Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood (left) and Dubai School of Government Dean Tarik Yousef (right), with former UN Special Advisor Lakhdar Brahimi, a key speaker at the conference.
Martha Stewart

"Middle East Conference Explores Conflict and Economic Promise"

Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter

Spring 2008

Author: Shana Rabinowich, Program Coordinator

How should the Middle East and the United States approach the region's divergent trends of ongoing conflict and economic promise? On November 8, the Center's Dubai Initiative conference "The Middle East: Between Progress and Conflict" considered this key question. Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, former special advisor to then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian, former ambassador to Israel, delivered the keynote addresses. Experts from the United States, Europe, and the Middle East discussed solutions during panels: "The Shifting Balance of Power," "The Challenge of Islamism," "Managing Ongoing Conflicts," and "Prospects for Economic Transformations."

In his opening address, Ambassador Brahimi weighed in on the conflict in Iraq, noting that "the United States cannot fix Iraq. Iraq needs to be fixed by the people of the region; but the people of the region cannot fix Iraq without the cooperation of the United States." On the Middle East, Ambassador Djerejian stated that "our strategy of Arab-Israeli peacemaking must move from conflict management to conflict resolution."

Distinguished panelists included the Belfer Center's Joseph Nye, Dubai Initiative Senior Fellow Vali Nasr, Olivier Roy of France's Center for International Studies and Research, and Kito de Boer of McKinsey and Company, Middle East. Leading the discussion on the shifting balance of power, Nye was hesitantly optimistic about the region's political future.

“I didn't hear anything this morning that wouldn't suggest that, with a wiser mix of the tools in our kit, we couldn't restore a more favorable balance in the region," Nye said. During his presentation on prospects for economic transformation, de Boer summed up the economic promise in the region. "Those companies and organizations that are in the region," he said, "are simply overwhelmed by a tide of opportunity."

The conference was a continuation of the ongoing collaboration between the Dubai Initiative and the Dubai School of Government. It offered speakers and participants the opportunity to engage on interconnected issues and work to develop viable policy for the region. "We hope that our cooperation with Dubai will not only bring expertise from the Kennedy School to Dubai," Nye said, "but will also bring knowledge from Dubai to the Kennedy School."

To view the full conference proceedings, see: www.dubaiinitiative.org.

For Academic Citation:
Rabinowich, Shana. "Middle East Conference Explores Conflict and Economic Promise." Belfer Center Newsletter (Spring 2008).