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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20080211T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20080211T180000
DTSTAMP:20260421T143936
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SUMMARY:Gary Wasserman on the role of Lobbying Groups in American Foreign Policy
DESCRIPTION:On February 11\, 2008\, students and guests of CIRS were treated to a lecture by Gary Wasserman\, Professor of Government at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Wasserman’s lecture\, part of the CIRS Monthly Dialogue Series\, discussed the question “Democracy and American Foreign Policy: Do Interest Groups Help or Hinder?” \n \n \nWasserman argued that allowing interest groups to lobby helps open up the highly centralized U.S. foreign policy process\, which is dominated by the executive branch. Wasserman called this executive hegemony “presidentialism.” Presidentialism can be illustrated by many experiences under the Bush administration\, Wasserman said. He cited examples of presidential language modeled on rhetoric of the armed forces\, and of the increase in classified documents under the Bush administration. \n \n \nWasserman claimed that the use of classified documents limits the involvement of outsiders in the political process\, and reduces political debate and executive accountability. Moreover\, these classified documents are used selectively as a means to an end\, as in the case of the buildup of argumentation for the Iraq War\, Wasserman said. Serving as another example of presidentialism are governmental sanctions against dissident voices\, such as the case of two American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobbyists who have recently been prosecuted for having obtained classified information. \n \n \nAccording to Wasserman\, the post-9/11 climate has added strength to the tendency of presidentialism; however\, over the past few years and with new presidential elections coming up\, this trend is beginning to be undermined by others\, like globalization. Through globalization\, new and different influence groups have risen\, and this broadening of the political sphere has made American foreign policy slightly more pragmatic. \n \n \nWasserman then anticipated an expected audience question\, stemming from the widespread negative image of interest groups and lobbyists: Is greater public involvement in foreign policy desirable? Here\, Wasserman referred to Alexis De Tocqueville\, who\, in the mid-nineteenth century\, pointed to the uneasy relationship in the United States between foreign policy and democracy. \n \n \nTraditionally\, these two entities are seen as antagonistic towards each other. Wasserman commented\, however\, that foreign policy often results from bureaucratic compromises\, and that foreign policy is portrayed as more coherent than it actually is. Discussing the people factor\, he referred to the work of Benjamin Page\, who portrays the public as just as coherent\, and stresses that it should not be excluded from the political decision-making process. Page then provides suggestions for the problem at the core of this matter\, i.e.\, how to make democracy work with foreign policy. \n \n \nCurrently in U.S. society\, the problem of the “people factor” has led to increasing prominence of experts in all fields. Since in foreign policy\, lobbyists are the experts\, lobbyists can in fact open up the foreign policy process\, and lessen presidentialism\, Wasserman claimed. \n \n \nWasserman argued against the traditional negative stereotype that surround lobbyists. Adding nuance to their traditional image\, he alerted his audience to the potentialities of lobbyists as contributors to foreign policy-making in the democratic state\, rather than selfish takers in that process. \n \n \nSummary prepared by Katrien Vanpee. Katrien is a PhD-candidate at Georgetown University\, and works at the Embassy of Belgium in Doha.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/gary-wasserman-role-lobbying-groups-american-foreign-policy/
CATEGORIES:American Studies,Dialogue Series,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20080217T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20080217T180000
DTSTAMP:20260421T143936
CREATED:20141023T083818Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T115526Z
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SUMMARY:John Esposito on What a Billion Muslims Really Think
