Conference on "After the Arab Spring"

Wednesday, 18 April 2012 14:55

The LeFrak Forum and the The Symposium on Science, Reason, & Modern Democracy invites the public to attend a conference, "After the Arab Spring" Democratization and Regional Security."

The conference will be held from Thursday, April 19 to Friday, April 20 in the Kellogg Center Auditorium, and on Saturday April 20 in the International Center. It begins at 5:00 pm on Thursday, and 8:45 am on Friday and Saturday. The following is a description of the conference written by the LeFrak Forum:

"The time is ripe for reflection on democracy and security in the Middle East. The Arab Spring has unsettled long established autocratic governments and rearranged the political map of the Middle East and North Africa. In a region that has historically been a neighborhood of non-democratic regimes, these popular uprisings have already lead to elections in Tunisia with the promise of more to come. Further, it is clear that the Arab Spring is likey to have significant implications for regional and international security. The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars to explore the implications of the Arab Spring for international relations within and beyond the Middle East/North Africa region. Our topics include: conditional forecasts of regional conflict and cooperation; the prospects for and consequences of continued democratization in the region; the implications of the upheavals for alliance and rivalry relations; and the significance of these changes for United States policy in the region. What consequences are the Arab Spring revolutions and civil wars likely to have not only for the democratic institution-building but also for war and peace in the Middle East and North Africa?"