Tag: Syria
Peace picks July 15-19
A busy midsummer week:
1. Real Politics of Iran: Views from Within, US Institute of Peace, Monday, July 15 / 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Venue: US Institute of Peace
2301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Speakers: Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, Kevan Harris, Farzan Sabet, Daniel Brumberg
Iran’s June 14, 2013, presidential election produced a result that surprised many Iran watchers: a first round win for Hassan Rouhani. A long-time regime stalwart who favors a political opening at home and abroad, his election may signal the return of a more contentious politics—one that could limit the growing influence of the security apparatus or create space for a more productive Western-Iranian dialogue. To probe the implications of these changes for Iran’s internal politics and its foreign relations, on July 15 the United States Institute of Peace will host three distinguished Iran analysts, one of which has just returned from Iran. Drawn from the United States Institute of Peace’s (USIP) Internal Iran Study Group, they will highlight a range of dynamics in the universities, opposition, the economy and even the security apparatus that often escape the foreign headlines. Daniel Brumberg, Senior Program Officer on Iran and North Africa at USIP, will chair this timely discussion.
Register for the event here:
http://realpoliticsofiran.eventbrite.com/
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Syria: bad to worse
What do you do about the killers when the war is over?
It’s not easy to summarize the discussions I was privileged to participate in the week before last with Syrian opposition folks assembled in Istanbul by the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (with support from the Public International Law and Policy Group) to discuss institutional reform aspects of transitional justice after the fall of Bashar al Asad. The group, which included activists as well as a few fighters and several minorities but no vigorous Islamists, viewed transitional justice as a kind of compromise, second-best justice, adequate and even necessary for straitened post-war circumstances should the opposition win and intended to promote security and reconciliation, but far from ideal. Read more
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Peace Picks July 8-12
A computer crash delayed this week’s abundant edition, but here it is:
1. The Failed States Index 2013 Launch Event, The Fund for Peace, Tuesday, July 9 / 9:00am – 11:30am
Venue: University Club of Washington DC
1135 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036
Speakers: John Agoglia, David Bosco, Edward T. Cope, Kate Thompson
The Failed States Index (FSI) is a leading index that annually highlights current trends in social, economic and political pressures that affect all states, but can strain some beyond their capacity to cope. Apart from the impact on their people, fragile and failed states present the international community with a variety of challenges. In today’s world, with its globalized economy, information systems and security challenges, pressures on one fragile state can have serious repercussions not only for that state and its people, but also for its neighbors and other states halfway across the globe.
Linking robust social science with modern technology, the FSI is unique in its integration of quantitative data with data produced using content-analysis software to process information from millions of publicly available documents. The result is an empirically-based, comprehensive ranking of the pressures experienced by 178 nations. The FSI is used by policy makers, civil society, academics, journalists and businesses around the world.
Register for the event here:
http://fsi2013.eventbrite.com/
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Tabler and Lynch go ten rounds
The Obama administration’s decision to arm the Syrian rebels is controversial in Washington. While some support the decision, others consider it “probably [Obama’s] worst foreign policy decision since taking office.” Last week, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy hosted a debate on Arming the Syrian Rebels: Sliding Toward Iraq or Inching Toward Stability. Andrew Tabler, a senior fellow in the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute, argued for arming the rebels. On the other side stood Marc Lynch, associate professor at George Washington University and editor of Foreign Policy’s Middle East Channel. Robert Satloff, executive director and Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in U.S. Middle East Policy at the Washington Institute, moderated the discussion. Read more
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Hezbollah has a Syria problem
Hezbollah has long been esteemed within many circles of the Arab world. The militant group, officially designated as a terrorist organization by the US, comprises one of the best organized and strongest fighting forces in the region. They have grown into a significant political actor within Lebanese politics, and they are one of the main providers of social services for many in the Shi’a community in Southern Lebanon. Add to that their achievements versus Israel – accelerating the withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 and the month-long war stalemate in 2006 – Hezbollah has acquired a mystique that few other non-state actors (or governments, for that matter) can rival.
Yet, Randa Slim, a scholar at the Middle East Institute and a leading expert on Hezbollah, believes all of that has changed due to Hezbollah’s growing and more visible presence in the ongoing conflict in Syria. According to her, Hezbollah’s participation in Syria has evolved over the past two years: initially Hezbollah leaders denied the groups’ existence in Syria, then some began speaking of protecting the Shi’a community, to finally framing the conflict as part of their resistance narrative against takfirs (non-believers), Zionists, and corrupt Arab and Muslim regimes. Read more
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Istanbul this week
Little time to write, as I am spending full days with Syrians, but here is my brief photographic essay on Istanbul this week:
However I am not spending my evenings at Taksim. This is Giritli, an expensive and very good restaurant:
A glance at the Galata Tower is free:
Galata Tower, last nightPostscript: Ironically, only the police are enjoying Gezi park these days:
Ordinary Turks bear silent witness in front of the Marmara hotel:
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