DESCRIPTION:World-renowned scholar and prolific author John L. Esposito spoke to an audience of nearly 400 guests on February 17\, 2008 at the Diplomatic Club in Doha. In his remarks\, the Georgetown University Professor of Religion and International Affairs covered the findings of his latest book\, Who Speaks for Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think. \n \n \nAs the Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University\, Esposito emphasized that throughout his career he has been repeatedly asked the same questions regarding Islam: Is Islam compatible with democracy? What is the relationship between Islam and modernity? And\, what about Islam is particularly violent? According to Esposito\, such questions affirm this clear clash of perceptions between the West and the Muslim World. The problem\, he said\, is that extremists and terrorism have too often been amplified in the media\, consequently overshadowing the hopes\, fears\, resentments\, and realities of a billion Muslims globally. Rather than lend credence to an extreme minority\, Esposito\, along with the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies\, decided to compile data and give voice to a silenced majority—which will enable the public to get beyond ideologies and ignorance. \n \n \nWho Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think is based on six years of research and more than 50\,000 interviews representing 1.3 billion Muslims who reside in more than 35 nations with predominant or sizable Muslim populations. Representing more than 90 percent of the world’s Muslim community\, this poll is the most comprehensive and revealing study of its kind. \n \n \nEsposito focused his talk on the main findings of the survey as they relate to the clash of perceptions\, double standards of US foreign policy\, and the need to promote democratization and economic development in the Muslim world. Before delving into policy grievances\, Esposito highlighted the perception problem as a glaring difference between what Muslims admire about the West\, and what Westerners admire about the Muslim world. The majority of Muslims interviewed stated an admiration for Western ideals of democracy\, rule of law\, political participation\, accountability\, economic growth\, and technology. However\, despite the increased awareness of Islam and Muslims in the West in the post 9/11 era\, 57% of Western respondents said they admired nothing or couldn’t think of anything they admired about the Muslim world. Here\, the clash of perceptions becomes evident\, where the war against terrorism translates into a war against Islam. \n \n \nEsposito maintained that this is a fragile delineation\, because many Muslims view the war against terror as an excuse to redraw the map of the Muslim world. With the persistent denigration of Islam and Muslims\, many Muslims are seriously concerned that the West in general and America in particular operate with a double standard when it comes to the Middle East and the larger Muslim world. When we look into the consequences of 9/11\, Esposito argued\, the reality is that many countries in the Muslim world have become more authoritarian; thereby thwarting movements towards democratization. Thus\, this stands in contradiction to the US administration’s push for democracy in the region. Esposito argued that the US democracy promotion policy was “not an export of self-determination but the export of a particular brand of democracy.” Furthermore\, not only do Muslims want greater democratization within their countries\, but “young Muslims want jobs\, not jihad.” Hence\, not only are Muslims frustrated with their domestic policies as well as with US foreign policy\, but more poignantly\, they are also disappointed about the lack of opportunity and economic mobility in their own countries. \n \n \nEsposito recommended that the way forward for the West and the US is to emphasize soft power rather than military power. When speaking about America’s role in the Muslim world\, he recommended that the United States must use the carrot and stick approach. More specifically\, the US and the West have to honestly promote freedom\, civil society\, and human rights in countries that they offer aid and support to. These countries have an important role to play in flexing their muscles in order to address governments that marginalize their people. \n \n \nAccording to the Gallup research\, both the West and the Muslim world care about the future\, but each thinks that the other side doesn’t. Both agree that there needs to be greater interaction\, exchange and education. Respect and partnership should be central to Western and Muslim foreign policies. It is more about policy than principles. At a time when sensationalist headlines often eclipse and undermine mutual understanding between Western and Muslim communities\, it is essential to engage in meaningful dialogue and discourse. \n \n \nEsposito told his audience\, “I see light at the very end of the tunnel. It is going to take years for us to get out of where we are.” \n \n \nSummary prepared by Aalaa Abuzaakouk. Aalaa serves as a Student Affairs Officer at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/john-esposito-what-billion-muslims-really-think/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Race & Society,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20080226T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20080226T180000
DTSTAMP:20260421T143936
CREATED:20141027T145009Z
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SUMMARY:Global Media Between Dialogue and War: When Enemies Boost the Ratings
