Please join the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East on Tuesday, October 9 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm for a conference on the Arc of Crisis in the MENA region.
The countries of the Middle East and North Africa are undergoing tumultuous change. The Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 have challenged the state’s claim of political legitimacy, leading to the emergence of alternatives in various forms, from local clans and tribes to armed groups as well as formally elected municipal councils. Many are calling for a trial of decentralization to delegate authority and security responsibilities to local leadership. However, widespread demands for decentralization of some sort are juxtaposed with the desire of remaining authoritarian states to close spaces for political opposition and retain control over the population. Also, among the trends that are emerging as alternatives for political legitimacy across the region is political Islam, which has taken on a variety of forms across the region, from armed groups to peaceful opposition.
With generous support from Fincantieri and SNAM, Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Dr. Karim Mezran and Dr. Arturo Varvelli of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies engaged scholars and journalists to analyze the emerging trends of decentralization and political Islam in the context of transition in the region, with case studies from Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan. The content of these analyses is captured in a new report: "The Arc of Crisis in the MENA Region." Please join us for the launch of this report through an engaging conversation with a distinguished panel of experts.
9:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Introductory Remarks by:
Frederick Kempe
President and CEO
Atlantic Council
Giampiero Massolo
President
Italian Institute for International Political Studies
Armando Varricchio
Ambassador
Embassy of Italy
9:30 – 10:45 a.m.
The Struggle for Regional Hegemony: A Great Powers Game
A conversation with:
Rend al-Rahim
President
Iraq Foundation
Mona Yacoubian
Senior Advisor for Syria, Middle East and North Africa
US Institute of Peace
Nabeel Khoury
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
Atlantic Council
Federica Saini Fasanotti
Nonresident Fellow
Brookings Institution
Moderated by:
Karim Mezran
Senior Fellow, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
Atlantic Council
11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
The Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and the Resilience of Jihadism
A conversation with:
Arturo Varvelli
Co-Director, Middle East and Northern Africa Center
Italian Institute for International Political Studies
Kim Cragin
Senior Researcher
National Defense University
Hassan Hassan
Senior Fellow, Program on Extremism
George Washington University
Frederick Kagan
Director, Critical Threats Project
American Enterprise Institute
Moderated by:
Lorenzo Vidino
Director, Program on Extremism
George Washington University
A light lunch will be served
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Keynote Address
Joan Polaschik
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary,
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, US Department of
State
This event is public and open to the press.
On Twitter? Follow @AtlanticCouncil @ACMidEast and use #ArcOfCrisis