Middle East Initiative

Marking the passage of 20 years since the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, MEI Faculty Director Professor Tarek Masoud will moderate this panel featuring: Meghan O’Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, HKS; Kanan Makiya, Professor Emeritus of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis University and author, Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq (University of California Press, 1989); and Emma Sky, OBE, founding Director of Yale’s International Leadership Center and former political advisor to the Commanding General of U.S. Forces in Iraq.

THIS EVENT IS FOR HUID HOLDERS ONLY

Dr. Jason Brownlee, Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, will discuss American attempts to coerce political change in Muslim countries since 9/11 - and the political instability this has generated - with MEI Faculty Director Professor Tarek Masoud.

Please join us for lunch and a discussion of the Israeli settler movement in light of current legal and political developments in Israel and in comparison with other settler systems around the world.

Dr. Yael Berda, MEI Fellow and Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Hebrew University, will discuss her new book, Colonial Bureaucracy and Contemporary Citizenship, which examines how the legacies of colonial bureaucratic structures continue to shape political life after empire, with MEI Senior Fellow and journalist Rami Khouri.

HARVARD STUDENTS ONLY

Drawing upon decades of diplomatic experience in the region, including as the former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Syria and the former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, MEI Senior Fellow Edward P. Djerejian will lead this five-session study group that explores the roots of the Israel/Palestine conflict, the human toll it has taken, and possible paths forward.

Dr. Mohammad Ali Kadivar, Assistant Professor of Sociology and International Studies at Boston College, will discuss his new book, Popular Politics and the Path to Durable Democracy, a groundbreaking account of how prolonged grassroots mobilization lays the foundations for durable democratization, with MEI Research Fellow and Assistant Professor of Sociology at the American University of Beirut (AUB), Dr. Rima Majed.

Building upon the legacy of his famous Meridian House speech, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Syria and former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Edward P. Djerejian will discuss the history and future of American foreign policy toward the Muslim world with MEI Faculty Director Tarek Masoud.

Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat left Iran to study art in the U.S. not long before the Iranian Revolution, which changed the traditional Islamic trajectory of her upbringing and opened the door to a creative career in photography, video art, film, and opera.  Her life and her work since then have focused on the social, political, and psychological contradictions that surface when interpreting Islamic culture from a Western perspective – regarding women and men, public life and private life, antique culture and modern culture.  And her personal life and her creative experience have given her a unique opportunity to engage with the visual and performing arts to interpret the complexities of the Middle East in ways that also resonate with and illuminate the contradictions and complexities of other cultures worldwide. 

Executive Chair of the Jerusalem Foundation and Director Emeritus of the Israel Museum James Snyder will host this timely conversation with world-renowned visual artist Shirin Neshat as part of his ongoing "In Conversation" series with the Middle East Initiative.

More than 10 years after the outbreak of the Libyan revolution and the departure of Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi, Libya continues to experience sharp political divisions and difficulties in unifying institutions and agreeing on a constitution. Following the open postponement of the December 24th elections and despite internal efforts, there is still no fixed date for elections in order to end the transition period and realizes the people's aspirations for a democratic political system that guarantees economic well-being, social stability and equitable distribution of wealth.

In recent years, Libya has also been the scene of foreign interventions from many states that have taken advantage of Libya's fragility and carried out proxy wars that have left the Libyan people with great frustration. At the international level, the attempts to reach a solution were challenging and despite huge efforts deployed, the United Nations promising road map unfortunately didn't went to its end. The Libyan file is being delayed in the international agenda following the Russian-Ukrainian war.

How long will Libya stay in this situation? How can a political agreement be reached to end the internal divide? What role do the Libyan Presidency Council and other national institutions have in finding a Libyan solution? How can we put an end to external interference? Can Libya play a role in stabilizing international oil markets, especially after the return of production? What role does Libya play in Africa's open conflict between the West, Russia and China?

The discussion will be hosted by Former Prime Minister of Tunisia Dr. Youssef Chahed. The other featured panelists for this discussion will be: Stephanie T. Williams, former SG special representative for Libya and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL); Frederic Wehrey, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace’s Middle East Program; Khaled Kaim, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Libya; and Mohamed “Moin” Mansour Kikhia, Chairman of the Libyan Democratic Institute.

The times listed above for this event are in Eastern Daylight Time. The event will take place from 4:30pm - 5:45pm Libyan Time.

Middle East Initiative Fellow Avner Halperin, Palestinian entrepreneur Mahmoud Khweis, and Ely Sandler MPP 2023 will discuss their report that outlines a plan for boosting the Palestinian tech ecosystem – “Time to Reboot: A Blueprint for the Palestinian Tech Sector.” In the report, they propose creating an independent, globally-backed organization—the Global Palestinian Innovation Foundation (GPI)—that will kick-start the Palestinian tech sector, build regional and global bridges, and help drive economic development in the West Bank.