To compete and thrive in the 21st century, democracies, and the United States in particular, must develop new national security and economic strategies that address the geopolitics of information. In the 20th century, market capitalist democracies geared infrastructure, energy, trade, and even social policy to protect and advance that era’s key source of power—manufacturing. In this century, democracies must better account for information geopolitics across all dimensions of domestic policy and national strategy.
Dubai Initiative and International Security Fellow, Gregory Aftandilian, will analyze the Bush Administration's initiative to promote democratization in the Middle East and why it has stalled. The key issues to be discussed are the discrepancy between stated goals and actual policies on the ground, the push back from authoritarian leaders, the preeminence of strategic issues, the impact of the HAMAS electoral victory, and the distrust of the United States by democratic reformers in the region. The lecture and subsequent discussion will also explore possible alternative strategies.
Please join us! Coffee and tea provided.
Everyone is welcome - admission will be based on a first-come, first-served basis.