National and international experts analyse geopolitical and geoeconomical changes affecting the Middle East

Conference sessions include lectures, round-table talks and screenings; they take place at the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Geography and History of the UB (6, Carrer de Montalegre, Barcelona). Free  registration is open (activitats.icip@gencat.cat). Over 2,700 people have already registered.

From the Arab Spring to the Islamic State

Currently, the Middle East is in a process of rapid change. The unequal impact of the Arab Spring, the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan, Pakistan increasing instability, geoeconomic and geopolitical consequences of US energy sufficiency, Syrian civil war, the emergence of the Islamic State, and the new European terrorism claiming Islamism led by European people are on the worldʼs agenda.

The lecture “La reconfiguració geopolítica de lʼOrient Mitjà” (Middle East geopolitical reconfiguration) opens the conference on 28 April. It is pronounced by the Lebanese historian and economist Georges Corm, former ministry of Finance in Lebanon (1998-2000) and consultant at several international organizations and banks. Then, Rafael Grasa, ICIP president, introduces the audience to the new international and geopolitical framework of the region.

On 29 April, two lectures analyse radical Islamism. First, Antoni Segura, professor of Contemporary History at the University of Barcelona and director of the CEHI-UB, describes the evolution of radical Islamism and its impact on the Middle East. Then, the lecture “Lʼaparició dʼEstat Islàmic (Daesh) i el seu impacte regional i internacional” (The emergence of the Islamic State and its regional and international impact) studies in depth this question. Jean-Pierre Filiu, professor at Sciences Po, Paris School of International Affairs, pronounces it.

War conflicts and refugee drama

Fourth May session is centred on the different conflicts that have shaken life in the region for the last years. Lurdes Vidal, head of the area Arab and Mediterranean World at the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMED), speaks about the conflict in Syria, and Gema Martín Muñoz, professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid, describes the Iraqi conflicted. After these two lectures, experts analyse conflict-related social changes that have taken place in Middle East countries. The screening of the documentary film Silent Revolution closes the session. The film explains the revolution involving nearly 3 million Kurds living in Syria. After the screening, those present will be able to ask questions and talk with the director of the documentary, David Meseguer.

The last session of the conference, which takes place on 5 May, begins with a round-table talk in which some journalists discuss the viewpoints provided by mass media about Syrian and Iraqi conflicts. Then, the documentary film Ciudad sin sueño (A city without dreams), by Alfonso Moral, is screened. The film narrates the life of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Then, a round-table talk about the humanitarian consequences of the refugee drama complements the screening. Representatives of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Doctors without Borders and the Institute of Studies on Conflicts and Humanitarian Action (IECAH) participate in the debate.