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The Gulf Countries’ Role in the Syrian Conflict
From October 10, 2013 until October 15, 2013
On Tuesday, October 15, we will be presenting this conference given by George Irani, a Professor of International Relations at the American University of Kuwait, Ignacio Rupérez, a writer and diplomat, and María Dolores Algora Weber, a Professor of International Relations and Contemporary History at the Universidad CEU-San Pablo.
The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. in our Madrid Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62) and will be presented by Eduardo López Busquets, Casa Árabe’s General Director. Free entrance until the event’s capacity is full.
After the latest events at the United Nations and the relative approach occurring between the United States and Iran, some people assure that the situation in the Middle East revolves around the negotiations between Washington and Tehran. At the heart of this matter is Iran’s nuclear question and the guarantees that Israel needs from the United States. At the same time, if the confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia is to a great extent decisive in the conflict, other countries in the region (Qatar, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates) are instrumental in the balance of power amongst the forces on the ground and the opposition abroad. In light of all this, the Gulf obviously is and will be a key to understanding the Syrian disaster.
A Professor of International Relations and Contemporary History at the Universidad CEU-San Pablo in Madrid and a Doctor of Contemporary History from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ms. Algora Weber is a specialist in the Arab and Islamic world, as well as security and defense. She belongs to the Group of Experts of the “5+5 Defense Initiative” and is a member of the Geopolitics and Geostrategy Commission of the CESEDEN. She is also a member of the Association of International Relations History of Spain’s Association of Advanced Defense Studies (CESEDEN), of the Commissione di Storia della Relazioni Internationali (Italy) and the Association Internationale d'Histoire Contemporaine de l’Europe (France).
An Assistant Professor of International Relations at the American University of Kuwait, from 2005 to January 2008 Mr. Irani was the director of the Africa and Middle East Program at Toledo’s International Center for Peace. Until June of 2005, he was a professor in the Peace and Conflict Studies Division at Royal Roads University in Victoria, Canada, and before that he had worked as a policy analyst for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. From 1993 to 1997, he was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Lebanese American University of Beirut. Irani holds a degree in Political Science from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan, Italy), as well as a Master’s degree and doctorate in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC).
A Spanish writer and diplomat, Mr. Rupérez was the ambassador of the Special Mission in charge of Relations with Muslim Communities and Organizations Abroad. He has been stationed at Spain’s diplomatic missions in Egypt, Israel, Cuba, Ukraine and Iraq. He was the Assistant Director General of Continental Asia, area chief for North America, an advisor on the Cabinet of the State Secretary of Foreign Affairs and a diplomatic advisor for the Ministry of Culture. From 1997 to 2000, he was stationed at the Embassy of Spain in Baghdad as Mission Chief and Business Attaché, an embassy which had re-opened after remaining closed since 1991. In 2003, he was named Vice-President of the Spanish-American Committee. From 2005 to 2008, he returned to Iraq as Spain’s Ambassador, and he was later named the Ambassador of Spain in the Republic of Honduras.
After the latest events at the United Nations and the relative approach occurring between the United States and Iran, some people assure that the situation in the Middle East revolves around the negotiations between Washington and Tehran. At the heart of this matter is Iran’s nuclear question and the guarantees that Israel needs from the United States. At the same time, if the confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia is to a great extent decisive in the conflict, other countries in the region (Qatar, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates) are instrumental in the balance of power amongst the forces on the ground and the opposition abroad. In light of all this, the Gulf obviously is and will be a key to understanding the Syrian disaster.
María Dolores Algora Weber
A Professor of International Relations and Contemporary History at the Universidad CEU-San Pablo in Madrid and a Doctor of Contemporary History from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ms. Algora Weber is a specialist in the Arab and Islamic world, as well as security and defense. She belongs to the Group of Experts of the “5+5 Defense Initiative” and is a member of the Geopolitics and Geostrategy Commission of the CESEDEN. She is also a member of the Association of International Relations History of Spain’s Association of Advanced Defense Studies (CESEDEN), of the Commissione di Storia della Relazioni Internationali (Italy) and the Association Internationale d'Histoire Contemporaine de l’Europe (France).
George Irani
An Assistant Professor of International Relations at the American University of Kuwait, from 2005 to January 2008 Mr. Irani was the director of the Africa and Middle East Program at Toledo’s International Center for Peace. Until June of 2005, he was a professor in the Peace and Conflict Studies Division at Royal Roads University in Victoria, Canada, and before that he had worked as a policy analyst for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. From 1993 to 1997, he was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Lebanese American University of Beirut. Irani holds a degree in Political Science from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan, Italy), as well as a Master’s degree and doctorate in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC).
Ignacio Rupérez
A Spanish writer and diplomat, Mr. Rupérez was the ambassador of the Special Mission in charge of Relations with Muslim Communities and Organizations Abroad. He has been stationed at Spain’s diplomatic missions in Egypt, Israel, Cuba, Ukraine and Iraq. He was the Assistant Director General of Continental Asia, area chief for North America, an advisor on the Cabinet of the State Secretary of Foreign Affairs and a diplomatic advisor for the Ministry of Culture. From 1997 to 2000, he was stationed at the Embassy of Spain in Baghdad as Mission Chief and Business Attaché, an embassy which had re-opened after remaining closed since 1991. In 2003, he was named Vice-President of the Spanish-American Committee. From 2005 to 2008, he returned to Iraq as Spain’s Ambassador, and he was later named the Ambassador of Spain in the Republic of Honduras.