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Since the outbreak of the Arab uprisings in 2011, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has gone through a multiplicity of interrelated conflicts over power and politics. Pre-existing domestic, regional and global conflict potentials have been unleashed, and new dynamics have emerged. According to many observers, the region today faces a complex crisis that in its totality surpasses anything the region has experienced since the European decolonization in the middle of the 20th century. These conflicts are primarily challenges faced by governments and societies inside the region, but are deeply interconnected with broader patterns in global and international politics and thus also interrelate with foreign and domestic policies of European and American governments.
This conference organized by the Danish Institute for International Studies in collaboration with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs aims to provide an analysis of six key trends in the conflicts over power and politics in the MENA region today. These trends include the increasing rivalry and competition between regional powers in the MENA region and they include the protracted domestic conflicts between autocratic governments and militarized societies. They encompass the decreasing performance of the region’s rentier-based political economies and the changing forms of American hegemony in the MENA region and the emboldening of its challengers. Finally, they cover the changing forms of the European Union’s foreign policy in the region following the nationalist turn in Europe and the increase in migration and terrorism.
The conference, which will be opened by the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, offers in-depth presentations by six highly esteemed international scholars as well as comments from four esteemed Danish scholars and experts. It also provides and opportunity for the audience to raise question and debate with the speakers.
Speakers
Anders Samuelsen, The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Denmark
Stephen Grand, Executive Director, Middle East Strategy Task Force, Atlantic Council
Kristina Kausch, Senior Research Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Mehran Kamrava, Director, the Center for International and Regional Studies, Georgetown University, Qatar
Michele Dunne, Director, the Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Giacomo Luciani, Co-director, Executive Master in International Oil and Gas Leadership, Graduate Institute, Geneva
Bassam Fattouh, Director, the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, and Professor, the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Chairs
Rasmus Alenius Boserup, Senior Researcher, DIIS
Vibeke Schou Tjalve, Senior Researcher, DIIS
Helle Malmvig, Senior Researcher and Academic Coordinator, DIIS
Luke Patey, Senior Researcher, DIIS
Programme
08.30-09.00 Arrival tea and coffee
09.00-09.15 Opening remarks
Anders Samuelsen
09.15-11.00 Session one: changing forms of American and European foreign policy in the MENA region
Stephen Grand
Kristina Kausch
Chair: Vibeke Schou Tjalve
11.00-11.30 Coffee break
11.30-13.15 Session two: current trends in domestic and regional conflict in the MENA region
Mehran Kamrava
Michele Dunne
Chair: Helle Malmvig
13.15-14.00 Lunch
14.00-15.45 Session three: trends and patterns in rentierism and business in the MENA region
Giacomo Luciani
Bassam Fattouh
Chair: Luke Patey
15.45-16.00 Perspectives
Rasmus Alenius Boserup
Practical information
The seminar will be in English and live streamed on diis.dk.
Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use our online registration form no later than Sunday 28 January 2018. Live stream does not require registration.
