POMED Notes: “Turkey and the Arab Spring”
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a panel on Thursday, June 13, 2013 from 3-5pm on Turkey’s role in and response to the Arab Spring protests, political transitions, and revolutions. The panel was hosted by Christian Ostermann, director of the History and Public Policy Program (HAPP) and the director of the European Studies (ES) program at the Wilson Center, and featured Bülent Aras, Chairman of the Turkish Foreign ...
June 17, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Economics, Egypt, EU, Event Notes, Gulf, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kurdish Region, Libya, Political transition, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey
POMED Notes: Fourth Annual Conference on Turkey: “The Turkey-Iran-Iraq Nexus”
On Friday, June 14, the Middle East Institute held its Fourth Annual Conference on Turkey. The final panel was entitled “The Turkey-Iran-Iraq Nexus” and featured Henri Barkey, professor of international relations and department chair at Lehigh University, Denise Natali, Minerva Chair at National Defense University, and Alireza Nader, senior international policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. The panel was moderated by Phebe Marr, a historian and analyst of modern Iraq. ...
POMED Notes: Dynamic Gulf Conference-”A New Ruling Bargain- Reform and Gulf Elite Dynamics”
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) co-hosted a conference titled "Dynamic Gulf: Forces of Change in a Strategic Region." The second panel, “A New Ruling Bargain? Reform and Gulf Elite Dynamics,” was moderated by Prof. Marc Lynch, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the George Washington University, and featured panelists Andrew Hammond, former Reuters correspondent for Saudi Arabia, Ali Al Shihabi, ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Economics, Egypt, Freedom, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Kuwait, Muslim Brotherhood, Oman, Political Islam, Political transition, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen
POMED Notes: “Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa Hearing: A Crisis Mismanaged: Obama’s Failed Syria Policy”
On Tuesday, June 5, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled “Obama’s Failed Syria Policy.” Mr. Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Ms. Danielle Pletka, Vice President of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and Dr. Jon Alterman, Director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, testified. The committee’s chairman, Rep. ...
June 6, 2013
Category: al-Qaeda, Civil-Military Relations, Conflict, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Gulf, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Islamist movements, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, NATO, Palestine, Political Islam, Protests, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Uncategorized, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: CSID 14th Annual Conference–”What the U.S. Can Do to Support Democratic Transitions in the Middle East”
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy hosted a conference titled "Democratic Transitions in the Arab World." The conference included a panel on "What the U.S. Can Do to Support Democratic Transitions in the Middle East" featured Radwan Ziadeh, founder and Director of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies in Syria and cofounder and Executive Director of the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies; Peter Mandaville, ...
May 31, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political transition, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “The Middle East and North Africa FY 2014 Budget: Priorities and Challenges”
On Wednesday, May 22, 2013, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a hearing to discuss the FY 2014 budget with regards to the Middle East and North Africa. The Honorable Beth Jones, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and Alina Romanowski, Acting Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of the Middle East at the U.S. Agency ...
May 28, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Egypt, Foreign Aid, Iran, Iraq, Israel, NGOs, Palestine, Political transition, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: “Amidst Iraq’s Turmoil: What Can We Do?”
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) hosted a panel discussion titled "Amidst Iraq's Turmoil: What Can We Do?" The event featured Ambassador James Jeffrey, the Philip Solondz Distinguished Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Daniel Serwer, Senior Research Professor of Conflict Management at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Mike Pillinger, Chief of Mission in Iraq for the International Organization for Migration; and ...
May 7, 2013
Category: Conflict, Diplomacy, Event Notes, Human Rights, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Parliament, Political transition, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
Iraqi Provincial Election Results Show Maliki Coalition Win
Results of Iraq's provincial elections, which took place two weeks ago, were released on Saturday. The results indicate that the Shia-dominated coalition led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki received the most votes in seven of twelve districts. However, ...
May 2, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Conflict, Featured, Human Rights, Iraq, Parliament, Protests, Sectarianism, US foreign policy
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Report
In April, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued its annual report covering February 2012 through January 2013. From the MENA region, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia were listed as "Countries of Particular Concern" and Bahrain and Turkey were ...
May 1, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Egypt, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey
May 1, 2013
Category: al-Qaeda, Conflict, Featured, Iraq, Kurdish Region, Political transition, Protests, Sectarianism, US foreign policy
Iraq Suspends Ten TV Channels Amid Sectarian Violence
The Iraqi government suspended the broadcasting licenses of ten satellite television channels, including Al Jazeera. Iraq's Communication and Media Commission is imposing a ban on the operations of Al Sharqiyah, Al Sharqiyah News, Babylonian, Baghdad, Salah al-Din, Anwar ...
POMED Notes: “Turkey’s Troubled Politics: Rising Influence and Eroding Freedoms”
On Friday, April 26th, the Project on Middle East Democracy held an event titled “Turkey's Troubled Politics: Rising Influence and Eroding Freedoms.” It featured Howard Eissenstat, Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern History at St. Lawrence University, and Yigal Schleifer, an independent journalist, analyst, and author of The Turko-file. Susan Corke, Director for Eurasia Programs at Freedom House, moderated. For full event notes continue reading, or click here for a PDF. Susan Corke opened the ...
April 26, 2013
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Category: Civil Liberties, EU, Israel, Journalism, Kurdish Region, Reform, Syria, Turkey, US foreign policy
State Department Human Rights Country Report: Iraq
The annual State Department report on human rights practices in Iraq details a host of human rights concerns in 2012 attributed to a weakened government, increased sectarian and societal divisions and a culture of impunity and widespread corruption that ...
April 26, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Courts and Judiciary, Featured, Human Rights, Iraq, NGOs, Sectarianism
Clashes Erupt Between Iraqi Government and Protesters
A gun battle broke out at a Sunni protest camp north of Baghdad early Tuesday. Officials have reported that at least 20 people died and dozens injured. The clash occurred after government security forces entered the camp to make arrests, but ...
POMED Notes – FY14 Department of State Budget Hearing
The United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs questioned Secretary of State John Kerry at the FY14 Department of State Budget Hearing on Thursday. Subcommittee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) presided. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. In Senator Leahy's opening statement, submitted for the record, he said that, "We do not want a Democratic foreign policy or a Republican ...
April 21, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (Senate), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
April 21, 2013
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Category: Elections, Featured, Iraq, Kurdish Region, Political transition, Sectarianism
April 20, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Courts and Judiciary, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Political transition, Qatar, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, US foreign policy, Yemen
Despite Assassinations, Violence, Iraq to Hold Elections
Iraq will hold Governorate Council Elections in 12 of its 18 provinces on Saturday despite increased violence and a wave of assassinations. On Monday, approximately 20 separate attacks across the country killed nearly 50 and wounded more than 200. In recent months, ...
Maliki Asserts Partnership with U.S., Faces Criticism at Home
In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated that "The United States has not 'lost' Iraq." He described a "strong partnership" with the U.S. "on political, security and economic levels," and noted that "Iraq is not ...