BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk// X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Craash Conference: Iraq: A Decade of New Governance - Speaker to b e confirmed DTSTART:20131018T080000Z DTEND:20131018T163000Z UID:TALK48296@talks.cam.ac.uk CONTACT:34850 DESCRIPTION:Conference summary\n\n2013 marks the ten year anniversary of t he invasion of Iraq by US and UK forces\, the swift and catastrophic colla pse of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime\, and the beginning of a peri od of occupation and radical societal change. On 16th October 2003\, Unite d Nations Security Council Resolution 1511 unanimously sanctioned a long-t erm international presence in Iraq effectively handing control of the coun try to Washington. This landmark date acts as the anchor of post- conflict governance in Iraq.\n\nThe latter years of the past decade have seen the fledgling post-Ba’athist Iraq situated in an increasingly fragile landsc ape. The centralisation of power by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki\, inclu ding his increasing influence over the Ministries of Defence and Interior\ , the integrity and electoral commissions\, the central bank\, and the jud iciary\, was challenged by a seemingly cross- ethnic and cross-communal al liance that included the Kurdistan Alliance\, led by Masoud Barzani\, al-A hrar (Sadrists)\, led by Muqtada al-Sadr\, and al-Iraqiya\, led by Ayad Al lawi. The April 2013 provincial elections proved that the PM’s consolida tion of power and attempt to create an external Sunni\, intra-Shi’i\, an d Kurdish threat was not impenetrable\, as his State of Law Coalition did not gain as many seats as expected\, particularly among its Shi’i base. 10 years on\, Iraqis are still faced with a security dilemma. According to the Iraqi government\, May 2013 accounted for 630 civilian deaths caused by insurgents – the highest since April 2008. In addition\, the governme nt appears unable to meet the needs of its citizenry – a Gallup poll sug gests increasing dissatisfaction with government services (security\, elec tricity\, health\, water\, employment\, and education)\, from 50% in 2010 to 64% in 2012. While the militarized sectarianism that engulfed Iraq in a civil war from 2006-2008 is no longer a factor\, the Iraqi polity is stil l marred by divisions. This conference seeks to address a number of core i ssues\, including the strength of political trust and citizenship\, the so cio-economic situation and prospects for an oil-exporting future\, and the precarious domestic and regional security environment.\n\nTensions over t he Iranian nuclear programme continue to escalate\, whilst Syria is underg oing a process of cataclysmic disintegration. Throughout the region\, the tremors and after-shocks of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ seem to show n o signs of abatement\, as both post-revolution societies\, and those in wh ich no radical change has taken place\, wrestle with a wide range of polit ical and social dilemmas stemming from issues of self-definition and self- realisation. Some claim that Iraq was the first domino in the ‘Arab Spri ng’ pack. Regardless of the (un)likelihood of this line of argument\, th e experience of Iraq may have important things to teach us with respect to other Arab nations undergoing similar radical social and political upheav al – particularly with non- homogenous populations. Weaving together sal ient themes from Politics and International Studies\, Middle Eastern Studi es\, Economics\, Law\, Sociology\, History\, and Anthropology\, and drawin g in experts and practitioners from these fields\, this conference will of fer theoretical and empirical insights into contemporary Iraq. The lessons learned will be used to aid and direct future research and theoretical mo delling in post-conflict states and societies. Moreover\,following a reque st from the Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies\, this conference will al so launch the Iraq Studies Academic Network\, intended to bring together s tudents and scholars and to provide an ongoing resource database for conti nued research.\nThe conference plans to engage post-graduate students from multiple faculties with the officials and academics that have played a ro le in the study of Iraq. Panels will spend considerable time answering que stions from the floor\, where Undergraduate\, MPhil\, and PhD students wil l be encouraged to participate fully. Selected PhD students\, after an app lication process\, will also be invited to dinner with guest speakers to c ontinue discussions in a social setting.\n\nSpeakers\n\nOver two days\, se venteen speakers and four panels will tackle issues of Citizenship and Civ il Society\, Nationalism and Sectarianism\, Socio-Economic Development and Prospects for an Oil- Exporting Future\, and Security and Regional Relati ons. Speakers that have so far been secured:\n\nScholars\n\n Professor Faleh Jabar (Citizenship/Civil Society): Director of the Iraq Institute fo r 
Strategic Studies\n Professor Sami Zubaida (National Identity/Sect arianism): Fellow of Birbeck College\n Professor Toby Dodge (Security/R egional Affairs): Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics\n Dr Fanar Haddad (National Identity/Sectarianism): Fellow at the Middle East I nstitute\, 
National University of Singapore\n Professor Gareth Stans field (University of Exeter)\n Hayder al-Khoei (National Identity/Secta rianism): Associate Fellow at Chatham House\n Louise Fawcett (Security/ Regional Affairs): Wilfrid Knapp Fellow at St. Catherine’s College\, Uni versity of Oxford\n\nOfficials\n\n Former Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (2003-2012) Sinan Shabibi (Keynote 
Address: Restructuring Post- Conflict Iraq)\n Former Deputy Iraqi Prime Minister Barham Salih (Natio nal Identity/Sectarianism)\n Iraqi MP Hanan Fatlawi (Citizenship/Civil Society)\n Iraqi MP Haider Abadi (National Identity/Sectarianism)\n Iraqi Ambassador to the UK Faik Nerweyi (Security/Regional Affairs)\n K RG Minister for Foreign Relations Falah Mustafa (Security/Regional Affairs )\n KRG Representative to the UK\, Bayan S.A. Rahman (National Identity /Sectarianism)\n ISCI UK Representative Dhia Mohsin al-Hakim (National Identity/Sectarianism)\n Former UK Ambassador to Iraq Edward Chaplin (S ecurity/Regional Affairs)\n Former UK Ambassador to Iraq Sir William Pa tey (Security/Regional Affairs)\n Former KRG Minister for Civil Society George Mansour (National Identity/Sectarianism)\n General Secretary of al-Amal Association Hanna Edwar (Citizenship/Civil Society)\n\nPrivate Se ctor Officials\n\n CEO of Citibank Jordan and Iraq Mayank Malik (Socioe conomic Development)\n Advisor with Brehon Advisory Mark Dempsey (Socio economic Development)\n Chair of Iraq Institute for Economic Reform Kam al Field (Socioeconomic Development)\n Chair of Bain al Nahrain Hassan al-Dahan (Socioeconomic Development)\n LOCATION:Craash\, Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambridge\, CB3 9DT END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR