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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20150110T090000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20150111T170000
DTSTAMP:20260414T220431
CREATED:20220929T085218Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20221005T070431Z
UID:10001476-1420880400-1420995600@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Re-Emerging West Asia Working Group I
DESCRIPTION:On January 10-11\, 2015\, CIRS held the first Working Group under its research initiative on “Re-Emerging West Asia.” Included in the meeting were academics representing the South Caucasus states of Azerbaijan\, Georgia\, and Armenia\, as well as scholars from Iran and Turkey. Over the course of two days\, the participants discussed a number of relevant issues and identified existing gaps in the literature. Topics discussed during the meeting included\, amongst other things\, the new geopolitical competition in the South Caucasus and the role of external actors\, energy diplomacy\, soft power politics\, and a variety of societal and ethnic dynamics in the region. \n\nOpening the discussion\, participants considered the changing geopolitical environment in the South Caucasus\, the rise of competition between external powers\, and the emergence of new actors. China has exhibited an increasing interest in expanding its role in the region\, an example of which can be seen in the People’s Liberation Army’s agreement with the Armenian military. In Georgia\, the Orthodox Church has been receiving Russian money\, whereby this and other engagements with civil society demonstrate an interest by Russia to shape domestic policies in its neighborhood. Pipeline politics have also encouraged political and financial connections between Turkey\, Georgia\, and Azerbaijan in influencing the regional geopolitical competition. While scholarship on the region has tended to view the North and South Caucasus as two distinct areas\, Working Group participants suggested that these regions share similar economic and political conditions. Additionally\, cross-border and transnational connections such as the Lezgian population in southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan continue to draw the involvement of external actors like Russia. \n\nBetween the Persian Gulf states\, the Middle East\, and the Southern Caucasus\, economic factors and regional crises may provide comparative points for academic consideration. Comparisons can be drawn between the rentier dynamics in Azerbaijan and the Gulf states. Similarities in governance have also led scholars to speculate whether an event similar to the Arab Spring could take place in Armenia and Azerbaijan. However\, one should be cautious when assuming too much similarity between these two regions\, as the historical influences shaping their political pathways have been quite distinct. On the issue of religion and ethnicity\, Azerbaijan views “Muslim identity” as a threat to its ethnic identity whereby in the case of Georgia\, religiousness emerged as a countermovement to Sovietism. \n\nSuch sentiments have allowed movements such as the Gulen schools in Central Asia and the South Caucasus states to flourish in receptive societies. Fethullah Gulen’s Islamic movement became active in the 1980s when Turkey entered its liberal economic phase. In 1992\, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union\, Gulen-inspired businessmen and teachers opened their first school in Azerbaijan followed by another in Kazakhstan. The opening of such schools came at a time when several Central Asian and South Caucasus states had a dire need for better quality education\, which the secular curriculum of the Gulen schools provided. Prior\, to the demise of the Gulen movement’s relationship with the AK party in Turkey\, Turkish foreign policy was aligned with Gulen’s vision\, perceiving of it as one of the best representations of Turkish soft power in the region. The schools led to the creation of an elite community that was proficient in Turkish and sympathetic to a moderate Islamic ideology\, creating significant educational and societal connections between the two regions. \n\nConventionally\, Turkey’s shift in foreign policy in regards to soft power has focused on the AKP’s engagement of state and non-state actors in the Balkans and the broader Middle East. Little is mentioned in soft power literature that focuses on Turkey’s soft power activities in the South Caucasus. Another research gap is that while there are many studies focusing on soft power and non-state actors\, more work needs to look at state actors’ effect on soft power. Such studies should focus on the construction of foreign policy narratives\, political values and cultural exchanges. Moreover\, the subjects of soft power should be better studied in terms of their attraction to soft power\, the limitations soft power holds and the relationship between soft and hard power. Participants problematized the difficulty in studying Turkey’s soft power in the South Caucasus considering the differences that exist from one country to another. For instance\, there has been a level of resistance to Turkish soft power in Central Asia due to the Islamic undertones it holds. \n\nIn terms of hard power\, Turkey utilized its role as an energy transit state to sell gas to European markets. Discussant argued that Turkey’s centrality and its geopolitical position as an energy hub has led it to have a more streamlined