Tag: Corona virus
Peace Picks | August 3 – 9, 2020
Notice: Due to recent public health concerns, upcoming events are only available via live stream.
- Coronavirus and the Conflict in Syria | August 4, 2020 | 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM | US Institute of Peace | Register Here
Countries in conflict have been especially hard hit by COVID-19, with the pandemic compounding numerous pre-existing challenges. In Syria, limited humanitarian access, a devastated health care system, and unreliable data have hampered the response—particularly in areas outside of regime control, where autonomous authorities struggle with minimal testing capabilities and access to aid. As the virus begins to make significant inroads into the conflict-affected country, there are also worries about how the virus will impact the millions of Syrians currently displaced.
Speakers:
The Honorable Nancy Lindborg: introductory remarks
President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace
David Lillie: Executive Director, Syrian American Medical Society
Dr. Mohammad Al-Haj Hamdo: Health Coordinator in Northeast Syria, Syria Relief
Dr. Hamza Alsaied Hasan: Quality and Development Manager for Northwest Syria, Syrian American Medical Society
Dr. Amjad Rass: Chairman of the Northern Syria Medical Relief Committee, Syrian American Medical Society
Dr. Bachir Tajaldin: Senior Program Manager for Turkey, Syrian American Medical Society
Mona Yacoubian (moderator): Senior Advisor to the Vice President, Middle East and Africa, U.S. Institute of Peace
- Gender and Displacement in the Middle East during COVID-19 | August 4, 2020 | 10:00 AM | Middle East Institute | Register Here
As the global refugee crisis continues amid the spread of Covid-19 and economic collapse, displaced women face growing dangers in the Middle East. Women refugees and IDPs are at greater risk of domestic and gender-based violence, and many struggle with new roles as both primary income earners and sole caregivers of their children in unfamiliar environments. Additionally, sexist legal systems have become a push factor for women refugees, and insufficient legal protections exist for women refugees in many host countries.
How does the lens of gender help to understand the female migrant experience? How do changing social and economic roles impact the livelihoods and safety of displaced women? What policies and practices can be implemented to provide greater protection from violence and insecurity for women refugees?
Speakers:
Shaza Al Rihawi: Researcher, Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories; co-founder, Network for Refugee Voices
Miriam Azar: In-Country Representative for Lebanon and Turkey, The Malala Fund
Devon Cone: Senior advocate for women and girls, Refugees International
Dalal Yassine: Executive director, Middle East Voices
Hafsa Halawa (moderator): Nonresident scholar, MEI
- Jordan in 2020: Protests and Pandemic | August 5, 2020 | 10:00 AM | Middle East Institute | Register Here
The start of the new decade in Jordan has been marred by unrest. In January, thousands of Jordanians took to the streets to protest both President Trump’s Middle East peace plan and the gas deal signed between Israel and Jordan. This wave of dissent came on the heels of the 2019 protests against increased austerity measures, a follow up to the 2018 movement that saw the resignation of Hani Mulki’s government. Though Jordan quickly adopted stringent measures to combat the virus, the economy will suffer a huge blow, exacerbating Jordan’s existing development challenges and popular discontent. Furthermore, the pandemic prompted troubling restrictions on freedom of speech, with an April decree stating that sharing anything that may “cause panic” about the pandemic is punishable with up to three years in prison.
How have protest movements in Jordan been impacted by Covid-19, and what do recent protests over honor killings and gender based violence portend for progress in this area? How do these long standing grievances meet the current moment of the impending Israeli annexation? What will be the long term impact of the pandemic on Jordan’s economy and human rights, especially for the country’s millions of refugees?
Speakers:
Laith Al Ajlouni: Political economist
Rana Husseini: Journalist, author, and human rights activist
Sara Kayyali: Syria researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division, Human Rights Watch
Oraib Al-Rantawi (moderator): Founder and director general, Al Quds Center for Political Studies
- Why Did the United States Invade Iraq? A Conversation with Robert Draper | August 5, 2020 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | Watch Here
The 2003 invasion of Iraq is one of the most debated, misunderstood, and consequential foreign policy episodes in modern U.S. history. In To Start a War, New York Times bestselling author Robert Draper offers the definitive account of the march to war in Iraq.
