A discussion with  
Valerie Stocker (via Skype)
Researcher and Consultant
and
Eamonn Gearon
Co-Founder and Managing Director
The Siwa Group

Moderated by
Karim Mezran
Senior Fellow, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
Atlantic Council

As Libya’s political crisis deepens and violent clashes mount, attention to the transitioning country has largely focused on the weak government in Tripoli and the tumultuous eastern region. The largely ignored southwestern party of the country known as the Fezzan, however, presents another set of challenges, with porous borders, ethnic and tribal tensions, and a widely shared sense of neglect. In an issue brief titled “Inside Libya’s ‘Wild West’,” author Valerie Stocker takes a close look at the dynamics at play in the region.

Please join us for a discussion about the Fezzan and how Libyan authorities and the international community can address its security, political, and economic concerns. This discussion is part of the ongoing work of the Libya Working Group – a joint initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, the Project on Middle East Democracy, and Freedom House.

Valerie Stocker is an independent researcher, journalist, and consultant who travels frequently throughout Libya and the broader Middle East. Eamonn Gearon, in addition to co-founding The Siwa Group, a Middle East focused consultancy group, is a professorial lecturer at Johns Hopkins University.  He will share his insights about developments on the ground and put Libya into a regional context. Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Karim Mezran, who focuses on the transitions in North Africa, will moderate. 

 

DATE: Friday, June 27, 2014

TIME: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
A light breakfast will be served.

LOCATION: Atlantic Council
1030 15th St NW, 12th floor
Washington, DC 20005