Academic Year 2008-2009

What is the Impact of the US Presidential Elections on the Middle East?
Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 2:00PM
Fares Center Conference Room, Tufts University
Speakers: Iris Abraham, Erin Clancy, Emre Kayhan, Dahlia Shaham, and Carol Waters

Speaker Biographies

Iris Abraham is a second year MALD student pursuing a certificate in diplomatic studies at The Fletcher School, with concentrations in International Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, and Middle East Affairs. She is also a research assistant at the Fares Center. Previously, she was a political affairs officer with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). She has also served as a political advisor at the Mission of the European Union to the United Nations in New York, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Secretariat. She spent the summer studying Arabic in Damascus and doing preliminary research on her thesis concerning Lebanon.

Erin Clancy is a second year MALD student concentrating on International Security Studies and Southwest Asia and Islamic Civilizations. She spent the past summer at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria as a Political Officer where she covered human rights issues. Erin has traveled extensively in the Levant including Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories, and worked on Middle East issues with the Department of Energy and the Department of State.

Emre Kayhan is from Istanbul, Turkey. He is currently a PhD Candidate at the Fletcher School. His doctoral research focuses on the role of national identity and state ideology in Turkish foreign policy making.

Dahlia Shaham is a 2nd year MALD student concentrating on International Political Economy and Business Relations with a MENA focus. Over the summer, she researched the evolution of business relations between Israel and the GCC countries and the implications of those relations for the Arab population within Israel.

Carol Waters studied post-conflict communities in Northern Ireland, South Africa, Cyprus, and Lebanon as an undergraduate at the University of Washington. She has worked with a broad range of groups in these locations, including local NGOs, ex-paramilitary groups, local political leaders and social service providers. She is now focusing on International Security Studies and Human Security at The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She spent the summer studying Arabic at Damascus University and researching Hezbollah's network of social services in Lebanon with funding from the Jebsen Center.

More Roundtable Events >