Join us for a conversation between Robert Draper and Ambassador William J. Burns, former U.S. deputy secretary of state, about the war, its consequences, and its lessons.
Speakers:
Robert Draper: contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine and National Geographic and a correspondent to GQ
William J. Burns: President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He previously served as U.S. deputy secretary of state.
- Pakistan’s National Security Outlook | August 5, 2020 | 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM | United States Institute of Peace| Register Here
Join USIP for a conversation with Dr. Moeed Yusuf, Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on national security and strategic policy planning and a member of Pakistan’s coronavirus response team. The discussion will look at what these developments mean for Pakistan’s national security outlook towards its neighbors and its relationship with the U.S., as well as how the pandemic impacts Pakistan’s security and economic policy.
Speakers:
The Honorable Nancy Lindborg, opening remarks: President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace
Dr. Moeed Yusuf: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security and Strategic Policy Planning, Pakistan
Former Associate Vice President, Asia Center, U.S. Institute of Peace
Amb. Richard Olson (moderator): Senior Advisor, U.S. Institute of Peace and former Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan
- After Qassem Suleimani: The Islamic Republic’s Strategy for the Arab World | August 6, 2020 | 10:00 AM | Middle East Institute | Register Here
The January assassination of Qassem Soleimani shocked the leadership in Tehran. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had not expected the United States to escalate tensions between the two countries in such a manner. The assassination of Soleimani was an effort to change Tehran’s strategic calculations and policies for the Middle East. With continued sanctions imposed by the United States, regional tension, and the loss of a key decision maker, Iran is facing intensified challenges to achieve its goals at home and in the region. The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to welcome a group of experts to assess Iranian policy towards the Arab world following the death of Soleimani and to discuss how Arab states are reacting to Iran’s actions.
How has Iran’s strategy in the Arab world performed following Soleimani’s death? In what ways have proxy forces in the Middle East that operate under Tehran’s command been affected? Who is left to make key decisions about the Islamic Republic’s involvement in the Arab states, and are we faced with a weaker IRGC Quds force after Soleimani? Finally, what do Arabs think of Iranian policies aimed at them?
Speakers:
Tarek Osman: Author and broadcaster
Ariane Tabatabai: Middle East fellow, Alliance for Securing Democracy, German Marshall Fund of the United States
Morad Vaisibiame: Journalist and editor, Radio Farda, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Alex Vatanka (Moderator): Director, Iran program and senior fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative, MEI
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
Biden will have his hands full
Time for a summer update on President Trump’s diplomatic initiatives, more or less in his priority order:
- Trade with China: importing less than half of what is called for in the “first phase” agreement.
- Re-initiating nuclear talks with Iran: Trump said more than a year ago he would talk with no pre-conditions. Tehran won’t, despite “maximum pressure.” Iran wants sanctions eased first.
- Getting rid of North Korea’s nuclear weapons: Kim Jong-un has in effect said “no.”
- Ending the war in Afghanistan: The withdrawal is proceeding, but progress in intra-Afghan talks is minimal.
- Removal of Venezuelan President Maduro: He has weathered the challenge and remains firmly in power.
- South China Sea: The US has rejected China’s sovereignty claim but is doing nothing about its military outposts.
- Helping Ukraine force the Russians out of Donbas: The Administration has provided lethal weapons to no avail.
- Reducing Saudi oil production to jack up world prices: Saudi production is down, but world prices are still in a trough.
- Initiating a democratic transition in Syria: Congress has beefed up sanctions, but Trump can’t even begin to get Assad out.
- “Deal of the century”: Not going anywhere but into the shredder. Even Israeli annexation of part of the West Bank is blocked.
This skips a lot. For example:
- the President telling Chinese President Xi that it was fine to put (Muslim) Uighurs into concentration camps,
- withdrawing from the Paris Climate accord, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and several favorable arms control agreements with Russia,
- moving US troops out of Germany to the delight of Moscow,
- failing to counter Russian bounties for Taliban who kill US soldiers in Afghanistan,
- saying the right things about Hong Kong and withdrawing its trade preferences, but with not discernible impact,
- not responding to foreign initiatives to undermine the US elections, and
- withdrawing from the World Health Organization in the midst of a pandemic.
