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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20250318T161500
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SUMMARY:The Middle East on Fire
DESCRIPTION:Presents\n \nThe Middle East on Fire\nThe Middle East is witnessing the almost total collapse of deterrence as both state and non-state actors take huge risks amid the region’s deepening cycles of conflict and violence. Continued escalation lays bare the reality of a region that has grown profoundly more perilous since Hamas’s October 7 terror attack and the ensuing Gaza conflict. The Middle East is no longer bound by established rules of engagement and modes of deterrence. Assumptions undergirding the behavior and risk calculus of many state and nonstate actors in the region are increasingly obsolete. Clear redlines and mutually accepted rules of the game are glaringly absent. So\, too\, are reliable channels through which the warring parties can de-escalate. \nThe United States can rebuild its waning influence and play a decisive role in restoring deterrence in a region where countries and militant groups now feel able to act recklessly. But it has to recognize first that its current policies are inadequate and outdated. It continues to rely largely on conventional military approaches to deterrence that fail to account for the shifts roiling the region: emboldened nonstate actors\, unrestrained state actors\, and disruptive technologies. Washington must help all parties minimize the likelihood of miscalculation and work to stop the erosion of deterrence that has inflamed violence. If it does not do so\, it will risk being drawn into a regionwide conflict with global implications. \nTuesday\, March 18th I 11:15 am – 1:00 pm\n* Luncheon Event *\nVenue:\nBelmont University – Massey Rogers Boardroom (Parking on Inman Center)\n1601-1603 Wedgewood Av. Nashville\, TN 37201 \n\n  \n\n\nSpeaker: Mona Yacoubian (VP of Middle East North Africa Center\, United States Institute of Peace)\nMona Yacoubian is vice president of the Middle East and North Africa center at USIP. She brings more than 30 years of experience working on the Middle East and North Africa. Her work has centered on conflict analysis\, governance and stabilization challenges\, and conflict prevention. \nSince returning to USIP as a senior advisor in 2017\, her work has focused on Syria\, Lebanon and Iraq. Additional research interests include Russia’s role in the Middle East and violent extremism. In 2019\, she served as executive director of the Congressionally-appointed Syria Study Group\, which USIP was mandated to facilitate. \nYacoubian joined the U.S. Institute of Peace after serving as deputy assistant administrator in the Middle East Bureau at USAID from 2014 to 2017\, where she had responsibility for Iraq\, Syria\, Jordan and Lebanon. Prior to joining USAID\, Yacoubian was a senior advisor at the Stimson Center focusing on the Arab uprisings with an emphasis on Syria. Prior to joining the Stimson Center\, she served as a special advisor on the Middle East at the U.S. Institute of Peace\, where her work focused on Lebanon and Syria as well as broader issues related to democratization in the Arab world. From 1990 to 1998\, Yacoubian served as the North Africa analyst in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. \nYacoubian was a Fulbright scholar in Syria where she studied Arabic at the University of Damascus from 1985 to 1986. She has held an international affairs fellowship with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and is currently a CFR member. She earned a master’s in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s in public policy from Duke University. \n 
URL:https://www.tnwac.org/event/the-middle-east-on-fire/
LOCATION:Belmont University – Barbara Massey Rogers Center Board Room\, 1900 Belmont Blvd.\, Nashville\, TN\, 37212\, United States
CATEGORIES:Distinguished Speaker Series
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