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Engulfed in the Gulf? - Online Conference

On a search for Europe's future role in a turbulent region

Online-Conference

04.12.2020

Thema

The Gulf is a region in turmoil that faces numerous challenges. For Europe this region is crucial. Located in its closer vicinity, all negative developments and trends that the Gulf region sees are felt with only slight delays in Europe. It was often said that Europe is only at the sideline when it comes to the Gulf and that only the big powers such as the United States have a say in the region. However, the nuclear deal with Iran which EU member states helped to negotiate since 2003 onward, shows that Europe could play a positive role in the region and that it has stakes in the game if it only accepts the challenge of thinking and acting strategically in a joint way.

The purpose of this conference is to elaborate on Europe’s future role in the Gulf region and about which policy fields the EU and its member states could address in the upcoming years to contribute to a more stable, peaceful, and prosperous region.

You are cordially welcomed to join!

Medien

Programm

Mittwoch, 25.11.2020
14:15 Uhr
WORDS OF WELCOME

Thomas MÜLLER-FÄRBER, Program Director International Affairs, Protestant Academy Loccum

14:30 Uhr
FORESIGHT PANEL│ Exploring the Future of a Complex Region – How the Gulf Might Look Like in 2030?

HOW MIGHT THE GULF REGION LOOK LIKE IN 2030 WHEN LOOKING UPON ITS…

… SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATE
Eckart WOERTZ, Director, Institute for Middle East Studies, GIGA (German Institute for Global and Area) Hamburg, (confirmed)

… POWER RELATIONS
Dina ESFANDIARY, Fellow, The Century Foundation, Washington D.C./London (confirmed)

… RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATES AND SOCIETIES
Simon MABON, Professor for Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancester University and author of the recent book “Houses Built on Sand: Sovereignty, Violence and Revolution in the Middle East”, Lancester (confirmed)

Moderation: Ali FATHOLLAH-NEJAD, Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow, Afro-Middle East Center (AMEC) and author of the forthcoming book "Iran in an Emerging New World Order: From Ahmadinejad to Rouhani", Berlin (confirmed)

16:00 Uhr
BREAK

16:15 Uhr
1st INTERVIEW ROUND │How Is Europe Perceived by the Region?

IMPULSES FROM …

JEDDAH
Abdulaziz SAGER, Founder and Chairman, Gulf Research Center, Jeddah (confirmed)

TEHRAN
Nasser HADIAN, Professor of International Relations at the University of Tehran (confirmed)

17:00 Uhr
PLENARY DISCUSSION │ Europe in the Gulf - Mapping a Complex Inter-Regional Relationship

THE PAST – What Are Key Takeaways from the History of Europe’s Involvement in the Gulf Region?
Anoush EHTESHAMI, Professor of International Relations in the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University (confirmed)

INTERESTS & DESIRES – What Are the Goals of Europe’s Current Policy towards the Region?
Gabriel Munuera VINALS, Head of Division Arabian Peninusla and Iraq, European Action Service, Brussels (confirmed)

(MIS)PERCEPTIONS – Walking on Edward Said’s Trail and Exploring Europe’s (Mis)Understandings of the Region
Susanne KOELBL, Journalist, Foreign Correspondent at Der Spiegel and Author of the Book “Behind the Kingdom’s Veil”, Hamburg (confirmed)

18:30 Uhr
BREAK

19:30 Uhr
2nd INTERVIEW ROUND │Evaluating the Outcome of the US Presidential Elections in Terms of Washington’s Future Policy Towards the Gulf

Elisa CATALANO EWERS, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Center for a New American Security and former Director for Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council, Washington D.C. (confirmed)

20:30 Uhr
END OF 1st DAY

Donnerstag, 26.11.2020
09:30 Uhr
3rd INTERVIEW ROUND│ Perspectives from Isreal on Europe’s Policy Towards the Gulf

Soli SHAHVAR, Founding Director of the Ezri Center for Iran & Persian Gulf Studies and Professor at the University of Haifa (confirmed)

10:00 Uhr
Break (Internal Discussion)

12:00 Uhr
4th INTERVIEW ROUND │ Perspectives from Extra-Regional Powers on the EU’s Policy towards the Region

Russia and Turkey play an important role in the Gulf region. In recent years both have invested political capital in the region and have build alliance networks on the ground that provid them with influence on the future development of the region. The purpose of this 4th interview round is to elaborate on the question how the EU’s policy towards the Gulf region is perceived in Moscow and Ankara?

IMPULSES FROM …

MOSCOW …
Irina ZVIAGELSKAYA, Head of Center for the Middle East Studies at IMEMO and Professor of the Oriental Studies Department of the MGIMO University, Moscow (confirmed)

ANKARA …
Galip DALAY, Richard Weizäcker Fellow at the Bosch Foundation and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, Berlin (confirmed)

Freitag, 04.12.2020
18:00 Uhr
DIGITIAL CONCLUDING ROUND - EUROPE ENGULFED IN THE GULF? How Shall Europe’s Future Engagement with a Region in Turmoil Look Like?

Apart from presenting the findings steeming out of the hybrid roundtable discussions, held on the second conference day in Loccum (see 26 November), the purpose of this concluding panel is to elaborate on how Europe’s policy towards the Gulf region shall evolve in the future.

Hannah NEUMANN, Member of the European Parliament (Greens/EFA), Chair of the Delegation for the Relations with the Arab Peninsula, Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence Policy, Brussels/Berlin (confirmed)

Dorothée SCHMID, Head, Turkey and Middle East Program, IFRI (French Institute of International Relations), Paris (confirmed)

Niels ANNEN, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office and Member of the German Parliament (Social Democrats), Berlin/Hamburg (confirmed)

Cornelius ADEBAHR, Non-Resident Fellow, Carnegie Europe, Berlin/Brüssel (confirmed)

Moderation: Thomas MÜLLER-FÄRBER, Program Director, Protestant Academy Loccum

19:30 Uhr
End of discussion