Roundtable on Reform in the Arab and Islamic World

Director: Steven A. Cook, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies
July 1, 2004 - Present

Since September 11, 2001, U.S.-Middle East policy has sought to promote reform in the Arab and Islamic World as a U.S. national security priority. This roundtable series sheds light on the complex issues that the countries of the Middle East present and explores the different avenues available to U.S. policymakers seeking to promote change in that region. By drawing on the experience of a variety of speakers with particular expertise on social, political, and economic reform, women's issues, education, and the media, this roundtable series intends to enrich the current debate on reform promotion in the Arab world with a range of top-tier perspectives and policy recommendations in an informal discussion setting.

Meetings

Roundtable Meeting

Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation

Speaker:

Ashraf Khalil, Journalist and Author

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
February 14, 2012

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

The New Greek-American Relationship

Speakers:

Mike Cleverley, American Foreign Service (Ret.), Thomas Miller, Former Ambassador to Greece

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations
April 27, 2011

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

New Year’s Revolutions: Egypt and Tunisia

Speaker:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations

Presider:

Jared Cohen, Council on Foreign Relations
March 16, 2011

This meeting is not for attribution.

View All Meetings

Roundtable Meeting

Towards a Shared Society: The Integration of Palestinian Arabs in Israel

Speakers:

Mohammad Darawshe, The Abraham Fund Initiatives, Amnon Be'eri-Sulitzeanu, The Abraham Fund Initiatives

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations
April 16, 2010

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting ⁄ Washington, D.C.

The Role of Cultural Diplomacy through Film: Outreach to the Arab World

Speaker:

Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer, Tribeca Enterprises

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, CFR
September 16, 2009

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

New Ideas for Building Palestine's Economy and State

Speaker:

Abdul Malik Al-Jaber, Palestinian Telecommunications Co.

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations
May 7, 2009

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

2009: The Year of Cyprus?

Speaker:

Andreas S. Kakouris, Embassy of Cyprus

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations
May 6, 2009

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting ⁄ Washington

How the Intelligence Community Understood the Islamic Challenge

Speaker:

Emile A. Nakhleh, Author, "A Necessary Engagement: Reinventing America's Relations with the Muslim World" and Former Senior Intelligence Officer and Director of the Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program, Central Intelligence Agency

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations
April 16, 2009 8:00-8:30 a.m. - Reception and Breakfast
8:30-9:30 a.m. - Discussion

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Evaluating the New Israeli Government

Speaker:

Daniel Levy, The Century Foundation

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations
March 16, 2009

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Iran 2015: Alternate Scenarios for U.S.-Iran Relations

Speaker:

Michael Oppenheimer, Professor, Global Affairs Program, New York University

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
October 22, 2008

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Turkey: Back from the Brink

Speaker:

Henri J. Barkey, Bernard L. and Bertha F. Cohen Professor, Lehigh University

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
September 19, 2008

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Israel's Internal Politics and the Peace Process

Speaker:

Shlomo Avineri, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations
September 8, 2008

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

U.S.-Turkey Strategic Dialogue

Speaker:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations
May 16, 2008

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

The Mahalla Intifada: Political Unrest in Egypt

Speaker:

Khaled Fahmy, New York University

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations
May 15, 2008

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Domestic Developments in Turkey

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Douglas Dillon Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Speaker:

Ahmet Evin, Dean of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University
February 14, 2008

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Endless Stalemate? Lebanon's Political Crisis and Its Aftermath

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Douglas Dillon Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Speaker:

Nadim S. Houry, Researcher, Lebanon and Syria, Middle East/North Africa, Human Rights Watch
January 17, 2008

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

The European Union and Iran

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Douglas Dillon Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Speaker:

Emanuele Ottolenghi, Executive Director, The Transatlantic Institute
December 20, 2007

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Turkey's Legislative and Presidential Elections

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Douglas Dillon Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Speaker:

Umit Cizre, Professor, International Relations, Bilkent University
October 9, 2007

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

A Conversation with David Shearer

Speakers:

Steven A. Cook, Douglas Dillon Fellow, The Council on Foreign Relations, David Shearer, Chief Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations
June 21, 2007

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

A Conversation with Egemen Bagis

Speakers:

Steven A. Cook, Douglas Dillon Fellow, The Council on Foreign Relations, Egemen Bagis, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Turkish Parliament
June 15, 2007

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Turkey's Political Battle: Secularism vs. Democracy

Speakers:

Steven A. Cook, Douglas Dillon Fellow, The Council on Foreign Relations, Mustafa Akyol, Intercultural Dialogue Platform
May 25, 2007

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Update on Turkey: A Conversation with Egemen Bagis

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Douglas Dillon Fellow, The Council on Foreign Relations

Speaker:

Egemen Bagis, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Turkish Parliament
March 15, 2007

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

The Many Faces of Political Islam

Speakers:

Steven A. Cook, Douglas Dillon Fellow, The Council on Foreign Relations, Mohammed Ayoob, James Madison College, Michigan State University
March 6, 2007

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Trapped in the War on Terror: A Conversation with Ian Lustick

Speaker:

Ian S. Lustick, University of Pennsylvania

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations
November 15, 2006

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

No god but God

Presider:

Steven A. Cook

Speaker:

Reza Aslan, Author, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam
May 12, 2005

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Europe and the Middle East

Presider:

Steven A. Cook

Speaker:

Emanuele Ottolenghi, Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and,, Leone Ginzburg Research Fellow in Israel Studies, Oxford University
March 21, 2005

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Morocco: Model for Arab Reform?

Presiders:

Steven A. Cook, Senior Fellow, U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations, Isobel Coleman

Speakers:

Fouzia Rhissassi, Chair-Women's Rights, UNESCO, Abdeslam Maghraoui, USIP
March 7, 2005

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Elections in Iraq: A Preview

Presider:

Steven A. Cook

Speaker:

Michael Rubin, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
January 18, 2005

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Reform in the Arab World: A View from the Egyptian Opposition

Presiders:

Steven A. Cook, Isobel Coleman

Speaker:

Mona Makram-Ebeid, Secretary General, Hizb al-Ghad (The Party of Tomorrow)
November 15, 2004

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Politics and Political Reform in Syria

Presider:

Steven A. Cook

Speaker:

Ammar Abdulhamid, Visiting Fellow, The Brookings Institution
October 27, 2004

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Education, Politics, and Culture in the New Iraq

Presider:

Steven A. Cook

Speaker:

John Agresto, President, John Agresto & Associates
September 15, 2004

This meeting is not for attribution.

Roundtable Meeting

Turkey Between Brussels and Baghdad

Presider:

Steven A. Cook, Next Generation Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Speaker:

Soner Cagaptay, Coordinator, Turkish Research Program, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
June 17, 2004

This meeting is not for attribution.