American foreign policy has rarely been so ineffectual, never mind whether the priorities are right. The Administration doesn’t think past its own next move. The President is incapable of it and won’t let others do it for him. He behaves as if the adversary has no options. Much of what the Administration does is for show, without considering however how most of the rest of the world sees the situation. The only customers for this foreign policy are the domestic audience of China hawks, Russia doves, oil and coal producers, and evangelical Christians, along with President Putin, Prime Minister Netanyahu and a few other would-be autocrats around the world.
Getting out of the foreign policy hole Trump has dug will be a big challenge. President Biden, if there ever is one, will have his hands full even if he pays attention only to the first three of the items above. Let’s hope he can somehow save us from the consequences of four dreadful years.
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
The virus is not the only epidemic
A friend in Serbia has called this statement by the European Movement International to my attention. Parts of it apply as well to the United States, as well as elsewhere:
Ever since the start of the COVID pandemic, regimes in Europe and around the world have used the current crisis to compromise democratic principles. Recent events in Serbia are consistent with that trend and constitute a negative development for democracy and civic space in a country that has been on the path to EU accession for a while but where democracy has been in rapid decline for years.
The Serbian government’s management of the health crisis has raised many questions. Its decision to hold large public events and go ahead with the national elections, in the peak of a health crisis, confounded many and made the imposition of draconian lockdown measures right after the elections seem politically motivated. In a country ablaze with suspicion that the data on infections and deaths caused by COVID-19 has been manipulated by those in power, trust was already low.
In such an atmosphere, it is citizens’ fundamental right to hold their government to account. The wave of protests instigated by young people and joined by citizens from all walks of life, is a manifestation of the Serbs’ wish to voice their legitimate concerns about the government’s handling of its response to the pandemic. Their right to protest should neither be denied, nor met with violence. Trying to silence protesters and journalists through the exercise of force is a violation of fundamental rights. Similarly, the freedom to protest should not be highjacked by a small minority of protesters’ intent to soil that right with the use of violence.
After years of steady descent away from European democratic norms, the current political unrest that has engulfed Serbia is not a symptom of the health crisis. It is the result of deeper, much further-reaching structural and democratic shortcomings in the country.
It is imperative that measures adopted by the Serbian government during the health emergency remain proportional to the threat of the crises and that they respect democratic values. Citizens require openness about the decisions that affect them and wish to be involved in the response to a health crisis that has cost far too many lives. Civil society and the media should be given a strong, independent role in keeping in check the country’s path towards recovery.
Beyond the pandemic, democratic and structural reforms, that will safeguard inclusive and transparent decision-making, strengthened by an independent media and permitting dialogue with civil society, are vital to regain citizens’ trust and keep a trajectory towards a European future.
The transformative power of European integration has at its core the need for demonstrating respect for the rule of law and fundamental democratic principles in Serbia, according to the EU’s founding values. The EU must ensure that the Serbian government lives up to its responsibilities in the context of the accession negotiations.
The European Union is a community of values based on fundamental and human rights. The EU and its institutions as well as member states and non-state actors must make a stronger and more targeted effort to uphold and promote European values and fundamental rights in member states and candidate countries.
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
Peace Picks | July 20-26, 2020
Notice: Due to recent public health concerns, upcoming events are only available via live stream.
- Russian Influence Activities in Europe | July 20, 2020 | 12:00 PM- 12:45 PM | CSIS | Register Here
Please join CSIS for a conversation on Russia’s influence activities in the UK, Europe, and Europe’s southern neighborhood featuring Dame Karen Pierce DCMG, British Ambassador to the United States, and Luke Harding, foreign correspondent and investigative journalist for The Guardian, on the occasion of a newly released CSIS report on Russian and Chinese influence activities in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Introduced by Heather A. Conley, Senior Vice President for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic, and moderated by Rachel Ellehuus, CSIS Europe Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, this conversation will examine the objectives and tactics behind Russia’s influence activities in the UK, Europe, and beyond; discuss the activities which were and were not considered successful; and discuss steps that the United Kingdom has taken to be more resilient and less susceptible to Russian efforts at home and abroad.
