TheDanish Institute for International Studies (DIIS),in collaboration with theDepartment for Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies (TORS)at the University of Copenhagen, has the pleasure of inviting you to aseminar on:

The Syrian Uprising: Sectarian and Regional Dynamics

Thursday, 6 June 2013, 13.00-16.00

Danish Institute for International StudiesMain AuditoriumStrandgade 71, ground floor, 1401 Copenhagen K

Background

Two years into the Syrian uprising, a protracted civil war has replaced the initial model of peaceful massprotest that Syrian protestors borrowed from their Egyptian and Tunisian counterparts during the early daysof the “Arab Spring” in 2011. While the international society had proven incapable of respondingunanimously to the armed conflict in Syria, regional actors have engaged heavily through proxy with the aimof influencing the broader regional power balances of the post-Arab Spring Middle East. Partially as a by-product of this regional engagement, sectarian dynamics has become an increasingly important factor inshaping the armed conflict in Syria.The seminar investigates how these parallel dynamics – regionalism and sectarianism – influence the on-going civil war in Syria and raises the question how Denmark and the international society may best respond.

Speakers

Steven Heydemann,Senior Adviser for Middle East initiatives, United States Institute of Peace (USIP)Patrick Haenni,Advisor for the Middle East Office, Centre for Humanitarian DialogueJakob Skovgaard Petersen,Professor MSO, TORS, University of CopenhagenHelle Malmvig,Senior Researcher, DIISRasmus Alenius Boserup,Research Fellow, DIIS

Programme

More details about the seminar are available on ourwebsite.

Practical Information

The seminar will be held inEnglish.Participation isfree of charge,butregistration is required.Please use ouronline registration formno laterthan

Wednesday, 5 June 2013 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.dk