The coming US elections couldn’t have happened under more dramatic nor crucially important circumstances.
The world sits ravaged by the Coronavirus, economies braced for one of the worst downturns in living memory and countries and societies polarised and divided like never before. Therefore an election that would decide not only the shape and direction of the US administration for the next four years, but potentially some of the most critical questions facing humanity in several generations, is one that demands full attention.
Whether it be global health care and well- being, racial and economic equality, the economy, climate change, public, personal and cybersecurity, privacy and data regulation, human rights and democracy or extremism and terrorism of all types, whoever sits in the White House come January 2021, will be instrumental.
The Cordoba Foundation in collaboration with Alwaleed bin Talal Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University convened a very timely webinar on 11th of August, which addressed the US elections and its potential impact on democracy in the MENA region. The webinar attracted much attention for understandable reasons. The Trump administration, in the eyes of many, gave oxygen to oppressive regimes and elevated the status of ‘strongmen’, otherwise more commonly known for being dictators, tyrants and oppressors and a return of President Trump would send a clear message that America would continue to not only stand by, but grant actual support to the regimes of Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and UAE among others.
The Cordoba Foundation with
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University
**Zoom Webinar**
US 2020 ELECTIONS AND PROSPECTS OF
DEMOCRACY IN THE MENA REGION
Tuesday 11TH August 2020
6pm-7:30pm (UK) | 1pm-2:30pm (USA)
SPEAKERS
Prof John L. Esposito
University Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies and Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding and of The Bridge Initiative: Protecting Pluralism – Ending Islamophobia at Georgetown University. In 2019 he was S. Rajaratnam Professor of Strategic Studies, Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. His has authored more than 55 books on the Middle East, Islam, Violence and Democracy. A former President of the American Academy of Religion and Middle East Studies Association of North America, he is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Council of 100 Leaders and the E.C. European Network of Experts on De-Radicalisation, a Senior Scientist for The Gallup Centre for Muslim Studies, and ambassador for the UN Alliance of Civilisations.
Phyllis Bennis
Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, and of the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute. She writes and speaks widely across the U.S. and internationally on Middle East issues including Palestine-Israel, US wars and US foreign policy – appearing in the media, lecturing at universities and teach-ins, briefing parliamentarians and government officials. She is a co-founder of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights and currently serves on the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace and the board of the Afro-Middle East Centre in Johannesburg. Her books include Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer, and Understanding ISIS and the New Global War on Terror. She has served as an informal adviser to several top UN officials on Palestine issues and was short-listed twice to become the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Territory.
Dr Abdullah Al-Arian
Associate professor of history at Georgetown University in Qatar where he specializes in the modern Middle East and the study of Islamic social movements. He is the author of Answering the Call: Popular Islamic Activism in Sadat’s Egypt (Oxford University Press). His next book compares the historical experiences of Islamist movements in six different countries and will be published by Cambridge University Press. He is also editor of the Critical Currents in Islam page on the Jadaliyya website.
Dr Nader Hashemi
Director of the Centre for Middle East Studies and an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. He is the author of Islam, Secularism and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies (Oxford University Press, 2009) and co-editor of The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran’s Future (Melville House, 2011), The Syria Dilemma (MIT Press, 2013) and Sectarianisation: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2017).
Dr Anas Altikriti – Moderator
Founder and CEO of The Cordoba Foundation; Advisor on global strategic affairs and leading figure in the global Anti-war movement. Hostage negotiator since 2005.
Supported by: School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster | Forward Thinking | Middle East Monitor | Egyptian Institute for Studies | Centre for British-Turkish Understanding | Quartet21
This project seeks to study the major changes and transformations that are forecast to take place around the world as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic, and how those are likely to impact major conflicts and crises, particularly in the MENA region.
Exploring its impact and ramifications at multiple levels, including political, economic, medical, technological, technical, social, mental and humanitarian, the findings will feed into the development of adequate mappings and analyses as well as solutions to cater for those changes and also seize the opportunities which they and this crisis provide.
The study will also put forward appropriate mechanisms to deal with the post-pandemic transformations and set in place necessary plans and policies for the benefit of governmental and non-governmental actors.
This project will be carried out in collaboration between The Cordoba Foundation (UK) and the Egyptian Institute for Studies (Turkey).
Outputs
The outputs of this Research Study are as follows:
All accepted abstracts/ papers will be published after peer review.
International conference, The Corona Pandemic: changes and transformations in geopolitics and strategic developments impacting the MENA.
Report launches in a number of countries.
News stories in a major media outlets based on the findings of the study.
CALL FOR PAPERS
The Cordoba Foundation and the Egyptian Institute for Studies call for papers on the theme of “Post-Corona: transformative landscapes and shifting priorities”.
This call for papers invites contributors from scholars, researchers, policymakers and practitioners from a range of disciplinary perspectives.
Guidelines for abstract submission:
Full name, title and affiliation, along with contact details (postal address, telephone, and email).
Abstract should explain the paper’s objectives or purpose and ensure that it falls within the broad call of the paper.
Provide a concise and clear description of its objectives, methods, results, main arguments and conclusions.
Submissions will only be accepted in English and in Word format.
It is the author’s responsibility to submit a correct abstract; accepted abstracts will be reproduced as submitted, including possible errors.
Abstract acceptance or rejection will be notified by e-mail.
Abstract should be no longer than 500 words.
Full papers should not be more than 6,000 words.
IMPORTANT DATES
– Abstract submission deadline: June 5th.
– Final paper submission deadline: July 15th
– Exec Summary launch: Aug 20th.
– Full Report released by: September 10th
Send proposals to TCF Covid-19 Research Desk – info@thecordobafoundation.com
AND THE BATTLE FOR HEARTS AND MINDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
States and movements use information as
part of a wider strategy to fully engage in conflict… an idea that has formed part of the analysis of the way liberal democracies successfully used propaganda as a tool to achieve both military and foreign policy aims.
THE HIDDEN TRUTHS OF THE KURDISH “DEMOCRATIC EXPERIMENT” IN NORTH EASTERN SYRIA.
The deluge of quasi- unanimous Western outrage at both Trump’s “betrayal of the Kurdish allies” and at Erdogan’s offensive, and the slew of outlandish accusations against him largely masked how remarkable, and largely successful the U.S.- Turkish-Russian diplomatic ballet has been.
Trump, despite
the bravado of his twitter warnings against Erdogan, actually quickly lifted the sanctions against Turkey before rolling out the red carpet during Erdogan’s visit to the White House
Request for a UN-led investigation into the death of former Egyptian President, Dr Mohammed Morsi
This ‘Report’ has been drafted and submitted at the request of those instructing the ‘Legal Team’, namely the family of Dr Mohammed Morsi, and the Egyptian Revolutionary Council.
It was drafted and reviewed by the legal team comprised of Toby Cadman, Almudena Bernabeu, and Carl Buckley.
Published in London, United Kingdom 15 November 2019
REFLECTIONS ON THE GLOBAL MILITARY FIXATION AND SAUDI-UAE IMPOSITION OF THE “DEAL” ON THE PALESTINIANS.
As a boy in an English boarding school (‘public’ though very feepaying) many years ago I had no idea that I was absorbing a very special form of education. I was being formed into the
British military mindset. Many years later it became quite clear to me that such was the acculturation we were getting, not only in history classes but in the whole culture and formation process of the school.
Not that I minded in the slightest. It was all normal and attractive to me in my teens. The school culture was both religious and military. Large portraits of Old Boys who had won military honours hung in our dining room. Saints were pictured in our chapel. Our school cadet corps was not, I don’t think, compulsory, but it did not need to be.
