Udenrigsudvalget 2008-09
URU Alm.del Bilag 296
Offentligt
TheDanish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)has the pleasure of inviting you to a seminaron:
The Middle East: Future Challenges and PossibilitiesThursday, 8 October 2009, 14.30-16.30Danish Institute for International StudiesMain AuditoriumStrandgade 71, ground floor, 1401 Copenhagen KBackgroundThe Middle East has been going through war and crisis. The Iraq war changed the balance of powerin the region and threw the country into near civil war. In Lebanon and Palestine, civildisintegration and violence reign, and non-state actors such as Hizbullah and Hamas have gainedregion-wide popularity, while the incumbent autocratic regimes in the region face an ever-deepening legitimacy crisis. At the same time, the region has been hit hard by the financial crisis,deepening existing problems of unemployment, growing population rates and a lack of foreigninvestment.Recently, however, we have also witnessed some positive signs of reconciliation and cooperation inthe region. The Obama Administration has promised a new start, reached out to Iran and turnedPalestinian-Israeli peace into a key priority. There are signs that Syria may be returning to the‘Arab fold’ and even of beginning rapprochement between Syria and Israel. In some countries,Islamist actors are cautiously being accepted and included as part of political reality, while Islamistparties in turn have shown greater pragmatism and willingness to participate in elections andpolitical processes.Faced with these contradicting challenges and possibilities, where might the Middle East beheading in the near future? DIIS has invited leading experts to debate these questions in a shortand lively roundtable debate. The five short interventions will be followed by questions andcomments from the audience, among them ten Egyptian and Danish PhD candidates participatingin a concurrent academic course at DIIS.SpeakersMichael Hudson,Professor, Georgetown University, USDina Shehata,Senior Researcher, ACPSS, CairoHanaa Ebeid,Researcher, ACPSS, CairoHelle Malmvig,Senior Researcher, DIISLars Erslev Andersen,Senior Researcher, DIISProgrammeMore details about the seminar are available on ourwebsite.Practical InformationThe seminar will be held inEnglish.
Participation isfree of charge,butregistration is required.Please use ouronline registration formno later thanWednesday, 7 October 2009 at 12.00 noon.Please await confirmation by e-mail from DIIS for participation.Sincerely,Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)The Conference SectionStrandgade 56DK-1401 Copenhagen KDenmarkPh. (+45) 32 69 87 51Fax (+45) 32 69 87 00E-mail:[email protected]Web:www.diis.dkFeel free to forward this invitation to others with a potential interest in the seminar.For other public DIIS meetings, please visit our website onwww.diis.dk.If you did not receive this invitation directly from DIIS and wish to receive invitations to futureevents at DIIS, please use the following link:www.diis.dk/sw7899.aspIf you no longer wish to receive invitations directly from DIIS, please send an e-mail about this to[email protected](and please remember to state your name and organisation).Please note that DIIS is not responsible for invitations forwarded to you by others.
