University of Pittsburgh

In this panel, four Afghanistan specialists will discuss critical topics in contemporary Afghanistan, including the rule of law, democratic transitions (and their failures), and authoritarianism.

Speakers: Anila Daulatzai, M. Ramin Mansoori, Mohammad Bashir Mobasher, Shamshad Pasarlay, Aria Fani (moderator)

This event is free!

In 1948, a war broke out that would result in Israeli independence and the erasure of Arab Palestine. Over twenty months, thousands of Jews and Arabs came from all over the world to join those already on the ground to fight in the ranks of the Israel Defense Forces and the Arab Liberation Army. With this book, the young men and women who made up these armies come to life through their letters home, writing about everything from daily life to nationalism, colonialism, race, and the character of their enemies.

Can the survival of Bashar al-Asad's regime in Syria offer insights into emerging forms of authoritarianism in the West? And what might the Syrian example suggest about how authoritarian leaders exploit digital media to create uncertainty, political impasses, and fractures among their citizens?

Piracy in the Horn of Africa and Arabian seaboards has been a major dynamic of modern geopolitics of the Western Indian Ocean (and very dramatically so in recent months), and the phenomenon of maritime predation is certainly not new in the region. Moreover, the notion of thieves of the high seas is visible in medieval Arabic sources. As in other world contexts, the very definition of the terms “piracy” and “naval predation” is of the essence.

Building on Max Weber’s sociological theory, this study proposes that value-laden and instrumentally rational predispositions can explain beliefs in conspiracy theories in Turkey. It argues that changing political contexts influencing people’s values and partisan preferences lead to fluctuations between left- and right-wing tendencies in conspiracy theorizing. The presentation discusses two studies. The first explores the significance of the Turkish government’s conspiracy theories about the Gezi Park Protests in a popular forum website, Eksisozluk.

This nonpartisan event convenes diplomats, journalists, politicians and scholars to Indiana University, offering expert insights on the most critical topics to global affairs today.

This event is free and open to the general public. Registration is required. This event is online only.

If you encounter registration issues, please contact NSharaf@arabcenterdc.org

Rumi, the Muslim poet and mystic, has become a popular spiritual icon in the contemporary era and though his poetry and personae has resulted in some critiques of our consumption and appropriation of Islam, this talk will consider how Sufi communities in Canada with deep commitments to Rumi are defining their relationship to Rumi and Sufism through ritual practices.

A talk by Nasser Abourahme, Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at Bowdoin College as part of “Thinking from Palestine: Dispossession, Liberation, and Return: Conversations on Three Recent and Forthcoming Books," a series presented by the International Consortium of Critical Theory Program.

Visit https://events.berkeley.edu/cmes/event/237535-nasser-abourahme-the-time-... to learn more about the series.

Livestream link below.

A talk by Linda Tabar, Senior Lecturer, Department of International Relations, University of Sussex as part of “Thinking from Palestine: Dispossession, Liberation, and Return: Conversations on Three Recent and Forthcoming Books," a series presented by the International Consortium of Critical Theory Programs.

Visit https://events.berkeley.edu/cmes/event/237537-linda-tabar-the-indigenous... to learn more about the series.

Livestream link below.