Former Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher Speaks in Crown-Belfer Seminar Series

Marwan Muasher, vice president for studies for the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan and former Ambassador to the United States spoke at a Crown-Belfer Middle East Seminar Series breakfast on November 1st.

The two focal points of his discussion were the Israeli/Palestinian peace process and reform in the Middle East. Evoking a common sentiment in academic and political discussions of the peace process, Muasher began his talk by declaring a general lack of hope in the current peace talks. He cited the inevitable failure of the bilateral approach and emphasized that a multilateral approach, between Israel and representative Arab countries, was the only option left. Muasher also discussed the benefits of the "end game deposit" option, attempted in 1995, highlighting the necessity for each side to concretely put forward their bottom line.

Muasher synthesized this discussion of the peace process within a larger analysis of reform in the Middle East. He explained that the notion of reform in the Middle East holds undesirable connotations.  As a discourse, he said, it has been lost between Arab moderates, who are only moderates concerning the peace process, and Islamic opposition parties, who are hardliners on peace and selective on reform. Muasher emphasized the need for a third discourse that is as dedicated to reform as it is to peace. He stressed that the lack of discussions on reform has had serious implications on the peace process, and concluded by stating that the peace process loses credibility when its actors are opposed to talking about reform.

The breakfast event was held at the Harvard Faculty Club and was moderated by series co-chair Shai Feldman, Director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis. It was attended by more than 30 Boston-based scholars and journalists working on issues in the Middle East.