The Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) hereby has the pleasure of inviting you to the DIIS conference on

Democratisation and Security in the Middle East:
Challenges and Possibilities

6-7 December 2004

Eigtveds Pakhus, Room III, 2nd floor
Asiatisk Plads 2 G, 1448 Copenhagen K

Background

The lack of democracy and development in the Middle East has emerged as a key concern of Western governments. Both the EU and the US are working on new strategies and partnership programmes aimed at addressing the root causes of the security problems in the region. Helping to promote democracy in the Middle East is not only seen as a way to improve the welfare of peoples in the region, but also as a new and long-term security strategy, which can combat threats to the West in the form of terrorism, extremism and political instability.

This conference brings together researchers, politicians, officials and opinion leaders to discuss challenges and possibilities facing Western efforts to further democracy in the Middle East, with a particular focus on the relationship between democratisation and security.

The conference will cover a broad range of Western policies and institutions – NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue, The EU’s Barcelona Process, and the US Middle East Partnership Initiative/Greater Middle East Initiative. It will also discuss the possible differences between the American and European approaches to democratisation in the Middle East, and the prospects for greater cooperation and coordination. In addition, the conference will look at how leading experts from the region perceive the Western policy of democracy promotion, and address how the regional security environment may influence the success of this policy, paying particular attention to the situation in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Practical Information

The conference language will be English.

Registration is required by e-mail to no later than 29 November 2004 at 12.00 noon. Please await confirmation by e-mail from DIIS for participation.

Please include name, title and organisation (all in English) in your registration.

The conference fee will be DKK 300.00 for both days. Payment instructions will follow by e-mail upon registration.

For further information, please contact the DIIS Conference Section, , phone (+45) 3269 8769.

Conference Programme (as of 2 December 2004)
(Final print version - pdf, 2MB)

Monday, 6 December 2004

9.00-9.30 Registration

9.30-9.35 Welcome
Per Carlsen, Director, DIIS

9.35-9.50 The Danish Defence Policy and New Security Challenges in the Middle East
Søren Gade, Danish Minister of Defence

9.50-10.15 Introduction: Security and Democratisation
Helle Malmvig, Researcher, DIIS

10.15-12.00

US Strategies in the Middle East and the Regional Security Environment

The US has embarked upon a new and more assertive strategy of democratisation in the Middle East, which seeks to break with previous policies of containment and security cooperation with repressive regimes. The stated objective of the new US policy in the region is directed towards promoting democracy and development, as is evident in the US aspirations of turning Iraq into a democratic role model for all Middle Eastern states. Is this strategy likely to succeed? And how may developments in the security situation in Iraq and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affect US democratisation efforts in the region
Daniel Fried, Ambassador, Special Assistant to the President, Senior Director for European and Eurasian Affairs, Washington D.C.
Mark Leonard, Founding Director, Foreign Policy Centre; Managing Director, Civility Programme, London
Michael Hudson, Seif Ghobash Professor of Arab Studies, Director, Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University
Chaired by Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen, Associate Professor, Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies, University of Copenhagen

12.00-13.00 Lunch break

13.00-14.30 NATO’s New Agenda in the Middle East
NATO is seeking to enhance its Mediterranean Dialogue and to take on a greater role in the Middle East. What will this role look like, how can cooperation with states in the region be strengthened, and should promotion of democracy be an explicit aim of the Dialogue?
Alberto Bin, Head, Regional Affairs & Mediterranean Dialogue Section, NATO Headquarters, Brussels
Sven Biscop, Senior Researcher, Royal Institute for International Relations, Brussels
Stephen Larrabee, Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation, Washington D.C.
Chaired by Stephen Larrabee

14.30-15.00 Coffee break

15.00-16.30 Perspectives from the Middle East
The promotion of democracy in the Middle East is widely seen as a long-term means to combat the root causes of terrorism and a way to create stable and friendly neighbours. But how is this new strategic agenda perceived in the Middle East? Can outside powers help to democratise Middle Eastern states, and how may this concretely be carried out?
Hesham Youssef, Director of Secretary’s Office, Arab League
Azza Karam, Senior Policy Research Adviser, Regional Bureau for Arab States, UNDP, New York
Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen, Associate Professor, Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies, University of Copenhagen
Chaired by Michael Hudson, Seif Ghobash Professor of Arab Studies, Director, Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University

Tuesday, 7 December 2004

10.30-12.00

Lessons Learned: The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and Democracy Promotion in the Middle East

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership is to date the most comprehensive attempt to further security and democratisation in the Middle East. How successful has this initiative been, and has the EU’s goal of democratisation changed in light of 11 September and the fight against terrorism?
Richard Youngs, Senior Research Fellow, FRIDE, Madrid
Martin Ortega, Research Fellow, Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Paris
Rosemary Hollis, Director of the Middle East Programme, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London
Chaired by Rosemary Hollis

12.00-13.00 Lunch break

13.00-14.15 US-EU Policies in the Middle East: Cooperation or Competition
Despite of an overall Euro-American consensus on the need for democratisation and development in the Middle East, disagreements remain on how this can and should be achieved. What are the most important differences between the American and the European approaches to security and democratisation in the Middle East, what are the prospects for a common and effective transatlantic strategy in the region, and what should the basic elements of such a strategy look like?
Rouzbeh Pirouz, Chairman and founder of the Foreign Policy Centre Civility Programme, London
Dominique David, Researcher, IFRI; Professor, l’Ecole spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr, Paris
Ian O. Lesser, Onassis Fellow, ELIAMEP, Athens; Senior Fellow, Western Policy Center, Washington D.C.
Chaired by Ian O. Lesser

14.15-14.30 Closing Remarks: Democratisation and Security in the Middle East: Prospects and Challenges
Rosemary Hollis, Director of the Middle East Programme, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London

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