Previewing Iran’s presidential election

 I really don’t announce every event which I take part in or organize  here on the blog, but I’m going to make an exception for an event next Wednesday evening at the Elliott School about which I am particularly excited: "Iran’s Presidential Election". The panel previewing this pivotal election will be moderated by the excellent ...

 I really don't announce every event which I take part in or organize  here on the blog, but I'm going to make an exception for an event next Wednesday evening at the Elliott School about which I am particularly excited: "Iran's Presidential Election".

 I really don’t announce every event which I take part in or organize  here on the blog, but I’m going to make an exception for an event next Wednesday evening at the Elliott School about which I am particularly excited: "Iran’s Presidential Election".

The panel previewing this pivotal election will be moderated by the excellent journalist Robin Wright who has just returned from a reporting trip to Iran, and features three younger scholars from outside the stable of "usual DC suspects" who have been following Iranian domestic politics closely:  Paola Rivetti, an Italian academic from Siena University;  Nagmeh Sohrabi, from Brandeis University’s Crown Center;  and Mohammad Tabaar, a former BBC journalist who is now a PhD candidate at Georgetown and a lecturer at George Washington University. (Karim Sadjadpour of Carnegie was originally slated to speak, but had to pull out for personal reasons.) 

 The Iranian Presidential election could have a major effect on all aspects of Middle East politics and American policy in the region, and I am keenly interested to hear about how they might play out from these young scholars who have been following Iran’s domestic politics closely.   It will be Wednesday, April 29, from 6:00-7:30 at the Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street NW, Room 213.  I hope to see many DC-based readers there!

 If you happen to have time for two events  on April 29, you might also want to check out the panel at the United States Institute for Peace at 3:00 on the situation of women in Iraq.  Such issues are too often lost amidst the high politics and military discussions, and this panel should help to focus on the human dimension of the conflict and possible civil society solutions.  

Marc Lynch is associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, where he is the director of the Institute for Middle East Studies and of the Project on Middle East Political Science. He is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He is the author of The Arab Uprising (March 2012, PublicAffairs).

He publishes frequently on the politics of the Middle East, with a particular focus on the Arab media and information technology, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and Islamist movements. Twitter: @abuaardvark

Tag: Iran

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