trading philosophy. Yet\, one of the main components of an energy hub requires it to have an open and well-regulated market\, something that the AKP party struggles with considering their strong emphasis on trade centrality. Energy was also used a political tool in Azerbaijan and Georgia. In the 1990s\, the major goal for energy diplomacy was the implementation of pro-western policies and the consolidation and promotion of support for the regime\, a strategy that was only successful up until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Participants outlined several emerging trends that needed further study\, such as Azerbaijan’s economic relationship with East Asia\, the possibility of supplying energy to Iran and Iraq and future transit options for the South Caucasus with the newly proposed Nabucco pipeline. \n\nDiscussants observed that US policy towards regional development in the South Caucasus has deprived Iran from playing its natural role in the region and expanding its interaction with neighboring states. Based on the developments that took place after the formation of the Islamic Republic\, we can see different discourses in Iranian foreign policy towards the Caucasus and mutual perceptions that arise from both the Iranian and Azerbaijani sides. From an Iranian viewpoint\, the lesson that was learnt from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is that without the engagement of Russia\, security issues can rarely be solved. After the collapse of the Soviet Union\, despite the common culture and mutual past shared between Iran and Azerbaijan\, relations between the two countries have remained strained over the situation of Azeris in Iran. The Azeris constitute a significant part of the population in Iran\, however Azeri ethnic identity and the use of Azeri language\, alongside other ethnic languages\, has not been taught or practiced in schools in Iran. In return\, the Azerbaijani state has counteracted these efforts by embarking on a historical mission to create a national awakening in order to understand their identity and embrace their independence from Iran. Discussants questioned to what extent is the salience of the Iranian-Azeri relationship contingent on the political relations\, considering that the ethnic dimension only reappears when relations become strained between the two countries. \n\nIn the case of the South Caucasus states\, post-Soviet Armenia has been characterized by crime and corruption which have allowed a few businesses to gain exorbitant amounts of power. These oligarchs are closely linked to the state. Selected individuals and companies act as ‘commodity-based cartels’\, controlling the export and import rights for key products such as sugar\, oil\, alcohol and cigarettes. In return these oligarchs deliver to the state assured ballots and votes. Trade embargoes and closed borders have allowed for the corruption of Armenia’s economy and the strengthened the dominance of the oligarchs. Discussants observed that oligarchs in Armenia enter parliament for status and immunity\, not understanding the potential power they may have in drafting legislation or by impeding the law. Moreover\, more scholarly interest should focus on comparisons of Georgia and Armenia considering their similar variables but radically different political reform strategies. \n\n\nSee the working group agenda\n\n\n\nRead participant biographies\n\n\n\nRead more about this research initiative \n\n\n  \n\nParticipants and Discussants: \n\n\nHamid Ahmadi\, Institute for Middle East Strategic Studies\n\n\n\nHaya Al Noaimi\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\n\n\n\nLeila Alieva\, University of Oxford\n\n\n\nMeliha Benli Altunışık\, Middle East Technical University\n\n\n\nZahra Babar\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\n\n\n\nBayram Balci\, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace\n\n\n\nMichael B. Bishku\, Georgia Regents University\n\n\n\nRichard Giragosian\, Regional Studies Center\n\n\n\nMehran Kamrava\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\n\n\n\nElaheh Koolaee\, University of Tehran\n\n\n\nAlexander Kupatadze\, University of St Andrews\n\n\n\nJeffrey Mankoff\, Center for Strategic and International Studies\n\n\n\nDionysis Markakis\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\n\n\n\nSuzi Mirgani\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\n\n\n\nElizabeth Wanucha\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\n\n\n\nGareth Winrow\, Independent Research Analyst and Consultant\n\n\n  \n\nArticle by Haya Al-Noaimi\, Research Analyst at CIRS
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/re-emerging-west-asia-working-group-i/
CATEGORIES:Focused Discussions,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20150113T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20150113T190000
DTSTAMP:20260414T220431
CREATED:20150105T113643Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T103531Z
UID:10001034-1421172000-1421175600@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:CIRS Presents Abdullah Al-Arian's New Book on the Muslim Brotherhood