Speakers:
Dame Karen Pierce DCMG: British Ambassador to the United States
Luke Harding: Foreign Correspondent, The Guardian
Rachel Ellehuus: Deputy Director, Europe Program
Heather A. Conley: Senior Vice President for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic; and Director, Europe Program
- Sino-Indian Escalation: Blip or Lasting Strategic Shift? | July 21, 2020 | 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM | United States Institute of Peace |Register Here
Last month, Chinese and Indian troops came to blows in their deadliest border incident since 1967, culminating on June 15 with the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops. The Indian and Chinese governments have remained largely silent on exactly what happened along the disputed boundary. The two countries appear to have stabilized the situation by starting a disengagement process, but unlike prior dustups, this unexpected and deadly turn could portend a lasting and significant strategic shift.
Join USIP for an expert panel on the Sino-Indian border clash and its implications for regional and global security. The discussion will examine whether this conflict signals an emboldened shift in China’s posture toward disputed borders elsewhere, how this rivalry affects existing India-Pakistan tensions and other border disputes, and what the implications are for the United States and its allies as they push back on perceived Chinese aggression.
Speakers:
Tanvi Madan: Senior Fellow, Project on International Order and Strategy and Director of the India Project, Brookings Institution
M. Taylor Fravel: Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Vikram J. Singh: Senior Advisor, Asia Center, U.S. Institute of Peace
Jacob Stokes (Moderator): Senior Policy Analyst, China Program, Asia Center, U.S. Institute of Peace
- One State, Two States, or None At All: Where Do Israelis and Palestinians Go From Here? | July 21, 2020 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | Register Here
As Israelis and Palestinians confront the future, prospects for serious negotiations, or even a conflict-ending solution, look particularly grim. The prospects of a negotiated two-state solution are dwindling or already dead; the possibility of a bi-national state shimmers out in the distance like a desert mirage; and both the Trump peace plan and possible Israeli annexation offer either continued impasse or escalation.
Where do Israelis and Palestinians go from here? Join us as three veteran observers and practitioners of Israeli-Palestinian affairs assess the prospects for peace and the road ahead.
Speakers:
Shlomo Ben Ami: former foreign minister of Israel.
Nadeel Shaath: foreign minister of Palestine from 2003 to 2005, the former minister of Planning and International Cooperation, and a former member of Fateh Central Committee.
Tamara Cofman Wittes: senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, where she focuses on U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Aaron David Miller: senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy.
- The Next Era of US-Pacific Islands Engagement | July 22, 2020 | 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | United States Institute of Peace | Register Here
In this Pacific Century, the United States is a Pacific nation that for three generations has anchored peace in this region of the world. The Pacific Islands include 24 jurisdictions ranging from independent states, to states linked to the United States and others through free association compacts, to territories and dependencies stretching throughout Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia—from Rapa Nui to Palau, from Hawai’i to New Caledonia. As the world turns its attention to the Pacific Islands, these countries are coalescing around a shared regional identity and bringing their economic, political, and security concerns to the global stage.
How do the United States and our allies and partners continue longstanding mutual interests and values with the Pacific Islands in the face of accelerating development needs and challenges to regional peace and security, sovereignty, trade and freedom of navigation, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law?
Join USIP as we host two co-founders of the bipartisan Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus for a discussion that outlines these challenges and opportunities, as well as their proposals to coordinate the next era of the United States’ engagement in the Pacific.
Speakers:
Rep. Ed Case: U.S. Representative from Hawaii
Rep. Ted Yoho: U.S. Representative from Florida
The Honorable Nancy Lindborg: (Moderator): President, U.S. Institute of Peace
- US Policy Towards Syria after the Caesar Act | July 22, 2020 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Arab Center DC | Register Here
This webinar focuses on the substance and ramifications of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which was passed by both chambers of the US Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2019. It went into effect on June 17, 2020. The discussion will provide details on the sanctions mandated by the act, an update on the implementation and targets of these sanctions, and the ensuing political and regional dynamics, including Russia’s reaction. The speakers will also address the next steps for the United States following the July 9, 2020 condemnation of Syria’s air force by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Speakers:
Joel D. Rayburn: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs and Special Envoy for Syria, US Department of State
Radwan Ziadeh: Senior Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC
Reema Abuhamdieh (Moderator): Presenter and Reporter, Al Araby Television Network
- Toward a Green Recovery in the Gulf States | July 23, 2020 | 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM | Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington| Register Here
As the Gulf Arab countries look to recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, climate-related challenges loom large over their economic revival plans. While urgent in their own right, climate-related challenges are a slower moving threat compared to the immediacy of a global pandemic; nevertheless, the economic consequences of, and solutions to, both problems present many parallels. As with climate change, the coronavirus crisis further emphasizes the importance of regional economic diversification programs aimed at reducing oil dependence and highlights lower carbon, technology, and human capital-intensive businesses as the sectors that are most sustainable and resilient to economic shocks.
