Middle East Dialogue:
A New Collective Vision
Friday, March 23, 2018
The Historic Whittemore House, Washington, DC
Preliminary List of Speakers
Eventbrite – 2017 International Criminology Conference
8:00 am Registration
8:45-9:45 am Plenary 1
The Middle East in 2018: Some Changing Geopolitical Dynamics
Ambassador Mark Hambley and William Morris, Next Century Foundation
9:55 – 11:10 am – BREAKOUT SESSIONS (5 Rooms)
1870s Room
Moderator: William Morris, Next Century Foundation
Qatar: External Catalysts of Internal Cohesion
Matthew Timmerman, American University
Turkey Challenges U.S. Kurdish Policy in Syria
Mohammed M.A. Ahmed, Ahmed Foundation for Kurdish Studies
Library
Moderator: Rahima Schwenkbeck, Policy Studies Organization
Small States, Insecure States and the Gulf Crisis
Deborah L. Wheeler and Brannon M. Wheeler, United States Naval Academy
Harriman Room
Moderator: Chanel Marshall, Jaali Co.
A Contextual Exploration of Islamophobia and Discriminatory Actions Directed Towards Middle Eastern-American Employees in the U.S. Workplace
Emad Rahim, Bellevue University
Darrell Norman Burrell, Florida Institute of Technology, Walden University, Claremont Lincoln University
Past Presidents Room
Moderator: Samantha Smith, Policy Studies Organization
Hierarchical Masculinist Incursions: Hunting Down the Middle-Eastern Bogeyman
Abdelmajid Ridouane, Ibn Zohr University, Morocco
From Her Point of View: Economic Sustainability and Labor Market Agency in Kuwait
Shea Garrison, George Mason University
Pub Room
Moderator: Mark Silinsky, US Army War College and Haifa University
Religion, Radicalization, and Security in the New Digital Age
Challenges and Opportunities in Tackling Propaganda Wars: Using Semantic Analysis in Deconstructing Terrorist Recruitment Models Online
Dilshod Achilov, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
The Syria Coalition and the Triumph of the New Counterterrorism
Avery Plaw, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
Security Concerns, Regulation of Religion, and Violence
Renat Shaykhutdinov, Florida Atlantic University
Anlaysis of Islamist Extremist Narrative on Social Media
Ugur Kursuncu and Budak Arpinar, University of Georgia
11:20 am – 12:20 pm Plenary 2
The Syrian Dilemmas Ambassador Fred Hof
A Georgetown graduate and so never a stranger to Washington, Ambassador Hof is Director of the Hariri Center for the Middle East, where he specializes in Syria. His books include Galilee Divided, Line of Battle – Border of Peace, and Beyond the Boundary: Lebanon, Israel, and the Challenge of Change. He was director in the office of the Secretary of Defense for Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestinian Affairs.
Professor Alon Ben-Meir
Professor Ben-Meir obtained his doctorate from Queen’s College, Oxford University. He is the author of many books on Middle Eastern topics, including several from Westphalia Press. Professor Ben-Meir is senior fellow at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs where he has taught courses on the Middle East and international negotiations for 18 years, and he is the Middle East Project Director at the World Policy Institute. He hosts “Global Leaders: Conversations with Alon Ben-Meir,” debates and conversations with top policy-makers around the world at NYU. He conducts briefings at the US State Department for international visitors.
