Project on Middle East Democracy

Project on Middle East Democracy
The POMED Wire Archives


Category: Events

POMED Notes: “After the Uprisings: U.S. Policy in a Changing Middle East”

February 11th, 2011 by Naureen

On Thursday, the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) hosted a discussion on recent and ongoing events in Tunisia and Egypt and their influence on U.S. relations with the region’s governments and people and what steps the U.S. government can take to support democratic transitions in Egypt and Tunisia. POMED Executive Director Stephen McInerney made opening remarks and introduced panelists: Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow at Hoover Institution at Stanford University and founding co-editor of the Journal of Democracy; Tom Malinowski, Washington Director at Human Rights Watch; and Mona Yacoubian, Special Adviser at the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, United States Institute of Peace. 

To read full notes continue below, or click here for pdf.

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Posted in Algeria, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Event Notes, Events, Freedom, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Jordan, POMED, Protests, Reform, Tunisia, Yemen | Comment »

POMED Event: “After the Uprisings: U.S. Policy in a Changing Middle East”

February 10th, 2011 by Naureen

POMED will be hosting an event today, Thursday, February 10th, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 419 from 1:00pm-2:30pm to discuss recent and ongoing events in Tunisia and Egypt and how they will influence the state of U.S. relations with the region’s governments and people and what steps the U.S. government can take to support democratic transitions in Egypt and Tunisia. Panelists include: Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow at Hoover Institution at Stanford University and founding co-editor of the Journal of Democracy; Tom Malinowski, Washington Director at Human Rights Watch; and Mona Yacoubian, Special Adviser at the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, United States Institute of Peace. For more information, please click here.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Events, POMED, Protests, Tunisia, US foreign policy | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Egypt on the Brink”

February 4th, 2011 by Naureen

On Thursday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in partnership with the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) hosted a discussion on the rapidly evolving crisis in Egypt. Michele Dunne, Senior Associate in the Middle East Program at Carnegie Endowment moderated the event and introduced the panelists: Amr Hamzawy, Research Director and Senior Associate of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut who joined the panelists from Midan Tahrir in Cairo; Bahey al-Din Hassan, director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies; and Neil Hicks, advisor to Human Rights First.

To read full notes, continue below or click here for pdf.

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Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Event Notes, Events, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, POMED, Protests, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Egypt’s Upcoming Elections: Boycotts, Campaigns, and Monitors”

October 20th, 2010 by Evan

On Tuesday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in partnership with Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) hosted a discussion on preparations by opposition parties and domestic electoral monitors for the upcoming Egyptian parliamentary elections. Mahmoud Ali Mohamed, the director of the Egyptian Center for Development and Democratic Studies and member of the Wafd Party Supreme Council, and Wael Nawara, the co-founder and secretary general of the al-Ghad Party, gave presentations, POMED executive director Andrew Albertson delivered a response and Michele Dunne, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment, moderated the event.

(For POMED’s full notes, continue below or click here for the pdf.)

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Posted in Egypt, Elections, Event Notes, Events, Uncategorized | Comment »

POMED Event: U.S. Military Assistance: Obstacle or Opportunity for Reform?

December 13th, 2009 by Zack

POMED and the Heinrich Boll Foundation hosted a panel discussion to discuss the role of U.S. military assistance in America’s attempt to maintain strategic interests without undermining democracy promotion and human rights. The event was the third in a series examining U.S. credibility on human rights and featured both Steven Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy, and Emile Hokayem, a non-resident Research Fellow with the Henry L. Stimson Center’s Southwest Asia/Gulf program and Politics Editor of the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National. The event was moderated by Sebastian Graefe, Program Director for Foreign and Security Policy and Transatlantic Issues at the Heinrich Boll Foundation. Grafe opened by clarifying the focus of the event by asking several pointed questions: does military assistance undermine U.S. credibility? Are existing mechanisms sufficient to monitor human rights abuses? Are the provisions that govern assistance in need of updating?

Follow the break to read POMED’s notes.

Or click here for a .pdf version

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Posted in Afghanistan, DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Events, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Iraq, Jordan, Legislation, Mideast Peace Plan, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, Pakistan, Reform, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »

POMED Event: U.S. Military Assistance: Obstacle or Opportunity for Reform?

December 8th, 2009 by Jason

On Friday, POMED and the Heinrich Böll Foundation will host a luncheon discussion, entitled “U.S. Military Assistance: Obstacle or Opportunity for Reform?” Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations and Emile Hokayem of the Stimson Center will discuss the role of U.S. military aid to non-democratic allies in the Arab world and how the U.S. can pursue strategic military cooperation without undermining principles of human rights and democratic reform. 