Is this a window of opportunity for Gulf leaders to drive diversification policies further and faster? Will shifts in consumer and industrial behaviors reorient economic policy toward sustainable development goals? Couldaccelerating investment in renewable energy underpin economic recovery, or will rising public debt, combined with significant capital outflows and reduced exports, make financing green investments a challenge?
Speakers:
Samantha Gross: Fellow, Foreign Policy, Energy Security and Climate Initiative, Brookings Institution
Aisha Al-Sarihi: Non-Resident Fellow, AGSIW
Rabia Ferroukhi: Director, Knowledge, Policy and Finance Centre, International Renewable Energy Agency
Mari Luomi: Independent Expert, Sustainable Energy and Climate Policy
Grzegorz Peszko: Economist, World Bank
- Online Event: A Conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci | July 24, 2020 | 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM | CSIS | Watch Event Here
Please join the CSIS Global Health Policy Center on Friday, July 24 from 1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDT for a conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force on Covid-19 in the United States. The United States is in the midst of a worsening crisis, with Covid-19 cases and deaths increasing in the Sun Belt, the West, and many other parts of the United States. This begs the question: what is the strategy for ensuring that the outbreak does not spiral out of control in the United States? How can the United States strengthen the basic public health capacities – test, trace, and isolate – needed to slow the spread? What federal, state, and local actions may be necessary to protect the American people and safely reopen businesses, schools, and sporting events?
In this CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security event, J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President and Director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, will discuss these difficult questions with Dr. Anthony Fauci. They will also discuss the development of a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, including the status and promise of Operation Warp Speed.`
Speakers:
Anthony Fauci: Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force
J. Stephen Morrison: Senior Vice President and Director, Global Health Policy Center
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
Stevenson’s army, July 20
– Politico has a long piece trying to show that SecDef Esper is stronger and more independent of Trump than earlier reports suggested. But it has mixed anonymous assessments from inside the Pentagon. It says NSA O’Brien is angling for the job. It says CJCS Milley is domineering over Esper.
– NYT has more on the whistleblower complaint against SecState Pompeo
– NYT excerpts a chapter from a new book about the Iraq war where Colin Powell tries to justify his UNSC testimony.
– NYT says lobbying is changing because of the coronavirus: they’re working mainly in home states rather than DC. But they are working to get special interest provisions in the next pandemic relief bill.
– Former cyber official makes the case against a WH Cyber Czar.
Stay cool. Look at the Celsius temps not Fahrenheit.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
Stevenson’s army, July 19
In a lengthy and curious article describing the changing administration response to the coronavirus, NYT point blame on two new figures, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Dr. Deborah Birx. On line, NYT has added a short summary article, 5 takeaways. The reports blame Meadows for daily small group meetings to plot strategy to turn the pandemic problems over to the states and thus away from the WH. Key date was April 10. The articles also depict Dr. Birx as the eternal optimist, repeatedly promising that the models forecast declining infections. She reportedly was given a West Wing office and was closer to the discussions and planning than any other medical person. The article has other nuggets, such as the claim that Jared Kushner told California Gov. Newsom he had to praise Trump if he wanted the medical equipment he was seeking.
– DHS was warned that agents sent to Portland lacked training in crowd control.
– WaPo says Russia is gaining in Syria.
– McClatchy says there is a serious whistleblower complaint against SecState Pompeo.
-WaPo has a review of the new book about Newt Gingrich.
– Two respected former members of Congress suggest ending gerrymandering by having the House reject credentials of members from gerrymandered states. Don’t go there!
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
RSS - Posts
