POMED Notes: “Iraq’s Elections–and Iraq’s Future”
February 18th, 2010 by Maria
The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq Ad Melkert gave a lecture at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace today assessing the conditions in Iraq ahead of its March elections, and what that can mean for its future.
Melkert, who was very optimistic for a successful Iraqi election, said that it is important that development in Iraq is known and to understand what the role of international community should be. He outlined three major points for his lecture: first, that it is necessary to acknowledge the need for ongoing engagement in Iraq; second, that this engagement should be respectful and with Iraqis “in the lead;” and third, that it is time to draw a line and understand the divisions that have marked so much of the debate on Iraq.
Click here for POMED’s notes in PDF. Otherwise, continue below the fold.
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Posted in Elections, Event Notes, Freedom, Iraq | Comment »
POMED Report: “Strategies for Engaging Political Islam”
January 29th, 2010 by Josh
Political Islam is the single most active political force in the Middle East today. To offer insights into this critical issue, the Project on Middle East Democracy partnered with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung to bring together scholars and experts from the Middle East, the United States, and Europe. Moderated by Nathan Brown, Director of George Washington University’s Institute for Middle East Studies, guests discussed the topic “Strategies for Engaging Political Islam: A Middle East, U.S. and EU ‘Trialogue.’” Panelists included Ruheil Gharaibeh, Deputy Secretary-General of Jordan’s IAF; Mona Yacoubian, Special Adviser to the Muslim World Initiative at the United States Institute of Peace; Zoé Nautré, Visiting Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations; and Shadi Hamid, former research director and current vice-chair of POMED’s Board of Directors, and also currently the Deputy Director of the Brookings Doha Center.
To read the full report, which draws upon the participants’ observations and recommendations, click here. Otherwise, continue reading below the fold.
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Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Multilateralism, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Reform, Reports, US foreign policy | Comment »
Egypt: Is Obama Prioritizing Democratic Reforms?
January 4th, 2010 by Josh
This morning, the Washington Post editorialized that President Obama and his foreign policy team lack a firm commitment toward democratic reforms in Egypt. The paper singled out comments by U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to argue that the Obama Administration, unlike its predecessor, “appears to have put democracy promotion in the region on a back burner.” The Post further laments the administration’s foreign aid budget priorities, noting that “funding for democracy programs in Egypt has been cut by 60 percent,” as detailed in POMED’s July report, The Federal Budget and Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Reform, Reports, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED: Follow us on Twitter
December 22nd, 2009 by Jason
POMED has launched our Twitter account, PomedWire. Follow us to keep up to date with the latest debates and developments concerning U.S. foreign policy and the prospects for democratic reform in the Middle East. We will also highlight POMED’s ongoing activities, events, and publications, as well as other relevant happenings in Washington.
Posted in Technology, Weekly Wire | Comment »
POMED Event: U.S. Military Assistance: Obstacle or Opportunity for Reform?
December 13th, 2009 by Zack
POMED and the Heinrich Boll Foundation hosted a panel discussion to discuss the role of U.S. military assistance in America’s attempt to maintain strategic interests without undermining democracy promotion and human rights. The event was the third in a series examining U.S. credibility on human rights and featured both Steven Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy, and Emile Hokayem, a non-resident Research Fellow with the Henry L. Stimson Center’s Southwest Asia/Gulf program and Politics Editor of the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National. The event was moderated by Sebastian Graefe, Program Director for Foreign and Security Policy and Transatlantic Issues at the Heinrich Boll Foundation. Grafe opened by clarifying the focus of the event by asking several pointed questions: does military assistance undermine U.S. credibility? Are existing mechanisms sufficient to monitor human rights abuses? Are the provisions that govern assistance in need of updating?
Follow the break to read POMED’s notes.
Or click here for a .pdf version
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Posted in Afghanistan, DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Events, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Iraq, Jordan, Legislation, Mideast Peace Plan, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, Pakistan, Reform, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »
POMED Event: U.S. Military Assistance: Obstacle or Opportunity for Reform?
December 8th, 2009 by Jason
On Friday, POMED and the Heinrich Böll Foundation will host a luncheon discussion, entitled “U.S. Military Assistance: Obstacle or Opportunity for Reform?” Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations and Emile Hokayem of the Stimson Center will discuss the role of U.S. military aid to non-democratic allies in the Arab world and how the U.S. can pursue strategic military cooperation without undermining principles of human rights and democratic reform.
The luncheon will be held this Friday, December 11th, from 12:00-1:30 PM. For more information and to RSVP, please click here.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Events, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »
Democracy Promotion: A New Approach
November 25th, 2009 by Jason
Michael Allen at Democracy Digest cites Tara McKelvey, who argues the Obama administration is pursuing a more “culturally sensitive” method of democracy promotion, compared to the Bush administration’s “cowboy” style. Allen observes many democracy advocates are pleased with the new approach “given the apparent absence of likely candidates for democratization,” but he also warns that “a developmental approach should not become an excuse for political timidity or conflate incrementalism with the perpetual postponement of democratic reform.”
