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Aula Árabe 3.17. Quo Vadis, Lebanon?

Published at 46 30,,, 22 2022

Next Tuesday, April 5, this conference will be held at Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Madrid and on our YouTube channel (in Spanish and English). It will be given by Karim Bitar, a researcher at the Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques and is taking part within the framework of the Aula Árabe Universitaria program. Going from bad to worse, Lebanon has been plunged into one crisis after another since 2020: from the financial sector, due to major depreciation by the Lebanese pound and hyperinflation, to the weakened humanitarian aid sector. Added to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic was the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut, which killed 250 people and wiped out important port infrastructures. With the current war in Ukraine, the wheat imports on which the Lebanese depend to survive will most likely lead to a rise in hunger rates. Over half of the country has fallen below the poverty line, and 20% live in extreme poverty. The parliamentary elections to be held on May 15, 2022 are viewed as anopportunity to respond to the year 2019 protests, which demanded an end to ruleby the political elites who have run the country since the end of the civil war andsunk it into the current state of crisis. Despite the people’s protests, however, thereligious party-based regime has resisted yielding power and continues its fight toremain in place. Observers warn of high levels of corruption and manipulation in an atmosphere of chaos and illegitimacy, exacerbated by international pressures not to postpone the election. Within this context, the likelihood of a post-election debacle resulting in major difficulties is very high. This session of Aula Árabe Universitaria is being held with the cooperation of the Master’s degree program in Political Science and Public Affairs at Saint Louis University’s Madrid campus. The event will be presented by Barah Mikaïl, director of the Political Science and International Relations program at Saint Louis University, and moderated by Karim Hauser, Casa Árabe’s International Relations Coordinator. Karim Bitar is a researcher at the Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS) in Paris and editor of the French monthly magazine L’ENA hors les murs. He is an associate member of the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) and an associate researcher at the Institut Medea in Brussels. He is a professor of International Relations and History of Political Thought at several universities. He also frequently testifies before the Foreign Affairs Committees of the French and European Parliaments. He has authored various chapters and articles in Le Monde diplomatique, Libération, Le Monde, Informed Comment, Atlantico, La Vanguardia, An Nahar, L’Orient-Le Jour, etc., as well as editing and co-writing the collective book Regards sur la France, in which 30 personages from around the world analyze France’s strengths and weaknesses. Foto: Gregor Enste ( Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung en Flickr)

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II Foro Elcano sobre Terrorismo Global I. Terrorism, insurgency and its reflection on the Internet

Primera jornada del II Foro Elcano de Terrorismo Global, dedicado a "Las transformaciones recientes del terrorismo global" y organizado por el Real Instituto Elcano con la colaboración de Casa Árabe y la Embajada de Estados Unidos en España. Esta sesión tuvo lugar el 17 de noviembre de 2014 en Casa Árabe en Madrid. Este primer panel fue moderado por Carmen González Enríquez, investigadora principal y directora del Observatorio de Imagen de España (OIE), Real Instituto Elcano, y versó sobre el terrorismo en Oriente Medio y el yihadismo en Internet. Participaron Assaf Moghadam, Director of Academic Affairs, International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya (Israel) con su intervención titulada "La interacción entre terrorismo, insurgencia y Guerra civil en Oriente Medio" y Manuel R. Torres (a partir minuto 24 15"), profesor titular, responsable del Área de Ciencia Política y de la Administración, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, con una intervención sobre "La evolución del terrorismo yihadista y su reflejo en Internet". Más información: http://www.casaarabe.es/eventos-arabes/show/ii-foro-elcano-de-terrorismo-global

Published at 21 18,,, 14 2014
Syria: geopolitical struggle and humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East

Casa Árabe and the Embassy of Holland in Madrid organized, the 9th december 2014, this conference, which included the participation of Eduardo López Busquets, General Director of Casa Árabe; Kees van Rij, the Ambassador of Holland in Madrid; Marcel Kurpershoek, Ambassador, and John McHugo, a writer and expert on the Middle East. In order to attempt to understand the status of affairs in Syria, one must bear in mind the major geo-strategic interests that the Middle East has generated since the last century. During this conference, the emphasis was placed on some of these factors, and two notable personages, Marcel Kupershoek, a Dutch diplomat with a great deal of professional experience in the Middle East, and Britain’s John McHugo, a scholar of the Arab world who is very knowledgeable about the Middle East, gave their opinion on the topic. More information: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/syria-geopolitical-struggle-and-humanitarian-catastrophe-in-the-middle-east

Published at 11 18,,, 14 2014
A trip down the Nile, from Hollywood to Arab cinema

This conference was held as the opening activity of a special series of events which Casa Árabe dedicates to the memory of Alberto Elena, a professor of Audiovisual Communication at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid, who closely collaborated with Casa Árabe, and to whom the institution is dedicating a series of film screenings in December and January. The event was presented by Eduardo López Busquets, the General Director of Casa Árabe, and included attendance by representatives of the Cervantes Institute, the Filmoteca Española, the Cines del Sur Film Festival, and the Cordoba African Film Festival, as well as others. This conference by Viola Shafik allowed us to get an overview of the essential films in the history of Arab cinema, which Alberto Elena worked so hard to increase awareness about. This talk made it possible to get a closer look at the changes in the film industry in these countries and their ideological and aesthetic features, from the colonial era up to the modern day.

Published at 31 11,,, 14 2014
Un viaje por el Nilo, desde Hollywood al cine árabe

Esta conferencia se celebró el 4 de diciembre de 2014 como actividad inaugural de una programación especial que Casa Árabe dedica a la memoria de Alberto Elena, catedrático de Comunicación Audiovisual en la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, que colaboró estrechamente con Casa Árabe y a quien la institución le dedica un ciclo de cine en diciembre y enero. La conferencia de Viola Shafik permitió transitar por muchas de las películas esenciales de la historia del cine árabe, y que Alberto Elena tanto se empeñó en dar a conocer. Esta charla nos acerca a la evolución de la industria del cine en esos países y de sus características ideológicas o estéticas, desde la época colonial hasta nuestros días.

Published at 08 11,,, 14 2014
Recognition of the Palestinian State

Mohammed Barakeh, Secretary General of the Hadash Party, presented this conference. Casa Árabe and the Diplomatic Mission of Palestine in Spain organized this event, with the title of “Towards a Fair Solution: Recognition of the Palestinian State,” which, in addition to Barakeh’s speech, included interventions by Mohammed Haneche, the Ambassador of Algeria and Dean of the Arab ambassadors in Spain; Musa Amer Odeh, Ambassador of the Diplomatic Mission of Palestine in Spain, and Eduardo López Busquets, the General Director of Casa Árabe. More information: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/recognition-of-the-palestinian-state

Published at 04 11,,, 14 2014