History before Our Eyes: Broader Implications of Democracy Movements in the Arab World

Sunday, February 27th
11:45am - 1:15pm
Ballroom AB

This winter saw popular uprisings leading to governmental change in Tunisia and Egypt, and pro-reform
demonstrators taking to the streets in Yemen, Algeria, Jordan and beyond. Lebanon witnessed a
constitutional change of government leading to the removal of the pro-Western March 14 Coalition and its
replacement by an alliance which prominently includes Hezbollah. Palestinian politics are still racked by
division, now intensified by the fallout from the mass document leak—“the Palestine Papers.” After years
of stagnation, the politics of the Arab world could be the game-changer in 2011. This panel of experts will
examine the context of these events, discuss what might happen next, and what it will mean for America,
Israel, and the region.

Panelists:
Mona Eltahawy, Journalist
Ron Pundak, Director General, The Peres Center for Peace
Robert Serry, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process 

Moderator: Steve Clemons, Senior Fellow, New America Foundation
Chair: Ambassador Samuel Lewis, Former American diplomat and former head of the U.S. Institute of Peace