Meanwhile, the confirmation hearing for Rajiv Shah to be USAID Administrator has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 1st in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Posted in Articles, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Human Rights, Jordan, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes - “Wrong Way on Iran: Representative Mark Kirk”
November 5th, 2009 by Zack
The U.S. Institute of Peace hosted Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) to offer his views on how the U.S. should approach Iran on the issues of human rights and democracy. Kirk is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and serves on its Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, which is responsible for determining annual U.S. foreign assistance funding. Serving his fifth term in the House of Representatives, Kirk is the co-chair of the bipartisan Iran Working Group, sponsor of bipartisan legislation condemning Iran’s human rights violations and chief architect of the plan to restrict gasoline to Iran in response to its violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The meeting was opened with an introduction from Richard Solomon, President of USIP.
See POMED’s Notes below the fold.
Click here to view a pdf version of the notes.
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, Event Notes, Events, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Reform, US foreign policy, sanctions | Comment »
POMED Notes - “Implications of the Promotion of Defamation of Religions”
October 29th, 2009 by Zack
The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a meeting to discuss recent movements in the international community to create resolutions against the defamation of religion. The event hosted Joseph Cassidy, Director of the Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs in the Bureau of Democracy; Leonard Leo, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Angela Wu, international director of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; Tad Stahnke, director of Policy and Programs at Human Rights First; Zainab al-Suwaij, cofounder and president of the American Islamic Congress; and Felice Gaer, director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights of the American Jewish Committee. Panelists focused on the recent U.S.-Egyptian draft resolution protecting the freedom of speech as well as other anti-religious defamation efforts in the international community.
For POMED’s full notes of the event, please click here.
Posted in Congressional Hearing Notes (House), DC Event Notes, EU, Event Notes, Freedom, Pakistan, Reform, US foreign policy, United Nations | Comment »
POMED Notes - “A Regional Overview of the Middle East”
October 29th, 2009 by Zack
The House Foreign Affairs Committee received testimony from Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. The committee questioned Feltman about U.S. policy and diplomatic efforts regarding Iran, Israel and Palestine, Lebanese government develop, Syrian relations, and other issues confronting American interests in the Middle East.
For POMED’s full notes of the event, please click here.
Posted in Afghanistan, DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, EU, Egypt, Elections, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Hamas, Hezbollah, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Israel, Lebanon, Legislation, Mideast Peace Plan, Multilateralism, North Africa, Political Islam, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Terrorism, US foreign policy, United Nations, sanctions | Comment »
POMED Notes: “The Afghan Elections: What Really Happened?”
September 15th, 2009 by Zack
The United States Institute of Peace hosted a roundtable event examining the recent Afghan elections and their future implications. The expert panel included Noah Coburn, a traditional justice specialist for USIP and presidential fellow, who spent 18 months researching local political structures north of Kabul; John Dempsey is the former USAID advisor to the Afghanistan Ministry of Justice and is currently a USIP head of office in Afghanistan and a rule of law advisor that has contributed to the new Rule of Law Strategy in Afghanistan. Palwasha Hassan serves as the Country Director for the NGO Rights and Democracy in Afghanistan, she has worked for than fifteen years in women’s development in the country and is currently a Jennings Randolph Fellow at USIP. The event was moderated by J. Alexander Their, director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at USIP, he has served as a rule of law advisor, was a member of the Afghanistan Study Group and has co-authored the book The Future of Afghanistan (USIP, 2009).
Click here to read POMED’s notes
Posted in Afghanistan, DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Elections, Event Notes, Freedom, Military, Political Islam, Political Parties | Comment »
Announcing POMED’s 2009 Emerging Leaders for Democracy Conferences
September 10th, 2009 by Zack
POMED is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for our upcoming series of conferences in the Middle East. These will bring together young American and European professionals with reformists working in the Middle East to examine political reform dynamics in Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt and the role of U.S. foreign policy on the prospects for reform in those countries. Ultimately, the conferences will produce recommendations for U.S. policymakers on how to improve the American impact in the region and how to more effectively and constructively support democracy.
Each conference will include panel discussions from Arab and American experts on U.S. foreign policy initiatives, assessments of the state of political reform in the region, and the role of the U.S. and Europe in assisting this reform. Primary topics of discussion will include: Elections & Political Processes; Religious Freedom and Inclusion; Women’s Rights and Empowerment; and Human Security and Development.
The 2009 conference schedule is as follows:
Amman, Jordan: October 7 – 9, 2009
Beirut, Lebanon: October 26 - 28, 2009
Cairo, Egypt: November 4 -6, 2009
Americans living in the U.S. or in the region, Europeans, as well as local young professionals residing in those respective countries ages 23-35 are encouraged to apply. Each conference will include 15 Middle Easterners and 15 Americans and Europeans.
