Democratizing the Middle East?
January 26-27, 2006
Cabot Intercultural Center, Tufts University, Medford Campus
This conference seeks to make a significant contribution to an American understanding of the Middle East. The conference also aims at helping students, faculty, and policy makers put into perspective current U.S. policies that aspire to promote "freedom" and "democracy" in the Middle East.

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Registration - 2:30 p.m., Cabot Intercultural Center

WELCOME - 3:00–3:15 p.m. - Watch The Video: High Speed  |  Modem/Dial-Up

• Jamshed Bharucha, Provost, Senior Vice President, and Professor of Psychology, Tufts University
• Fares I. Fares, Trustee, Tufts University; Executive Committee Member, Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Tufts University; and Chairman of the Board,Wedge Alternatives Ltd.
• Leila Fawaz, Founding Director, Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies and Issam M. Fares Professor of Lebanese and Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Tufts University
   

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Historical Precedents for Middle East Democracy - 3:15–4:45 p.m.

• SPEAKER: Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies, and Director,Middle East Institute, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
  Watch The Video: High Speed  |  Modem/Dial-Up
• CHAIR: The Honorable Stephen W. Bosworth, Dean, The Fletcher School,Tufts University
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• Questions & Answers: Rashid Khalidi - Watch The Video: High Speed  |  Modem/Dial-Up

SESSION I - Watch The Video:  High Speed  |  Modem/Dial-Up
Constitutions and the Law - 4:45–6:30 p.m.
SPEAKERS:

• David Kretzmer, Visiting Professor of International Law, The Fletcher School, and Visiting Scholar, Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Tufts University
• Bruce Rutherford, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Colgate University
• Said Amir Arjomand, Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Sociology, State University of New York at Stony Brook
• CHAIR: Frank E.Vogel, Director, Islamic Legal Studies Program, and The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Adjunct Professor of Islamic Legal Studies, Harvard Law School

Reception - 6:30 p.m., Hall of Flags

• Augustus Richard Norton, Professor of International Relations and Anthropology, Boston University
• Eva Bellin, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Hunter College
• Mustapha El-Sayed, Charles Evan Hughes Professor of Jurisprudence, Department of Political Science, Colgate University
• CHAIR: Malik Mufti, Associate Professor of Political Science, Tufts University

SESSION III - Watch The Video:  High Speed  |  Modem/Dial-Up
Religion and Democracy - 11:00 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
SPEAKERS:

• Vali R. Nasr, Professor of Middle East and South Asia Politics, Department of National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School
• Ayman Abdel Nour, Editor, All4Syria, and Political Analyst, Damascus, Syria
• Mark Tessler, Samuel J. Eldersveld Collegiate Professor of Political Science, Vice Provost for International Affairs, and Director, International Institute, University of Michigan

DISCUSSANT: The Honorable Barbara Bodine, Senior Fellow and Director, The Governance Initiative in the Middle East, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

CHAIR: Farhad Kazemi, Professor of Politics and Middle Eastern Studies, and Director, Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, New York University

SESSION IV - Watch The Video:  High Speed  |  Modem/Dial-Up
Women and Democracy - 2:15–4:00 p.m.
SPEAKERS:

• Andrea Rugh, Adjunct Scholar, Public Policy Center, Middle East Institute
• Jenny White, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Boston University
• Mahnaz Afkhami, President, Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace, Bethesda, Maryland

DISCUSSANT: Diane Singerman, Associate Professor, Department of Government, School of Public Affairs, American University
CHAIR: Jeswald W. Salacuse, Henry J. Braker Professor of Commercial Law, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

SESSION V - Watch The Video:  High Speed  |  Modem/Dial-Up
American Interests and Middle East Democracy - 4:15–6:00 p.m.
SPEAKERS:

• F. Gregory Gause III, Associate Professor of Political Science, and Director, Middle East Studies Program, University of Vermont
• Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland (College Park)
• The Honorable William A. Rugh, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University

DISCUSSANT: Stephen W. Van Evera, Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

CHAIR: Ali Banuazizi, Professor of Psychology and Co director, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program, Boston College

Concluding Remarks - 6:00–7:00 p.m. - Watch The Video:  High Speed  |  Modem/Dial-Up
SPEAKERS:

• Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and Codirector, International Forum for Democratic Studies, National Endowment for Democracy
• Rami G. Khouri, Editor-at-large, The Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon

CHAIR: The Honorable Stephen W. Bosworth, Dean, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Closing
Leila Fawaz, Founding Director, Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, and Issam M. Fares, Professor of Lebanese and Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Tufts University

Democratizing the Middle East? was sponsored by the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Tufts University, in conjunction with the Office of the Provost, Tufts University; The Fletcher School, Tufts University; Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, Tufts University; The Fares Foundation; Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School; Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, New York University; The Khayyami Foundation; and The Boston Forum on the Middle East.

Democratizing the Middle East? was made possible through the generous support of our cosponsors. In addition, for their support and advice, we thank Mr. Fares I. Fares, Provost Jamshed Bharucha, Dean Stephen W. Bosworth, Dean Robert Hollister, Dr. Jamil al-Dandany, Ms. Peri Bearman, Dr. Farhad Kazemi, Dr. Vali R. Nasr, Dr. Augustus Richard Norton, and Ambassador William A. Rugh.

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