The Middle East Institute and the Stimson Center are proud to host a panel discussion about the worsening crisis in Syria with analysts Aram Nerguizian, Randa Slim and Mona Yacoubian. Following last week's Russian-Chinese veto of an Arab-backed U.N. resolution, the international community is struggling to find ways to stem the ongoing violence and bloodshed. European states are considering a fresh round of sanctions, while Turkey says it's preparing a new initiative to address the crisis. Nerguizian, Slim and Yacoubian will discuss the international community's options, as well as examine the status of the Syrian opposition and the role of regional players.
Bios: Aram Nerguizian is a visiting fellow with the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at CSIS, where he conducts research on the Middle East and North Africa. He specializes in security, politics, and military development in the Middle East, focusing on specialized themes such as the Lebanese military, U.S. and Iranian strategic competition in the Levant, and challenges to civil-military relations and force development in post-conflict and divided societies. Nerguizian received a B.A. in political science from Concordia University in Montreal and a master's in international affairs from George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. He has also received security assistance training from the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management. Nerguizian has authored or coauthored a number of Burke Chair books and reports at CSIS.
Randa Slim is an adjunct research fellow at the New America Foundation and a scholar at the Middle East Institute. A former vice president of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue, Slim has been a senior program advisor at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a guest scholar at the United States Institute of Peace, and a program officer at the Kettering Foundation. A long-term practitioner of Track II dialogue and peace-building processes in the Middle East and Central Asia, she co-founded in 2007 the Arab Network for the Study of Democracy, a group of academics and civil society activists from 8 Arab countries. She is a member of the advisory committee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's Peacebuilding program and a member of the board of the Project on Middle East Democracy. The author of several studies, book chapters and articles on conflict management, post-conflict peacebuilidng, and Middle East politics, she is completing a book manuscript about Hezbollah. Mrs. Slim earned her BS and MA degrees at the American University of Beirut and completed her PhD at the University of North Carolina.
Mona Yacoubian joined the Stimson Center in 2011 where she serves at the senior advisor on the Middle East and as project director for Pathways to Progress: Peace,Prosperity and change in the Middle East. She previously served as a Special Advisor and Senior Program Officer on the Middle East at the US Institute of Peace where her work focused on Lebanon and Syria as well as broader issues related to democratization in the Arab world. Ms.Yacoubian has worked as a consultant on the Middle East for several years. From 1990-1997, she served as the North Africa analyst at the US Department of State. Ms. Yacoubian is a frequent commentator on the Arab world and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Syria (1985-86) and held an International Affairs Fellowship with the Council on Foreign Relations. Ms. Yacoubian has an MPA from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and a BA from Duke University.
Kate Seelye is Vice President of the Middle East Institute. As a former correspondent for NPR and PBS, Ms. Seelye covered developments in Syria from 2000-2009.