The luncheon will be held this Friday, December 11th, from 12:00-1:30 PM. For more information and to RSVP, please click here.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Events, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »

Announcing POMED’s 2009 Emerging Leaders for Democracy Conferences

September 10th, 2009 by Zack

POMED is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for our upcoming series of conferences in the Middle East.  These will bring together young American and European professionals with reformists working in the Middle East to examine political reform dynamics in Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt and the role of U.S. foreign policy on the prospects for reform in those countries.  Ultimately, the conferences will produce recommendations for U.S. policymakers on how to improve the American impact in the region and how to more effectively and constructively support democracy.

Each conference will include panel discussions from Arab and American experts on U.S. foreign policy initiatives, assessments of the state of political reform in the region, and the role of the U.S. and Europe in assisting this reform.  Primary topics of discussion will include: Elections & Political Processes; Religious Freedom and Inclusion; Women’s Rights and Empowerment; and Human Security and Development.

The 2009 conference schedule is as follows:

Amman, Jordan: October 7 – 9, 2009
Beirut, Lebanon: October 26 - 28, 2009
Cairo, Egypt: November 4 -6, 2009

Americans living in the U.S. or in the region, Europeans, as well as local young professionals residing in those respective countries ages 23-35 are encouraged to apply.  Each conference will include 15 Middle Easterners and 15 Americans and Europeans.

Applications are currently being accepted for all events, but due dates are quickly approaching and early applications will be given priority.

To view the complete conference announcement and complete an application please visit the following links:

http://pomed.org/activities/conferences/ (English)

http://pomed.org/arabic-conference-info/  (Arabic version)


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Events, Events, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Jordan, Lebanon, Legislation, Reform, Upcoming Events | Comment »

POMED Notes: Appropriations and Democracy in the Middle East

July 29th, 2009 by Blake

Yesterday afternoon, POMED and the Heinrich Böll Foundation released a new publication, The Federal Budget and Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010: Democracy, Governance, and Human Rights in the Middle East, written by POMED’s Director of Advocacy Stephen McInerney.  McInerney presented the report’s findings, launching a discussion with Thomas Melia of Freedom House and Marina Ottaway of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.  Andrew Albertson, Executive Director of POMED, moderated.

McInerney highlighted the report’s key conclusions, that the Obama administration’s first annual budget requests significant increases for overall foreign assistance to the Broader Middle East and North Africa, including large increases for democracy and governance assistance.  These increases are especially focused in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, but the remaining countries and programs in the region also receive increased democracy and goverance funding, with the notable exceptions of Egypt and Jordan.

Tom Melia warned against drawing conclusions too broadly based on budget numbers alone, and he asked whether this budget can truly be seen to represent the approach of the new administration, which has yet to fill many key positions, including the administrator of USAID.  Marina Ottaway questioned the effectiveness of spending large sums of money on democracy and goverance programs in the region if they are unaccompanied by diplomatic pressure and other policy support.

Click here for POMED’s notes on the event.


Posted in Event Notes, Events, Freedom, Human Rights, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »

Obama in Egypt: Realism at What Cost?

June 1st, 2009 by Max

In this past weekend’s New York Times, James Traub writes about the ideological tightrope President Obama must walk in his upcoming speech to the Muslim world in Cairo on Thursday. Obama has so-far managed to use the language of both “realists, who typically address the behavior of regimes, and of idealists, who…have sought to speak directly to the aspirations of ordinary citizens” in balancing strategic relations with less-democratic allies while sustaining hope for democratic reform.

But, Traub writes, “consensus-seeking has its limits.” While Obama administration accommodates Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak by removing conditionalities on reform from aid, he does not “want to be seen as the architect of a policy that gives a dictator free rein in exchange for strategic cooperation.” Traub closes with a comment by Tom Malinowski who, during a recent POMED symposium on democracy in Egypt, argued that the Obama administration is still struggling with how best to promote democracy, and has yet to find an answer.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Events, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Human Rights, POMED, US foreign policy | Comment »

POMED Note: “Looking Forward: An Integrated Strategy for Democracy and Human Rights in Egypt”

May 20th, 2009 by Eoghan

POMED hosted a discussion of its new report, written by Gregory Aftandilian and titled “Looking Forward: An Integrated Strategy for Democracy and Human Rights in Egypt.” Aftandilian has worked as a foreign policy advisor for congressmen, the State Department, and the Defense Department. The discussants were Neil Hicks, International Policy Advisor to Human Rights First, Tom Malinowski, Washington Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch, and Ambassador Edward S. Walker, Jr., former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and former Ambassador to Egypt. Stephen McInerney, Director of Advocacy at POMED, moderated.

