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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20101107T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20101107T180000
DTSTAMP:20260411T102350
CREATED:20141023T141809Z
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SUMMARY:Nuclear Question in the Middle East: Regional Perspectives
DESCRIPTION:On November 7\, 2010\, CIRS held a Working Group meeting to discuss regional perspectives related to the ongoing “Nuclear Question in the Middle East” research initiative that CIRS commenced in May 2010. The project is designed to look into nuclear proliferation concerns associated with the GCC states’ aims of establishing nuclear power capabilities in the region. Through close examination of the complex political and economic issues involved\, CIRS aims to give due diligence to study of the topic. \n\nThe meeting was divided into broad thematic sections\, including 1) regional security and arms control; 2) civilian nuclear energy programs; 3) Israel’s nuclear program and security in the Middle East; and 4) regional perspectives of Iran’s nuclear energy program. \n\nThe participants began by surveying the security climate across the region. They noted that the complexity of arms control and weaponization in the region is worth further in-depth study. In many cases\, the countries of the Middle East have strategic alliances with various different countries and this produces complex political networks. The participants argued that what is unique about the state of security in the Middle East is that\, despite always being seriously affected by foreign influence\, many countries in the region have historically made strategic decisions against the advice of foreign allies. In the past\, Iraq’s weapons program was closely associated with Western countries as a buffering measure against the Islamic Republic of Iran and\, yet\, Iraq had its own independent motivations and initiated various clandestine nuclear programs. \n\nFurther\, the threat perception\, they argued\, was “sub-regional” in that the countries of the Middle East are more concerned with neighbors’ security programs\, rather than regional ones. Morocco\, for example\, is less concerned with Iran and Israel’s nuclear ambitions than it is with Libya’s. Threat perceptions\, therefore\, are based on geographic location and proximity of security hazards\, and are the basis for driving regional security policies. The participants also considered the power of nuclear ambitions in the face of non-conventional terrorist threats. \n\nDespite tremendous pressure exerted by Western powers\, many countries of the Middle East have voiced their right to pursue nuclear ambitions. Many\, however\, do not have the necessary capacity\, infrastructure\, and technological capabilities. The countries that do\, such as the GCC states\, have opted for rational economic strategies by seeking contracts from Asian firms to build their nuclear plants\, rather than relying on the expertise of their Western allies. The strength of the Israeli lobby has meant that the United States has been discouraged from engaging in these regional GCC initiatives. \n\nThe threat from Iran is often attributed as one of the main drivers behind the GCC states’ nuclear ambitions\, the participants argued. Despite this credible threat\, there are various other factors that are just as influential. Issues such as energy consumption\, economic stability\, climate change\, and the depletion of natural resources in the GCC have become of paramount importance to the establishment of nuclear energy ambitions. Further to these practical issues\, notions of prestige and image-building are also key drivers for the acquisition of nuclear power in the region. \n\nIn conclusion\, the participants argued that it was oil and gas prices that have caused the “nuclear renaissance” in the Middle East. The interest in nuclear programs in this case is based on nuclear power rather than on the fuel cycle and enrichment possibilities for weapons.  \n\nRead more about this research initiative\n\nWorking Group Participants: \n\nMustafa Alani\, Gulf Research CenterSalih Al Mani\, King Saud UniversityZahra Babar\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in QatarKai-Henrik Barth\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in QatarJohn T. Crist\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in QatarNabil Fahmy\, American University in CairoRiad Kahwaji\, INEGMAMehran Kamrava\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in QatarSuzi Mirgani\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in QatarAdnan Shihab-Eldin\, Adviser and Member of Kuwait National Nuclear Energy Committee (KNNEC)Debra Shushan\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in QatarAbdullah Toukan\, Strategic Analysis and Global Risk Assessment (SAGRA) \n\nArticle by Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS Publications Coordinator
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/nuclear-question-middle-east-regional-perspectives/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Environmental Studies,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20101107T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20101107T180000
DTSTAMP:20260411T102350
CREATED:20141023T151655Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T105834Z
UID:10000825-1289116800-1289152800@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Miriam Cooke Lectures on Heritage Projects in the GCC
