Conference Agenda 2011

June 17–19, 2011
Tufts University European Center, Talloires, France

The Middle East and World Order:
A Continued Focus of Transatlantic Concern

Our 2011 Talloires conference takes place as the Middle East is more than ever a region where critical issues of global importance intersect. The conference will analyze some of the region’s key problems, their implications for the United States and Europe, and the potential for transatlantic cooperation and contention.

Planning Committee: Steven Bloomfield, Karl Kaiser, Robert Paarlberg
Download the 2011 conference agenda (PDF: 147 KB)

Friday, June 17

4:00 Welcome: Beth A. Simmons, Director, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Department of Government, Harvard University

4:15–6:15 Session I: The Israel-Palestinian Problem: How to Break Gridlock?

  • What difference would progress make at the regional and global level?
  • Israelis and Palestinians: What are the obstacles to progress?
  • What policies should the United States and the European Union pursue?

Chair: Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School
Rami Khouri, Director, Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs, American University of Beirut; Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative, Harvard University
Daniel Levy, Director of the Middle East Task Force; Senior Fellow, New America Foundation
Oliver McTernan, Co-founder and Director, Forward Thinking, London

7:00 Reception and dinner at Hotel de L’Abbaye

Chair: Beth A. Simmons, Director, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Department of Government, Harvard University
Keynote: “Understanding the Arab World: Between Revolution and Reform”
Shafeeq Ghabra, Professor of Political Science, Kuwait University

    Saturday, June 18

    8:30–10:30 Session II: Iran: The Potential Game Changer

    • Why have Western policies failed so far?
    • What is the potential impact on the region and global politics of a nuclear-armed Iran?
    • What are the policies for the future?

    Chair: Robert L. Paarlberg, Betty F. Johnson Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science, Wellesley College
    Peter Gottwald, Commissioner of the German Federal Government for Arms Control and Disarmament
    John Limbert, Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iran
    Steve Miller, Director, International Security Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

    10:30 Group photo and break

    11:00–1:00 Session III: Afghanistan as NATO’s Challenge

    • What threats emanate from Afghanistan to the United States and Europe?
    • What is Afghanistan and NATO’s new strategic concept?
    • What are legitimate and sustainable alternatives for the future?

    Chair: Meghan O’Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Harvard University
    Stewart Eldon, Senior Advisor on Defence and Security Issues, Transparency International
    Nir Rosen, Independent Journalist, New York
    Roxanne Bras, Nuffield College, Oxford University

      1:00 Lunch at Le Prieuré

      4:30–6:30 Session IV: The Middle East and Energy Security

      • What is the region’s role in meeting the changing global demand for fossil fuel?
      • What is the potential impact of crises in the region on energy supply?
      • What American and European policies would strengthen energy security?

      Chair: Richard Cooper, Maurits C. Boas Professor of International Economics, Department of Economics, Harvard University
      Steven Everts, Cabinet of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
      Kelly Gallagher, Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
      Friedbert Pflueger, Director, European Centre on Energy and Resource Security, King's College, London

        7:30 Reception and dinner at Le Cottage Bise

        Chair: Pierre Keller, Former Senior Partner, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie

        Keynote: “The US and Europe Dealing with the Arab Revolutions” Warren and Anita Manshel Lecture on American Foreign Policy
        Steven Erlanger, Paris Bureau Chief, the New York Times

          Sunday, June 19

          9:00–11:00 Session V: The Arab World: Emerging Partners in Democracy?

          • How did these revolutions arise?
          • What new and sustainable governance patterns are emerging?
          • What do these changes mean to the West?

          Chair: Tarek Masoud, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
          Monica Toft, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
          Jean-Claude Cousseran, Secretary General, Academie Diplomatique Internationale, Paris
          Thierry de Montbrial, Director, Institut français des relations internationales, Paris

            11:00 Closing remarks: Karl Kaiser and Steven B. Bloomfield

            12:00 Lunch and farewell at Hotel de l’Abbaye

            talloires2011agenda_final.pdf
            See also: 2011