To read POMED’s notes from the event, click here. 


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Events, Human Rights | Comment »

This Week’s Events

October 27th, 2008 by Sarah

Monday, October 27, 2008

8:15am Wilson: Secularism in the Muslim Diaspora
12:00pm MEI: What’s Next for Palestinian Refugees: Gaza, the West Bank, and Beyond
6:30pm WAC: Ambassador Series with the Pakistani Ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

9:00am Brookings: Turkey, the Region and US-Turkey Relations: Assessing the Challenges and Prospects
9:30am CCAS: Uncovering Iraq: Trajectories of Disintegration and Transformation
12:00pm MEI: The Search for al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

12:00pm CDACS: Lorne Craner: Lunch with a Policymaker

Thursday, October 30, 2008

All Day: NCUSAR: 17th Annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference
5:00pm American: Repairing America’s Image: Public Diplomacy in the Next US Administration
5:30pm Georgetown: Crisis in Iran: Death of the Shah and the Hostage Crisis
6:00pm GWU: Middle East Challenges Facing the Next Administration

 Friday, October 31, 2008

All Day: NCUSAR: 17th Annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference
9:30am Wilson: Iraqi Women as Agents of Peace


Posted in Events, Uncategorized | Comment »

POMED Event Notes: ‘Exporting,’ ‘Spreading,’ or ‘Supporting’ Middle East Democracy

October 20th, 2008 by Jason

This afternoon, POMED and the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies hosted James Traub, contributing writer of the New York Times Magazine; and Michele Dunne, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment, to discuss Traub’s new book, The Freedom Agenda: Why America Must Spread Democracy (Just Not the Way George Bush Did). The event was moderated by David DeBartolo, POMED’s Director of Dialogue Programs.

Jim Traub lamented the Bush Administration’s contamination of democracy promotion by linking it indelibly with the Iraq war. He called for continuing support for Middle East reformers and for recognizing the legitimacy of the region’s moderate Islamist parties. 

Michele Dunne said that though U.S. credibility has suffered, support for democracy is still very high in the Middle East.

For notes on this POMED event, click here.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Event Notes, Events, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, POMED, US foreign policy | Comment »

This Week’s Events

September 22nd, 2008 by Sarah

Monday, September 22, 2008

2:00pm Project on Middle East Democracy: A Time of Transition: U.S. Impact on Reform in a Changing Middle East

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

10:00am New America: Jihadists’ Revolt Against Al Qaeda

10:00am Wilson: The Other Euro-Islam: Sufism in Turkey and the Balkans

12:00pm Heritage: They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It

12:00pm MEI: How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al-Qaeda

1:30pm Brookings: Reforming U.S. Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communication: Views from Congress

3:00pm National Press Club: Radical Islam and Its Muslim Critics

4:00pm CGD: Beyond Population: Everybody Counts in Development

5:30pm IMES: The Middle East: For the Next Administration

7:00pm Georgetown: Prospects for Peace: 2009 and Beyond in Middle East

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

11:30am Heritage: Security in Afghanistan: Progress and Challenges

12:00pm Wilson: Algeria’s Efforts to Fight Terrorism

Thursday, September 25, 2008

4:00pm Wilson: Book Launch—To Lead the World: American Strategy After the Bush Doctrine

6:30pm IMES: The Honorable John D. Negroponte


Posted in Events, Events, Uncategorized | Comment »

This Week’s Events

September 8th, 2008 by Sarah

Monday, September 8, 2008

12:00pm Wilson Center: Freedom “After” Speech, Saad Eddin Ibrahim
1:30pm U.S. Institute of Peace: Antiquities in Iraq: Cultural Heritage and Iraq’s Future
6:30pm World Affairs Council: Author Series Event with Marwan Mausher - The Arab Center
7:00pm Politics and Prose: Ron Suskind

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

11:00am Heritage Foundation: Politics, Priorities, and American Defense Spending
12:00pm Middle East Institute: Dubai & Co.: Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States
3:30pm New America Foundation: Against Us, The New Face of America’s Enemies in the Muslim World

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

1:00pm Heritage Foundation: Experiencing America: Public Diplomacy at its Best
2:00pm POMED: Egypt Today: The State of Human Rights and Rule of Law
4:00pm Brookings Institution: Can the World Be Governed?
4:30pm SAIS: Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search For a Way Out of Iraq

Thursday, September 11, 2008

12:00pm Hudson Institute: The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq
12:00pm Middle East Institute: A Path Out of the Desert: A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East

Friday, September 12, 2008

12:00pm Wilson Center: Book Launch: Undeclared War and the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy

And you can always check out POMED’s Events Calendar for a current listing of events in the Washington D.C. area related to democratic reform, U.S. foreign policy, and the Middle East.


