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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20081012T080000
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SUMMARY:The American Presidential Elections: Democratic and Republican Perspectives
DESCRIPTION:In order to gauge local public opinion regarding the United States Presidential elections and to bring the nuances of the American debate to the Gulf region\, CIRS hosted its own Democratic vs. Republican debate on October 12\, 2008 at the Diplomatic Club in Doha. On the Republican side was James Patti\, Director of Strategic Planning & Analysis for the Division of Biology & Medicine at Brown University and early supporter of Senator John McCain’s campaign for the Republican nomination. On behalf of the Democrats was Gary Wasserman\, Visiting Professor of Government at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. The debate\, which was attended by a record audience of interested members of the local community\, was moderated by David Foster\, seasoned journalist and correspondent at the Al Jazeera English television network. \n \n \nClick here to download an MP3 of the debate \n \n \nFoster asked both representatives to deliver a five minute introductory summary of the primary issues in order to define the most pertinent concerns of the evening’s debate. Gary Wasserman argued that the United States’ Presidential debate had become side-tracked by the public focus on celebrity politics and personality examinations and this has caused a tremendous amount of confusion among the electorate. The choice between both nominees should\, in fact\, be a simple and straightforward decision between each party’s policies and programs over the next four years. He argued that the Republican Party treated the American people with little respect by constantly reiterating statements and slogans that were untrue\, hoping “that they would swallow it.” This\, he said\, was in keeping with the Bush administration’s tactic of bullishly repeating a statement ad nausea in order to convince the public of its sincerity. Wasserman concluded his opening statement by saying that “if we want change\, it needs to be more than a campaign slogan; we need Barack Obama.” \n \n \nIn his introductory remarks\, James Patti argued that the public should remember that the Republican Party is not\, and should not\, be defined by the Bush administration. The Republican Party\, he argued\, is the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan and it is the party of free trade and courageous public policies. He noted that whoever becomes elected as President of the United States needs the strong will to fill a number of criteria in order to reassert America’s role in the world. Senator McCain\, he said\, despite the negative rhetoric and opinion polls will make an excellent leader. \n \n \nAfter both debaters had defined their political positions\, David Foster asked each a series of pointed questions regarding the state of the United States economy and its foreign policy and what hope there was for the Middle East if both Republican and Democratic campaign strategies insisted on the importance of maintaining a strong relationship with Israel. Wasserman answered by saying that despite all their fundamental differences\, both the pro-Israel and anti-Israel lobbies were in agreement on one issue and that is the belief in the strong influence of the Israel lobby and its ability to affect foreign policy. Wasserman noted that foreign policy decisions depend on a number of considerations and variables and do not simply follow a formula of befriending Israel at all costs. \n \n \nJim Patti argued\, in relation to the question of foreign policy and Iraq\, that Senator Obama was extremely irresponsible towards the American people by giving a definite timeframe for troop withdrawal regardless of the ensuing consequences. He admitted that “Brand America” was extremely damaged at the moment\, but this was not irreparable\, as the American system allowed for renewal and reconstruction. Patti emphasized that what is needed is greater oversight\, stronger reforms and a clearer vision. \n \n \nAudience members were invited to ask questions of both men\, which produced a lively discussion. Some of the questions focused on initiating a conversation debating Arab views of America and what it means to be an Arab American in the current climate of home security and racial profiling. \n \n \nBoth speakers were asked to give concluding statements to wrap up the debate. Patti ended by saying that he had great respect for Barack Obama but because of the Senator’s inexperience\, he should not be elected in 2008 but instead\, should use the next four years to gather some valuable insight into the Presidency and run in the 2012 election. Wasserman warned that the Presidential candidates should not avoid concentrating on the important overarching issues by resorting to the tabloid tactics of mud-slinging and personality discredits in order to achieve their objectives.  \n \n \nParticipant Biographies:\n \n\nJames W. Patti is the Director of Strategic Planning & Analysis for the Division of Biology & Medicine at Brown University. Prior to joining Brown in 2006\, he served as the founding Chief Financial Officer of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar.A native of Massachusetts\, Patti is a lifelong Republican with a keen interest in international affairs\, economic development and education policy. He was an early supporter of Senator John McCain’s campaign for the Republican nomination\, organizing grassroots activists and helping secure a McCain primary victory in Rhode Island. In 2008\, he represented the State of Rhode Island as a McCain delegate to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul\, Minnesota. \n \n\nDr. Wasserman is a Visiting Professor of Government at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. He has been a Visiting Professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies teaching graduate students about American government\, media\, and political parties in Nanjing\, China. As a Fulbright Scholar\, he studied at St. Antony’s College\, Oxford University\, Nairobi University\, and Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. His book\, The Basics of American Politics was published by Longman and is currently in its 13th edition. He has taught at Columbia\, Medgar Evers College CUNY\, and George Mason universities.As a Senior Vice President of the public affairs firm Bozell Sawyer Miller\, Dr. Wasserman organized and shaped state and local campaigns\, a role he had also filled while a partner in a grassroots Washington firm. His public service includes: National Issues Coordinator for a presidential campaign; legislative assistant in the House of Representatives\, and Special Assistant for Evaluation to the Administrator of USAID. At present he advises the U.S. Agency for International Development\, has spoken in several countries under the U.S. Speakers Program and created Banyan Advisors\, a non-profit lobbying firm for the poor. \n \n\nDavid Foster has over 34 years of experience as a journalist\, covering stories in more than 50 countries. He came to Al Jazeera English from Sky News\, the UK-based satellite news channel\, where for almost ten years he was a studio news presenter and business correspondent.  \n Summary by Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS Publications Coordinator.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/american-presidential-elections-democratic-and-republican-perspectives/
CATEGORIES:American Studies,Dialogue Series,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20081019T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20081019T180000
DTSTAMP:20260420T012424
CREATED:20141026T143031Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T115257Z
UID:10001012-1224403200-1224439200@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:American Public Diplomacy after the Bush Administration
DESCRIPTION:CIRS hosted a luncheon discussion on October 19\, 2008\, featuring Cynthia Schneider\, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University\, nonresident Fellow at the Brookings institution\, and former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands. Professor Schneider discussed ways in which the next U.S. administration should use culture as part of its diplomatic efforts. The lunch was attended by a number of locally-based ambassadors\, policy-makers\, and educational experts from Qatar Foundation and the Brookings Institution. \n \n \nSchneider began her talk by quoting author Fareed Zakaria\, saying that “America remains the universal nation\, a country that people across the world believe should speak for universal values”. This\, she said\, summed up the current situation in which the U.S. has seriously squandered its world-wide reputation as a country that stands for universal values. The U.S. does however\, have the potential to fix its image abroad through the healing and generative aspects of its art and culture.  \n \n \nThroughout her career as both an art historian and a diplomat\, Schneider said that she attempted to successfully combine public diplomacy with cross-cultural understanding. Her aim\, she said\, was to promote U.S. culture as a major component of foreign policy; not in the sense of “selling” U.S. culture to the rest of the world\, but by offering it as a friendly gesture in order to enhance “mutual understanding and respect” with other nations. Schneider reported that one of the most striking results of John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed’s Gallup poll research was that the issue of “lack of respect and understanding on the part of the U.S.” rated higher on the agenda in the Arab world than the Israel/Palestine conflict or the war in Iraq. This shows how important it is for the next U.S. administration to conduct culturally sensitive diplomatic missions that try to understand the realities of the Arab world in order to not misrepresent the problems it faces in these regions. \n \n \n In order to fully integrate cultural promotion with foreign policy\, Schneider quoted the basic principles of public diplomacy\, which are to communicate some aspect of U.S. values such as diversity\, opportunity\, or freedom of expression; to cater to the needs of other countries and to recognize that the same formula does not work for everyone; and to enter into a long-term relationship with other countries. She explained that “military power has limited value and can’t solve all\, or many\, problems” and that we have witnessed the damage that the excessive use of force has done. This is why it is necessary for the next U.S. administration to find alternative means of engaging with the rest of the world. Listening\, she said\, was an integral part of reciprocal public diplomacy and one that\, in its simplicity\, generates a great deal of respect for the other.  \n \n \nThe media\, both commercial and state-owned\, is a powerful tool for promoting values internationally and should be used to enhance positive cross-cultural relationships. Popular culture is an important means of promoting values\, history and heritage. Specifically\, more positive representations of Arabs in U.S. media and entertainment programs can go a long way to bettering relationships between the U.S. and the Arab world.  \n \n \nIn conclusion\, Schneider made three recommendations to the next U.S. administration that would significantly improve its diplomatic efforts in the Arab world. These included aligning values and actions; engaging and not instructing; and taking other nation’s cultures as seriously as they do.  \n \n \nArticle by Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS Publications Coordinator.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/american-public-diplomacy-after-bush-administration/
CATEGORIES:American Studies,Dialogue Series,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20081022T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20081022T180000
DTSTAMP:20260420T012424
CREATED:20141026T142754Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210902T113152Z
UID:10001010-1224662400-1224698400@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Commemoration of Mahmoud Darwish
DESCRIPTION:In honor of the memory of Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish\, CIRS hosted a literary evening to recall his life and his legacy. His Excellency\, the Palestinian Ambassador to Qatar\, Munir Ghannam\, and Georgetown University Professor\, Amira El Zein\, were invited to share their thoughts on different aspects of the poet’s life and work. Ambassador Ghannam recounted Darwish’s biography from birth to death and El Zein\, professor of Arabic\, engaged with his art\, speaking of the powerful metaphorical nature of his poetry. Drawn by the culturally binding subject of poetry\, the audience was an eclectic mix of students\, faculty\, embassy staff\, and poetry-lovers. The audience was treated to rare insights into Darwish’s life as both speakers relayed anecdotes about meeting the poet\, conversing with him\, and relaying what he meant to them as a personal friend.As an introduction to his talk\, Ambassador Ghannam began by lamenting the loss of not only a great poet\, but of “the voice of Palestinian resistance.” He recounted to the audience several episodes in the life of Mahmoud Darwish: how he was born in a land called Palestine that is no longer in existence; how he and his family were driven away from their homes by Israeli occupiers; how he was arrested on numerous occasions because of his inflammatory writings; how he went into exile to Russia\, France\, the United States\, and Egypt; and how he returned and became actively involved in the politics of Palestine. Ambassador Ghannam spoke of the social\, political\, and economic struggles of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how the realities and hardships of Darwish’s life figured prominently in his work as he translated his personal experience into poetry. \n \n \nAmbassador Ghannam gave a bi-lingual recitation of some of the verses of Darwish’s famous poem “Identity Card\,” which is believed to have defined Palestinian identity through language and\, which became a symbol of Palestinian resistance. Over the years\, Darwish gained a reputation as a leading voice of protest and became known as the national poet of Palestine. He even lent his words to the Palestinian cause by penning a famous speech delivered by Yasser Arafat at the United Nations and by wording the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. Darwish’s work\, Ambassador Ghannam concluded\, has been translated into many languages and several of his poems have crossed artistic disciplines and have been set to music by Marcel Khalife\, making them popular to a wider audience. \n \n \nGeorgetown University Professor Amira El Zein concentrated on the metaphorical nature of Darwish’s work. In most of his poems\, El Zein said\, Darwish acknowledged the native American use of the “name” and the metaphor of home to give identity to\, and keep alive\, a home long gone. She argued that everything exists in language and so to keep the idea of home alive in language is to also keep the idea of returning to that home alive. El Zein quoted Darwish as saying “because I couldn’t find my home in the land\, I found it in history.” \n \n \nLanguage\, El Zein said\, does not mirror the world\, but rather\, Darwish created Palestine through poetry and that is why his use of language is such a powerful socio-political tool. The foundation of Israel not only appropriates the land\, but perhaps more importantly\, the histories\, mythologies\, and identities of the Palestinian people. All these elements of existential strife are interwoven through the poetic devices of Darwish’s work. El Zein concluded by telling the audience that she is in the process of translating a book of interviews with Darwish\, which she had hoped to share with him.  \n \n \nArticle by Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS Publications Coordinator. 
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/commemoration-mahmoud-darwish/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Distingushed Lectures,Regional Studies
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