator)

Senior Fellow, Middle East Institute; Director, MEI Program on Palestine and Israeli-Palestinian Affairs

Lara Friedman (moderator)

President, Foundation for Middle East Peace

5. Two Decades Later: Reflecting on Terrorism & Counterterrorism Since 9/11 | September 10, 2021 | 10:30 AM EST | The Middle East Institute | Register Here

In the 20 years since al-Qaeda dramatically struck the United States on September 11, 2001, counterterrorism campaigns have sought to neutralize and contain terrorist threats in every corner of the globe. Over time, counterterrorism strategy and tactics have evolved, adapting to differing threats. Despite enormous investment in counterterrorism, however, the scope, sophistication, and scale of terrorism threats have arguably increased, not declined. The world now faces not one but two global jihadist movements and a proliferating array of other groups, ideologies, and challenges.

What lessons can we learn from two decades of U.S. and allied counterterrorism efforts? What is the next wave of terrorism threats likely to look like? How should the U.S. respond most effectively to new and evolving threats? And how might the global terrorism landscape be affected by the drive to ‘end forever wars?’ 

Speakers:

Tricia Bacon
Associate Professor, American University; former counterterrorism analyst, U.S. Department of State

Edmund Fitton-Brown
Coordinator, ISIL/Al-Qaida/Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Team, United Nations; former Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Yemen

Michael Nagata
Distinguished senior fellow, MEI; Senior Vice President and Strategic Advisor, CACI International Inc.; former Director of Strategy, U.S. National Counterterrorism Center & former Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command

Charles Lister, moderator
Senior fellow and director, Countering Terrorism & Extremism and Syria Programs, MEI

6. Converging Lines: Tracing the Artistic Lineage of the Arab Diaspora in the U.S. | September 10, 2021 | 11:30 AM EST | The Middle East Institute | Register Here

The Middle East Institute Arts and Culture Center is proud to mark its 75th anniversary with the exhibition Converging Lines: Tracing the Artistic Lineage of the Arab Diaspora in the U.S. The exhibit features seventeen leading Arab American and Arab diaspora artists, including pioneering artists Etel Adnan, Hugette Caland, and Kahlil Gibran.

Converging Lines explores some of the aesthetic threads that connect the community of Arab diaspora artists whose contributions to American art have gone largely unrecognized. The artworks are linked by shared themes like exile, memory formation, changing identities, and the state of in-betweenness that often accompanies migration.

Speakers:

Maymanah Farhat

Art history researcher focused on underrepresented artists and forgotten art scenes