Posted in Events, Events | Comment »

This Week’s Events

August 4th, 2008 by Adam

Wednesday August 6, 2008

11:oo Brookings Institution: Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Policy Challenges This Fall and Beyond
3:30 Brookings Institution: The Implications of Turkey’s Constitutional Court Decision on the Justice and Development Party (AKP)

Thursday August 7, 2008

2:00 NDI/IRI: New Directions for Democracy Promotion: Opportunities and Challenges for the Next Administration in Pursuing Global Good Governance
7:00 Politics & Prose: Kenneth Pollack

And you can always check out POMED’s Events Calendar for a current listing of events in the Washington D.C. area related to democratic reform, U.S. foreign policy, and the Middle East.


Posted in Events, Events, This Week's Events | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Democratic Development in the Middle East and North Africa”

July 29th, 2008 by Adam

Today, the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), the Middle East Institute (MEI), and Americans for Informed Diplomacy (AID) hosted a discussion with representatives from three conferences sponsored this spring by POMED and AID, in which young Middle Eastern and American leaders developed and ratified policy recommendations on how to improve America’s impact on Middle East reform. The participants included Erika Spaet and Sara Ait Imoudden from the Rabat Conference, Dina Elshinnawi and Mohamed Sabbah from the Cairo Conference, and Emily Crawford and Tharwat Alazab from the Amman Conference.

For POMED’s complete notes on the discussion, click here.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Event Notes, Events, Foreign Aid, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »

This Week’s Events

July 28th, 2008 by Adam

Tuesday July 29, 2008

12:00 Middle East Institute/Project on Middle East Democracy: Democratic Development in the Middle East and North Africa
2:00 United States Institute of Peace: Thwarting Afghanistan’s Insurgency: A Pragmatic Approach to Peace and Reconciliation
4:00 Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia: Update on the Situation in Lebanon

Wednesday July 30, 2008

10:00 United States Institute of Peace: Iraqi Minister of Interior, Jawad al-Bolani
12:00 Wilson Center: The US and the Middle East: Assessing the Bush Era Balance Sheet

Thursday July 31, 2008

9:00 Center for American Progress: Senator Kerry: A New Approach to Fighting Terrorism
10:30 House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade: Foreign Aid and the Fight Against Terrorism and Proliferation: Leveraging Foreign Aid to Achieve U.S. Policy Goals
2:00 Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: Defining the Military’s Role Towards Foreign Policy
2:00 Senate Committee on Homeland Security: A Reliance on Smart Power - Reforming the Foreign Assistance Bureuacracy

And you can always check out POMED’s Events Calendar for a current listing of events in the Washington D.C. area related to democratic reform, U.S. foreign policy, and the Middle East.


Posted in Events, Events, This Week's Events, Upcoming Events | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Turkey’s Political Crisis: Implications for the Middle East”

July 25th, 2008 by Adam

Yesterday, the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) held a discussion regarding the current political crisis in Turkey and the potential consequences for Turkey, the broader Middle East, U.S. relations with the region, and prospects for democracy. Panelists included Abdullah Akyuz, President of TUSIAD, the United States office of Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association, Bulent Aliriza, Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Director of CSIS’ Turkey Project, and Omer Taspinar, Professor of National Security Strategy at the U.S. National War College and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution where he directs Brookings’ Turkey Project. The discussion was moderated by Stephen McInerney, POMED’s Director of Advocacy.

For POMED’s full notes on the discussion, click here.


Posted in DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Event Notes, Events, Events, Political Islam, Turkey | Comment »

Turkey’s Troubles and the Middle East

July 23rd, 2008 by Adam

POMED Research Associate Alex Taurel and our Director of Research Shadi Hamid write an interesting article in the Christian Science Monitor about the implications for democracy in the Middle East if Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is shut down by the Constitutional Court. They assert that it would send a troubling message to Islamists in the region that no matter how much they moderate, they will not be accepted as legitimate political actors. According to the two authors, this would only bolster radical Islamists that see violence as the only avenue of political influence. Taurel and Hamid conclude by urging President Bush to denounce the closure case to send the message that the U.S. is willing to defend political actors in the Middle East that abide by democratic principles.

On a related note, remember that POMED is hosting a public panel discussion tomorrow (Thursday, July 24th) at 2pm  entitled “Turkey’s Political Crisis: Implications for the Middle East” in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2212. For more details, click here.


Posted in Articles, Events, Turkey | Comment »