Panel Discussions - Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Middle East: Politics, Petrol, and Prophets
The Middle East is in a deep crisis at present. Israelis and Palestinians may be discussing ways to overcome a long-reigning standstill in the peace process, but even with US and international help, many difficult issues remain. Lebanon continues to be in political turmoil and confronts broader issues related to its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence that remain at the top of the agenda in the aftermath of the 2006 war with Israel. There is also much debate over Syria's role and position in the region, with a view to Lebanon, with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian arena, and as concerns the occupied Golan Heights. There is also a connection to Iran, which has raised many concerns in the international community over its nuclear program. In addition, there appears to be increasing tension between Iran and the Sunni-Arab world or, as some argue, between Shiites and Sunnis more broadly, over Iran's relations with individual groups and states, which seem to draw the present regional system and balance of power into question. On top of those domestic and regional tensions, there is a deep involvement of the international community, and much debate and controversy surrounding it, not least in Iraq. Against this background, the panelists will address the various fault-lines and interrelated dimensions of crisis in the Middle East, with a view to domestic, regional, and global dynamics, or, in other words, petrol, politics, and prophets.
Our panelists included Ghassan Salam é, Professor of International Relations at the Institut d' études Politiques, Paris and former Minister of Culture of Lebanon and Salameh Nematt, Washington bureau chief of Al-Hayat newspaper, and LBC satellite channel and former head of the Strategy Unit at the Jordanian Royal Court.
The event was chaired by IPI's President Terje Rød-Larsen.
The Global Observatory
Interview with John Prendergast, Co-Founder, Enough Project
Mr. Prendergast discusses the international justice system and the new ground forged by Invisible Children's Kony2012 campaign.
Key Global Events to Watch in May
A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.
The Global Observatory is a new website by IPI, providing timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.
Recent Events
May 10, 2012
Arbour: What the Rule of Law Means
“In my understanding of the rule of law, fundamentally, what the rule of law means is that it embraces the principle of equality before the law,” Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), told an IPI audience on May 10, 2012. Ms. Arbour outlined that this means that no one is above the law and everyone has both equal protection and equal benefit of the law. 
May 03, 2012
Shachtman: Cyber Threats Akin to South Bronx, Not Pearl Harbor
“There’s not a danger of a cyber Pearl Harbor… it’s more like the South Bronx circa 1999, where there’s a danger that it becomes such a tough neighborhood that no one wants to set up shop there and people move out,” Noah Shachtman, editor of the Danger Room blog at Wired magazine and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told an IPI audience at a panel on cyber security on May 3, 2011.
April 27, 2012
Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems
An April 27th roundtable discussion at IPI titled “Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems” examined the progress, prospects and challenges of regional and international early warning and response mechanisms to monitor, anticipate, and mitigate potential conflict situations in Africa.