Democratic Transitions in the Arab World - Two Years After the Arab Spring

CSID 14th ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Democratic Transitions in the Arab World -
Two Years After the Arab Spring

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Amphitheater - Ronald Reagan Building

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

FINAL PROGRAM

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Registration

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Opening Remarks

Tamara Sonn
CSID Program Committee Chair


9:00 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. Panel 1

How a Proper Understanding of Islam Can Help Democracy?

Chair: Tamara Sonn


“Can Islam of the Islamic parties in the Arab Spring lead to democracy? Text and Textualism” - Abdulaziz Sachedina - asachedi@gmu.edu

“Lessons learned from the Iranian Revolution” - Abdulkarim Soroush - abdulkarimsoroush@yahoo.com

“Why Islam (properly understood) is the Solution: Reflections on the Role of Religion in Tunisia’s Democratic Transition” - Nader Hashemi - Nader.Hashemi@du.edu

“Universal Dimensions of the Qur'an and Historic Specificity of Islam's Theological Sciences” - Ashfaque Syed - ashfaque.u.syed@gmail.com

10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Coffee and Tea Break

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Panel 2

Can Tunisia Succeed as a Model?

Chair: Stephen McInerney



“Electoral Formula and the Tunisian Constituent Assembly” - John Carey - John.M.Carey@dartmouth.edu

“Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech and Democratic Transition: The Case of Tunisia” - Joelle Fiss - USA - FissJ@humanrightsfirst.org

“Building common ground for democratization in Tunisia through the development of civil society and civil political culture” - Alexander Martin - a.p.martin@durham.ac.uk

“Building A Stable Democracy in Tunisia - What will it take?” - Radwan Masmoudi - masmoudi@islam-democracy.org

12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Keynote Luncheon

US-Arab Relations:
A Vacuum of Leadership?

Robin Wright
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson
College of William & Mary

2:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. PARALLEL SESSION - Panel 3

Democratic Transitions in the Region - Challenges and Opportunities

Chair: Robert Schadler


“The Legacies of Protection Racket Politics: Egypt and Tunisia in Comparative Perspective” - Daniel Brumberg - dbrumberg@gmail.com

“Social Media and the Arab Spring- The Vehicle that Made the Revolution Possible” - Abdelhamid Abdeljabar - hamidabd@rci.rutgers.edu

“Women and the 'Arab Spring': A Case Study of Yemen” - Maria Holt - M.C.Holt01@westminster.ac.uk


2:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. PARALLEL SESSION - Panel 4

What the U.S. Can Do to Support Democratic Transitions in the Middle East

Chair: Michael Miklaucic



"The Obligation of the International Community Towards the Syrian People" - Radwan Ziadeh - radwan.ziadeh@gmail.com

“The Evolution of U.S. Policy Towards Islamists” - Peter Mandaville - pmandavi@gmu.edu

“The Challenge of Islamists in Power to U.S. Democracy Promotion” - Marc Lynch - marclynchgwu@gmail.com

“Problems of Transition: Lessons from Other Countries” - Marina Ottaway - Marina.Ottaway@wilsoncenter.org

______________________________

3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Coffee and Tea Break

4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Keynote Speech


VISIONS FOR A NEW TUNISIA:

How Islam & Democracy Can Support Each Other


KEYNOTE SPEAKER & PUBLIC LECTURE

Rached Ghannouchi

Founder and President of the Nahdha Movement in Tunisia



5:30 – 6:15 p.m.


U.S. POLICY TOWARDS THE REGION - REVAMPING STABILITY AND STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY


William J. Burns
Deputy Secretary of State
(invited)


Rashad Hussain
Special Envoy
to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation

6:15 p.m. Closing Remarks