Date and time: October 7, 2020, 2 pm Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
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In 2019 and early 2020, the Middle East and North Africa witnessed widespread protest movements in Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon, and Iraq marking a decade since the Arab uprisings started in 2010. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, these movements largely subsided under strict, temporary lockdowns. However, the coronavirus exacerbated socioeconomic conditions and inequalities, thus provoking renewed street demonstrations in Lebanon and Iraq as well as other countries across the region such as Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan. As MENA governments grapple with the adverse economic impact of the pandemic and the deterioration of public services, more popular unrest is likely to erupt. In this timely discussion, former Wilson Fellow, analyst and journalist Rami Khouri, offers an in-depth comparative analysis of the 2019 protest movements in Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon and Iraq in dialogue with Middle East Program fellow Marina Ottaway and Bard University professor and Beirut-based activist Ziad Abu Rish.
Speakers
- Rami Khouri, director of global engagement, American University of Beirut, columnist, Agence Global Syndicate, USA, and The New Arab, London and Nonresident Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School
- Marina Ottaway, Middle East fellow, Wilson Center
- Ziad Abu-Rish, visiting associate professor of human rights; co-director, MA Program in Human Rights and the Arts, Bard College
Moderator: Merissa Khurma, program manager, Middle East Program