12:30 – 1:45 pm – BREAKOUT SESSIONS (4 Rooms)
1870s RoomModerator: Dilshod Achilov, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
Understanding Religious Radicalization Processes in the Muslim Youth Societies from Social Identity Theory Perspectives
Suha Hassen, George Mason University
ISIS, the ICC and Accountability in Syria and Iraq: Challenges Prosecuting Religious Violence, Extremism and Terrorism at the International Level
Shannon Maree Torrens, University of Sydney
Library
Moderator: Neda Nazemi, University of Virginia
Till the Last Drop: the Multiple Meanings of Water Security in the Gulf
Jihane Benamar and Harry Verhoeven, Georgetown University in Qatar
Desalination and Climate: How the Restructuring of Water is Shaping Oman
Mikaela Bennett and Joshua Kaye, George Washington University
Micro-Social Movements and the Everyday Politics of Change in Saharan Algeria
Nejm Benessaiah, Georgetown University
Harriman Room
Moderator: Gabriella Fernandes, Policy Studies Organization
Current Trends in Jihadi/Extremist Movements
Ismail Royer, Center for Islam and Religious Freedom
Rationales of Foreign Fighters in the Syrian Civil War
Ayhan Sari, Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies
Past Presidents Room
Moderator: Samantha Smith, Policy Studies Organization
Geopolitical Equilibria in the Gulf: The Role of Oman
Giacomo Di Pasquale and Shatha Sbeta, Claremont Graduate University
Pub Room
Moderator: Chanel Marshall, Jaali Co.
The Arab Transition: Which Future?
Radwan Ziadeh, Middle East Arab Center, Washington DC
Imad Harb, Middle East Arab Center, Washington DC
Mohammed Cherkaoui, George Mason University
1:55 – 3:10 pm – BREAKOUT SESSIONS (4 Rooms)
1870s Room
Moderator: Shannon Maree Torrens, University of Sydney
Countours of an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Settlement
Anthony Oberschall, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ecumenicism Across Divides: Building Consensus on Middle East Polices
Andrew Wickersham, Churches for Middle East Peace
Library
Moderator: Mikaela Bennett, George Washington University
Alternative Governance Scenarios for Water Scarce Regions: A Case Study on Iran
Neda Nazemi, University of Virginia
Systems-Based Methods to Assess Alternative Water Governance Scenarios in Water Scarce River Basins
Richard Rushforth, Northern Arizona University
Harriman Room
Moderator: Rahima Schwenkbeck, Policy Studies Organization
The MENA Region as a Shared Space: Emerging Discourses of a Shared Past; Ponderings of a Shared Future
Adina Friedman, George Mason University
Inside the Middle East: Intelligence Perspectives – A Pioneering Educational Praxis Towards a Better US Policy in the Middle East
Avi Melamed and Jeff Blavatt, The Eisenhower Institute
Past Presidents Room
Moderator: Ahmed Y. Zohny, Coppin State University
A Sociological Account of Iran Under Khomeinism
Shahram Ahmadi Nasab Emran, Saint Louis University
Theoretical Framework of the Iranian Dialectics in the Middle East: Since the Islamic Revolution
Seyed Mohammad Houshisadat, University of Toronto and University of Tehran
3:20 – 4:35 pm – BREAKOUT SESSIONS (4 Rooms)
1870s Room
Moderator: Gabriella Fernandes, Policy Studies Organization
Will the Civilizations Keep Clashing? Muslims, non-Muslims, and the Future of the West
Mark Silinsky, US Army War College and Haifa University
Lawrence Davidson
Library
Moderator: Ivan Sascha Sheehan, University of Baltimore
Assessment of President Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy and Diplomacy After One Year in Office
Ahmed Y. Zohny, Coppin State University
Trump’s Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital: A Step Forward or Backward for Peace?
Mitchell G. Bard, American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise
Harriman Room
Moderator: Chanel Marshall, Jaali Co.
Does Your Security Represent You?: Informal Institutional Ethnic Divides in the Jordanian Military
Eva Kahan, Tufts University
Does ISIS Satisfy the Criteria for an Apocalyptic Religious Cult?
Diane L. Maye, Homeland Security & Global Conflict Studies, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Past Presidents Room
Moderator: Samantha Smith, Policy Studies Organization
Re-Imagining Wahhabism: Saudi Arabia’s New Islamism
Kristin Diwan, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
Erdogan and Europe: The Fox and the Chicken Coop?
Christopher Hull