Plenary 1
The Middle East in 2018: Some Changing Geopolitical Dynamics
Ambassador Mark Hambley and William Morris, Next Century Foundation
Small States, Insecure States and the Gulf Crisis
Deborah Wheeler and Brannon Wheeler, United States Naval Academy
Religion, Radicalization, and Security in the New Digital Age
Moderator: Mark Silinsky, US Army War College and Haifa University
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
Analysis of Islamist Extremist Narrative on Social Media
Ugur Kursuncu and Budak Arpinar, University of Georgia
Plenary 2
The Syrian Dilemmas
Ambassador Fred Hof and Professor Alon Ben-Meir
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 Policies
Andrew Wickersham, Churches for Middle East Peace
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 UniversityMicro-Social Movements and the Everyday Politics Change in Saharan Algeria
Nejm Benessaiah, Georgetown University
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
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
Moderator: Iva Sascha Sheehan, University of Baltimore
Assessment of President Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy and Diplomacy After One Year in Office
Ahmed Zohny, Coppin State University
Trump’s Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital: A Step Forward or Backward for Peace?
Mitchell Bard, American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise
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