OSI Forum: Iraq's Reconstruction and the Road to Sovereignty
OSI - New York
February 13, 2004
Guest Speaker(s): Isam al Khafaji, Ph.D.

Isam al Khafaji, a former member of the Iraq Reconstruction and Development Council and currently the Baghdad director of OSI's Iraq Revenue Watch, discusses the challenges to economic accountability in the Iraq reconstruction effort.   more

OSI Forum: Press Freedom in Afghanistan
OSI-New York
November 24, 2003

Two leaders of Afghanistan’s budding independent press discussed the significant barriers to free speech that remain in place in the country more than two years after the Taliban's removal.   more

OSI Forum: Petroleum and Poverty
OSI-New York
June 26, 2003
Guest Speaker(s): Ian Gary, Oliver Mokom, Svetlana Tsalik

This panel discussion focused on the "resource curse"—a pattern in which poor countries become poorer when they start selling lucrative oil exploration rights.   more

OSI Forum: Business Interests and the Corruption of Law Enforcement in Uzbekistan
June 13, 2003
Guest Speaker(s): Nikolai Mitrokhin

Nikolai Mitrokhin, a human rights activist working in Uzbekistan, discussed the deep-rooted corruption of Uzbekistan's Interior Ministry.   more

OSI Forum: The Battle for Civil Society in Egypt
OSI-New York
May 5, 2003
Guest Speaker(s): Saad Eddin Ibrahim

An Egyptian activist who spent nearly three years as a political prisoner discussed his strong hopes for a "democratic transformation" in the Middle East.   more

OSI Forum: Building the Afghan State
OSI-New York
April 11, 2003
Guest Speaker(s): Barnett Rubin

An Afghanistan expert warned that failing to curtail the power of the country's warlords could jeopardize the successful implementation of a new constitution.   more

OSI Forum: Radical Islam and Arab Nationalism
OSI-New York
April 2, 2003
Guest Speaker(s): Olivier Roy, Ph.D.

Olivier Roy, a senior researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research, discussed terrorist groups' appeal to pan-Islamic nationalism and the failure of U.S. policy makers to fully comprehend this trend.   more

OSI Forums: Oppression and Strife in Central Asia
OSI-New York
February 11, 2003
Guest Speaker(s): Yevgeny Zhovtis, Filip Noubel

The conviction of a Kazahstani journalist and domestic turmoil in Turkmenistan were the subjects of two separate forums sponsored by OSI's Central Eurasia Project.   more

OSI Forum: Exploring the Opposition's Influence in Turkmenistan
OSI-New York
February 2, 2003
Guest Speaker(s): Filip Noubel

Filip Noubel, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, discussed the internal opposition to Saparmurat Niyazov’s authoritarian government in Turkmenistan.   more

OSI Forum: The Young and Restless—Iranian Youth at the Forefront of Political and Social Change
OSI-New York
October 24, 2002
Guest Speaker(s): Afshin Molavi

An expert on Iranian affairs, author Afshin Molavi, discussed young people's attitudes toward the country's conservative theocracy and their efforts to reform a closed society.   more