DESCRIPTION:On Tuesday\, January 13\, 2015\, CIRS hosted a book launch and reading by Abdullah Al-Arian\, Assistant Professor of History at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Answering the Call: Popular Islamic Activism in Sadat’s Egypt\, published by Oxford University Press in 2014\, “examines the means by which the Muslim Brotherhood was reconstituted during Anwar al-Sadat’s presidency. Through analysis of structural\, ideological\, and social developments during this period in the history of the Islamic movement\, a more accurate picture of the so-called ‘Islamic resurgence’ develops-one that represents the rebirth of an old idea in a new setting. \n \n \nWhen revolutionary hero Gamal Abdel Nasser dismantled and suppressed Egypt’s largest social movement organization during the 1950s\, few could have imagined that the Muslim Brotherhood would not only reemerge\, but could one day compete for the presidency in the nation’s first ever democratic election. While there is no shortage of analyses of the Muslim Brotherhood’s recent political successes and failures\, no study has investigated the organization’s triumphant return from the dustbin of history. \n \n \nThe Muslim Brotherhood’s success in rebuilding its organization rested in large part on its ability to attract a new generation of Islamic activists that had come to transform Egypt’s colleges and universities into a hub for religious contention against the state. Led by groups such as al-Gama’ah al-Islamiyyah (The Islamic Society)\, the student movement exhibited a dynamic and vibrant culture of activism that found inspiration in a multitude of intellectual and organizational sources\, of which the Muslim Brotherhood was only one. \n \n \nBy the close of the 1970s\, however\, internal divisions over ideology and strategy led to the rise of factionalism within the student movement. A majority of student leaders opted to expand the scope of their activist mission by joining the Muslim Brotherhood\, rejuvenating the struggling organization\, and launching a new phase in its history. \n \n \nAnswering the Call is an original study of the history of this dynamic and vibrant period of modern Egyptian history\, giving readers a fresh understanding of one of Egypt’s most pivotal eras.” Read more from Oxford University Press. \n \n \nAbdullah Al-Arian received his doctorate in History from Georgetown University. He holds a Master’s degree in Sociology of Religion from the London School of Economics and his BA in Political Science from Duke University. He is co-editor of the Critical Currents in Islam page on the Jadaliyya e-zine. He is also a frequent contributor to the Al-Jazeera English network and website. His first book\, entitled Answering the Call: Popular Islamic Activism in Sadat’s Egypt was published by Oxford University Press in 2014. In fall 2014\, he was the Carnegie Centennial Visiting Fellow at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies. \n \n \n 
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/cirs-presents-abdullah-al-arians-new-book-muslim-brotherhood/
CATEGORIES:CIRS Faculty Lectures,Dialogue Series,Race & Society,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20150115T123000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20150115T133000
DTSTAMP:20260414T220431
CREATED:20150202T141436Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T103505Z
UID:10001038-1421325000-1421328600@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:CIRS Presents Suzi Mirgani Film Screening
DESCRIPTION:On January 15\, 2015\, Suzi Mirgani\, Manager and Editor for CIRS Publications\, delivered a Focused Discussion and film screening of her short film “Hind’s Dream.” The screening was followed by a discussion with the writer and director and members of the film’s cast and crew\, including Georgetown University in Qatar students Athanasios Sardellis\, Razan Al Humaidi\, and Haya Al Romaihi. “Hind’s Dream” premiered at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Film Festival. It was also screened as part of the “Made in Qatar” section of the Doha Film Institute’s 2014 Ajyal Film Festival where it won an award for “artistic vision and poetic screenwriting.”  \n \n \nMirgani outlined how the film reflects the history\, modernity\, and folklore of Qatar. The film depicts a lonely Bedouin girl as she wanders through a desert landscape long before the discovery of hydrocarbons\, which would eventually make Qatar one of the richest countries in the world. Only a few decades ago\, Qatar was settled by nomadic tribes who lived a harsh and frugal existence in the open desert\, hunting for food and ever searching for sources of water. It was only towards the end of the twentieth century that the country’s natural wealth was fully exploited\, transforming it into colossal economic wealth to be reflected in the urban landscape in one of the fastest modernization and urbanization projects the world has ever seen. This rapid overhaul of traditional lifestyles has had a jarring effect on those who still remember the simplicity and isolation of desert existence. \n \n \nThe film presents a tangled landscape of dream and reality\, where Hind has a vision of the future as told by an oracle/genie: a common motif in Arab fairy tales. Unbeknownst to her\, Hind straddles two radically different worlds—old and new and reality and dream—at the cusp of the new century and a changing world. Beneath the barren desert of Hind’s reality\, brews the thick black matter of her subconscious—and just like the bubbling oil in the gas fields around her\, rises to the surface in this dreamscape. \n \n \nThe massive infrastructural changes taking place in the Gulf are usually represented in how they affect economic and geopolitical power\, and are dealt with in “official” terms whether through academia or the media. These societal transformations are rarely dealt with in terms of the psychological impact of how urban and societal changes in the desert affect the individual. In order to explore these psychological influences\, the film depicts the fluid concepts of “time” and the “subconscious\,” and how such shifts can have a lasting—and perhaps jarring—effect on ways of thinking.  \n \n \nProducers of the film included Haya Al Romaihi\, Dwaa Osman\, Suzi Mirgani\, Rodney X Sharkey\, and Julietta Mirghani. The principle actors were Asli Altinisik and Athanasios Sardellis\, while the film’s poetry was translated into Arabic by Haya Al Romaihi and recited by Razan Al Humaidi. Also assisting with the production of the film were Arwa Elsanosi\, Salman Ahad Khan\, and Badr Rahima. \n \n \nThe film is also screening at the Imagine Science Film Festival in Abu Dhabi on February 20\, 2015. \n \n \nRead more at Al Bawaba.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/cirs-presents-suzi-mirgani-film-screening/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Race & Society,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20150119T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20150119T190000
DTSTAMP:20260414T220431
CREATED:20150202T140642Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T103501Z
UID:10001036-1421690400-1421694000@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:CIRS Launches Book on Food Security in the Middle East
DESCRIPTION:On January 19\, 2015\, CIRS\, held a book launch and signing for the recently released volume on Food Security in the Middle East (Oxford University Press\, 2014) edited by Zahra Babar\, Associate Director for Research at CIRS\, and Suzi Mirgani\, Manager and Editor for CIRS Publications. The launch was hosted by Shelley Ford\, Manager of the Georgetown SFS-Qatar Bookstore.  \n \n \nThe book provides empirical case studies of Lebanon\, Jordan\, Palestine\, Egypt\, Yemen\, the Gulf States and Iran\, with special attention to how these countries have been affected by the events of the Arab uprisings and rising food prices following the global economic crisis of 2007-2008. Some of the major themes examined include the ascent and decline of various food regimes\, urban agriculture\, overseas agricultural land purchases\, national food self-sufficiency strategies\, distribution networks and food consumption patterns\, and nutrition transitions and healthcare. Collectively\, the chapters represent highly original contributions to the disciplines of political science\, economics\, agricultural studies\, and healthcare policy\, and reflect the increasing urgency of policy and public debate in this subject. \n \n \n“Everyone agrees that access to food is one of the most basic human rights. But in reality\, food has become politicized. What’s more\, unlike health care\, education\, or housing\, food has evolved into a security issue\,” said book editor and contributing author\, Zahra Babar. \n \n \nShe continued\, saying: “Unlike certain parts of the developing world\, the Middle East is not known as a region that is facing critical famine or starvation. However\, it is one of the least self-sufficient regions in the world for obvious reasons\, such as water scarcity\, but also for some less obvious reasons\, such as land reform that impacts sufficiency. In the GCC in particular\, huge migration patterns have outpaced food sufficiency and will likely continue to do so\, so this is an issue that is far more complex than some might imagine.” \n \n \nDirector of CIRS\, Dr. Mehran Kamrava\, also contributed to the newly published volume. He said: “We hope this book sets a base of understanding for the full breadth of food security issues\, to benefit the work of scholars\, researchers\, practitioners and policy makers. There hasn’t been an in depth examination of the social and political issues around food sovereignty and the availability and security of food supplies in the Middle East\, and this book is an invaluable tool in understanding some of these critically important questions.” \n \n \nSuzi Mirgani\, co-editor of the book\, says that the body of work in this volume reflects a new approach to food security. “Current food security issues are shifting from a largely economics-dominated model where the debate centered on macro-level issues of international development to one where sociopolitical factors are becoming increasingly active in how food is conceived\, valued\, and distributed as a human right\, rather than a market force.  This book is an attempt to engage with this new paradigmatic shift.” \n \n \n“This book is a fresh look at the challenges and opportunities associated with food security faced by the Middle East. The thorough treatment of a broad range of topics from trade to self-sufficiency\, and from nutrition to the supermarket revolution and emerging dietary habits\, make it a truly unique read\,” said Dr. Julian A. Lampietti of The World Bank. \n \n \nThe chapters in this volume\, published by Oxford University Press and C. Hurst & Co.\, grew out of a two-year research initiative held under the auspices of CIRS\, and includes contributions from 25 leading experts in food security issues from top universities around the world. 
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/cirs-launches-book-food-security-middle-east/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Race & Society,Regional Studies
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