DESCRIPTION:Miriam Cooke\, Professor of Arab Cultures at Duke University and Fall 2010 Scholar-in-Residence at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha\, delivered the November CIRS Monthly Dialogue on the topic of “The Tribal Modern: The Past as Future.” \n \n \nIn examining a variety of “heritage projects” in Qatar and the Gulf states\, Cooke acknowledged the literature of Ibn Khaldun and his binary scheme of distinction between the desert nomadic\, otherwise known as “badawa\,” and the sedentary urban\, known as “hadara” in many current Arab cultures. The “badawa” symbolizes nomadism\, loyalty\, and tribalism and “hadara\,” on the other hand\, is symbolic of modernity\, urbanization\, and individualism. Both concepts are used to distinguish the “self” from the “other” in Arab societies. When used to describe the self\, Cooke argued\, either word has positive connotations\, but when used to describe the other\, it is often tinged with criticism of the other’s way of life\, be it modern or traditional. “These two terms\,” she argued\, “are current in Gulf vocabulary\, and are deployed to designate cultural differences.” \n \n \nCooke argued that both concepts are constitutive of the heterogeneity inherent in Arab cultures and so it is important “to bring the two cultures together in such a way that they complement and enhance each other and strengthen the modernization efforts underway” in many Gulf states. These largely oppositional tropes between the traditional and the modern\, Cooke noted\, are negotiated and played out in the current “heritage projects.” Areas such as Suq Waqif in Doha are primary examples of how the old and modern aspects of Qatari culture are intertwined in architectural design of public spaces. \n \n \nIn order to further explore these underlying cultural imaginings\, Cooke contacted Mohamed Ali\, the designer and architect of the restoration of Suq Waqif. She noted that “it was through him that I began to see that ‘badawa’ and ‘hadara’ are being braided together.” In order to reconstruct the old market area\, the architect\, “finding very little reliable historical documentation\, interviewed old people for fragments and figments of their imagination.” \n \n \nSuq Waqif differs greatly from the highly modernized cityscape of the downtown financial district of West Bay\, and\, so\, Cooke argued\, the architecture of Doha has become an assimilation of the old and new and of the ‘badawa’ and ‘hadara.’ She noted that “where the skyscrapers compete for the prize in cutting-edge Western technology and aesthetics\, and the Museum of Islamic Art was designed to blend the architectural variety of Islamdom into a single seamless whole\, Suq Waqif was to be made of local materials and to embody the spirit of the Gulf.” Indeed\, Cooke argued\, “Suq Waqif\, for me\, is the emblematic working out of the tribal modern.” \n \n \nThis historical reference to cultural and tribal purity\, or asala\, is a symptom of globalization and modernity\, argued Cooke\, as nations attempt to rebuild cultural identities after years of colonial struggle. She noted that “the Arab world states\, whose citizens are the first generation to grow up with a national\, rather than a regional\, identity\, are involved in a future articulation of a largely unrecorded past that lies buried under the surface of identical newly global cities.” In this sense\, many of these renovation projects are state-sponsored and are in service to the idea of the patriotic. \n \n \nCooke confirmed that “heritage projects erase pre-national ethnoscapes and deterritorialize lifestyles. They provide the tabula rasa on which the mass migrations of workers can be projected as new. Colonialism disappears behind the façade of ethnic purity and isolation. The heritage that is being revived glosses over four centuries of struggle between the Portuguese\, the Ottomans\, and the British for control of the valuable waterways that link the Fertile Crescent with the Indian Ocean.” \n \n \nConcluding the lecture\, Cooke argued that\, in any of these heritage projects\, whether architectural\, sartorial\, or linguistic\, it is not an actual tribe that is being revived to serve as the backdrop for the embodiment of cultural purity\, but the “idea” of a tribe. In fact\, she said\, “it doesn’t matter that Suq Waqif is a simulacrum; it produces the ideal\, the idea\, and the feel of the authentic (the aseel).” \n \n \nArticle by Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS Publications Coordinator 
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/miriam-cooke-lectures-heritage-projects-gcc/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Race & Society,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20101110T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20101110T180000
DTSTAMP:20260411T102350
CREATED:20141026T132931Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T105830Z
UID:10000991-1289376000-1289412000@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Researching the Gulf: Thinking Outside the Box in Qatar
DESCRIPTION:Mehran Kamrava\, Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies\, gave a talk\, entitled “Researching the Gulf: Thinking Outside the Box in Qatar”\, at the American University of Beirut’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs. The event was sponsored jointly by CIRS and IFI. \n \n \nKamrava discussed the challenges and opportunities present in conducting social science research in the Gulf in general and in Doha in particular\, focusing specifically on the research projects undertaken by CIRS and the roles\, both current and potential\, in influencing or shaping public policy in Qatar and elsewhere. \n \n \nBeginning with a broader discussion of the establishment and purpose of CIRS as part of the School of Foreign Service in Qatar\, Kamrava discussed the primary research focus and scholarly endeavors of CIRS and the broader consequences of these research initiatives on the state of social science scholarship and the encouragement of a culture of research in Qatar and elsewhere in the Gulf region. By undertaking in-depth\, multiyear studies such as “nuclear programs in the Gulf\,” “migrant labor in the Gulf\,” and “food security and food sovereignty in the Middle East\,” Kamrava told the audience that CIRS aims to contribute to our understanding of relevant political phenomenon through engaging in empirically grounded\, original research. \n \n \nThe talk was followed by a question and answer session. A video of the event is available here.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/researching-gulf-thinking-outside-box-qatar/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Race & Society,Regional Studies