DESCRIPTION:On Tuesday February 26\, 2008\, CIRS hosted a one-day conference with the Italian organization Reset – Dialogues on Civilizations at Weill Cornell Lecture Hall 2. \n \n \nThis symposium featured an intensive set of discussions in which experts from the fields of media\, journalism\, international relations\, and film studies came together to deliberate the consequences of using the international media as a weapon of war. The symposium was attended by students\, journalists\, scholars\, Doha-based ambassadors\, and other members of the public. \n \n \nThe audience and guests were welcomed by Mehran Kamrava\, Director of CIRS\, and Nina Zu Fürstenberg\, Director of Reset. Guests were then were given a brief introduction by His Excellency Giuseppe Buccino Grimaldi\, the Ambassador of Italy to Qatar\, who praised the efforts of Georgetown University\, Qatar Foundation\, and Al Jazeera in their vision and value of progressive thinking\, open dialogue and education. \n \n \nSome of the speakers taking part in the symposium included Giuliano Amato\, the Italian Minister of Interior\, and Otto Schilly\, Member of the German Parliament. Other speakers—including noted political figures\, film-makers\, academics\, and practitioners—deliberated on several important issues pertaining to the relationship between media and war\, as well as the state of the interaction between\, broadly-defined\, Arab and Western media. \n \n \nAlso discussed was the balancing act that many media conglomerates play between local demands and preferences on the one hand and international and multi-cultural trends on the other. This has resulted in a proliferation of multi-language media broadcasts. In the context of the post-9/11 global environment\, broadcasts in Arabic have assumed particular significance as more media outfits are eager for a wider audience share n the Arab world. Other issues of contemporary relevance—immigration\, terrorism\, cultural diffusion—have also combined to heighten interest in the role of global media. \n \n \nThe audience also observed two documentary films and was able to address questions to the directors who presented their works. The first film was entitled “Who to Believe?” and was shown by the Iranian film-maker Hossein Dehbashi and his assistant Mateo Farzaneh. This was an edited version of a longer\, seven-hour documentary commenting on the war in Iraq and how it has become a subject of polarization by its coverage in Western and Arab media. \n \n \nThe second documentary was a proposal introduced by Carlo Sartori\, the CEO of NewCo Rai International\, the Italian media organization\, to launch an Arabic language channel from an Italian perspective. The hope is to ease some of the strained relations between the Arab world and the West by emphasizing cross-cultural communication. \n \n \nThe symposium concluded on the note that listening is as much a solution to war as speaking is\, and that two-way communication is the simplest yet hardest-to-achieve model of communication.  \n \n \nEvent Program\n \n9:00 – 9:30 am         Welcome \n \n \nMehran Kamrava\, Director\, Center for International and Regional StudiesH.E. Giuseppe Buccino Grimaldi\, Ambassador of Italy in QatarNina Zu Fürstenberg\, Director of Reset – Dialogue on Civilizations\, Italy  \n \n \n9:30 – 11:30 am       Panel I \n \n \nMedia as Weapons? Crossed views between East and WestThis panel analyzed how television and other media shape the mutual (in)comprehensions between different cultures and faiths\, from mass-media and satellite television to the spread of blogging\, and from vertical to horizontal communication. Panelists included:Giancarlo Bosetti\, Reset Magazine\, ItalyDaniela Conte\, IMT Lucca\, ItalyAshraf Galal\, Qatar UniversityThomas Gorguissian\, Qatar UniversityIbrahim Helal\, Al Jazeera InternationalSteven Livingston\, George Washington UniversityPaolo Mancini\, University of Perugia\, ItalyLawrence Pintak\, American University of CairoMohamed Zayani\, American University of Sharjah  \n \n \n12:00 – 1:30 pm       Films and Discussion \n \n \nReligious Television and International NewsThe Iranian film-maker Hossein Dehbashi and his assistant Mateo M. Farzaneh presented their latest documentary\, and the Italian television producer Carlo Sartori presented the project of an innovative channel to be broadcast in the Mediterranean region.  \n \n \n1:30 – 3:00 pm         Lunch Break  \n \n \n3:00 – 5:00 pm         Panel II \n \n \nHow Politics Can Deal with the Media War  \n \n \nPresenters\n \nGiuliano Amato\, Italian Minister of InteriorGiancarlo Bosetti\, Reset Magazine\, ItalyMehran Kamrava\, Director\, Center for International and Regional StudiesOtto Schily\, Member of the German Parliament  \n \n \nSummary prepared by Suzi Mirgani\, a CIRS staff member.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/global-media-between-dialogue-and-war-when-enemies-boost-ratings/
CATEGORIES:American Studies,Dialogue Series,Panels,Race & Society,Regional Studies
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