Applications are currently being accepted for all events, but due dates are quickly approaching and early applications will be given priority.
To view the complete conference announcement and complete an application please visit the following links:
http://pomed.org/activities/conferences/ (English)
http://pomed.org/arabic-conference-info/ (Arabic version)
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Events, Events, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Jordan, Lebanon, Legislation, Reform, Upcoming Events | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Assessing the Afghan Elections”
September 3rd, 2009 by Jason
On Tuesday morning, the Center for American Progress held a public panel discussion examining the recent Afghan presidential and provincial council elections. The panel speakers were Eric Bjornlund of Democracy International, Jackie Northam of National Public Radio and Brian Katulis of the Center for American Progress. Caroline Wadhams of the Center for American Progress moderated.
The panelists discussed the prospects for legitimacy of the Afghan elections and how such a determination will affect U.S. policy in the country. For POMED’s detailed notes of the event, please click here.
Posted in Afghanistan, Elections, Event Notes, NGOs, Taliban, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Engaging on Human Rights in the Middle East”
September 2nd, 2009 by Daniel
POMED and the Heinrich Boell Foundation North America co-hosted a panel discussion yesterday, which focused on the ways in which multilateral frameworks work to promote or to inhibit human rights reforms in the Middle East. The three panelists were Moataz El-Fegiery, executive director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Marc Schade-Poulsen, executive director of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, and Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division. POMED’s Executive Director Andrew Albertson moderated.
The panelists discussed, among other topics, the techniques authoritarian regimes employ to undermine the effectiveness of multilateral organizations. For a detailed summary of the discussion, click here.
Posted in DC Event Notes, Event Notes, Human Rights, Multilateralism | 1 Comment »
POMED Notes: “A Briefing on Kuwait and Gulf Affairs”
August 27th, 2009 by Blake
The Middle East Institute hosted a lively discussion with Ambassador Deborah Jones, the current American ambassador in Kuwait. As a major strategic partner to the United States, as well as a thriving indigenous democracy, Kuwait “punches above its weight,” she claimed.
Click here to read POMED’s notes on this event.
Posted in Event Notes, Kuwait, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: The Afghan Elections at Heritage
August 27th, 2009 by Max
The Heritage Foundation held an event analyzing last week’s Afghan presidential and provincial council elections and the challenges facing both Afghanistan and the United States moving forward. Speaking at the event were Lt. Gen. (Ret.) David Barno of the National Defense University, Marvin Weinbaum of the Middle East Institute, analyst David Isby, and Heritage’s own Lisa Curtis. Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs James Phillips moderated.
To read POMED’s account of the discussion, click here.
Posted in Afghanistan, Elections, Event Notes | Comment »
POMED Notes: Assessing the Afghan Presidential Election
August 26th, 2009 by Blake
Yesterday, the Brookings Institution hosted the first public discussion in Washington since the Afghan elections with Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Michael O’Hanlon, Director of Research at Brookings Foreign Policy program, Kimberly Kagan, from the Institute for the Study of War and Anthony Cordesman from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, moderated by Brookings’ Martin Indyk.
Click here for POMED’s notes on the event.
Posted in Afghanistan, Elections, Event Notes, Military, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: Development in Pakistan
August 20th, 2009 by Blake
Yesterday the Middle East Institute hosted an event with Dr. Shamsh Kassin-Lakha, a veteran government and education policymaker and former President of the Aga Khan University, to discuss the growing participation of philanthropy, government and civil society in Pakistani development initiatives.
Click here to read POMED’s notes on the event.
Posted in Event Notes, Pakistan | Comment »
Mubarak Comes to Washington
August 17th, 2009 by Blake
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arrived in the U.S. on Saturday for his first visit in six years. Today, Mubarak will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Mubarak’s meeting with President Obama tomorrow is set to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Sudan, regional security and the Iranian nuclear program, leaving little space for discussion of human rights and democracy, reports al-Arabiya.
In the Washington Post today, Michele Dunne writes that the uptick in cooperation between Cairo and Washington should be viewed in a larger context than collaboration aimed at solving the Israeli-Palestinian issue. The succession issue in Egypt, as well as the likelihood of unfair parliamentary elections next year, signals that Egypt is on the verge of change.
Citing POMED’s recent analysis that reports reduced funding for democracy-promotion in Egypt, Dunne writes that in this “climate of renewed goodwill” between the U.S. and Egypt, Obama should seize the opportunity to emphasize a pro-democracy and human rights message. Importantly, she writes that a convergence of pertinent mutual interests–such as curbing Hamas’ power as well as Iranian nuclear ambitions–will reinforce cooperation. In other words, she contends that promoting democracy and increased political pluralism in Egypt will not cause Mubarak to shy away from cooperation on the Palestinian-Israeli front, which is a priority issue for the Obama administration.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections, Foreign Aid, Hamas, Human Rights, Israel, POMED, Palestine, Reports, US foreign policy | 1 Comment »