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20101114T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20101114T180000
DTSTAMP:20260411T102350
CREATED:20141026T131916Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T105645Z
UID:10000990-1289721600-1289757600@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Carol Lancaster on the Results and Consequences of the U.S. Mid-term Elections
DESCRIPTION:Carol Lancaster\, Dean of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and Professor of Politics at Georgetown University\, lectured to a group of Georgetown faculty and Qatar-based diplomats on November 14\, 2010 on the subject of “The Results and Consequences of the US Mid-term Elections.” \n \n \nThe mid-term elections\, Lancaster said\, “were predicted to be a setback for Obama and predicted to produce a change in the Congress.” These forecasts\, she said\, were true insofar as “the change of party in the House of Representatives was dramatic\,” but\, although “the democrats will control the Senate\, they will not control much\, because in order to get anything through the U.S. Senate\, you normally have to have sixty votes.” \n \n \nExplaining various elements of the United States government structure\, Lancaster said that “the Congress can block the president from doing almost anything that requires a congressional vote. […] Currently\, the Republicans have the votes in the House to block legislation\, but\, similarly\, Obama can block legislation from the Congress\, because he has the veto power\,” which\, she said\, “is a recipe for stalemate.” \n \n \nOne of the major issues that will be affected after the mid-term elections\, Lancaster said\, is the size and distribution of the federal budget. “The Republicans are either going to have to pass a budget\, which means they are going have to compromise on a variety of issues because they cut everything they want\, or not pass a budget\, in which case\, I think they’ll be blamed for impeding life and the economy of the United States.” If the Republicans do compromise with the administration in passing a budget\, then the right-wing will become part of what they criticized in their bids to become elected – “too much wheeling and dealing in Washington.” \n \n \nThe second test\, Lancaster argued\, will be raising the federal debt limit. “If you don’t raise the limit on the federal debt and the federal government cannot borrow\, then it cannot pay its bills. We will be essentially bankrupt.” In this case\, “if the new Republican members of Congress\, especially the very right wing ones\, put above all else limiting the growth in federal borrowing and spending\, they will have to block raising the debt limit for federal borrowing. If they do not vote to raise the limit\, they will be blamed for what could be an economic disaster.” \n \n \nRegarding the future of American foreign policy influenced by the Republicans\, Lancaster argued that “I think what we are going to see is a more aggressive American foreign policy\, if the Congress has its way. I think the people who will be coming into key positions – some of them at least – are more hostile to Iran\, more supportive of Israel\, and more hostile to North Korea.” \n \n \nFurther\, Lancaster speculated how the results of the mid-term elections will be used to influence the 2012 elections. “The Republicans may decide that this is really the beginning of the presidential elections of 2012 and they will maneuver politically to position themselves for a better shot at the presidency.” In this case\, the Democrats will need to make some serious changes to their mode of operation\, because “over the last two years\, Obama has left the definition of issues – the healthcare bill\, the economic stimulus\, etc. – to the opposition.” If he continues to let the Republicans define these issues through the media and other public forums\, then\, Lancaster said\, the President may have a hard time winning a second term. \n \n \nIn conclusion\, Lancaster argued that at every presidential election\, the two parties are regularly being voted in and out and that is because “we have a closely divide electorate\, which goes back and forth.” She added that “It isn’t that they are voting for something; it is that they are voting against something and that isn’t a very stable way of governing.” There are two underlying and largely contradictory philosophies that are the basis of the United States model. She argued that “since the beginning of the American republic\, we have had a very strong libertarian impulse in our politics\,” but “since the depression\, we have had a ‘social democratic’ impulse which is more comfortable with government addressing social and economic problems.” There are tensions between these two traditions that are played out and negotiated every election year.   \n \n \nArticle by Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS Publications Coordinator
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/carol-lancaster-results-and-consequences-us-mid-term-elections/
CATEGORIES:American Studies,Dialogue Series,Regional Studies
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