Session: Session 3
Date/Time: April 29, 2015 / 10:45-12:00

Moderator:
Jang Ji-Hyang, The Asan Institute for Policy Studies

Speakers:
Salam Fayyad, Future for Palestine, Former Prime Minister of Palestine
Karen E. House, Pepperdine University
Kwon Hee-seog, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROK
Sinan Ülgen, Centre for Economic and Foreign Policy Studies

Panel Description

Today, forces are at work to reshape the Middle East. In Iraq and Syria, years of sectarian bloodshed has claimed countless lives and left both countries teetering on the brink of collapse. It has also given rise to a new generation of violent extremists, such as the self-declared “Islamic State,” who seek to tear up existing national borders. Meanwhile, instability in Yemen, North Africa and elsewhere has further fueled state fragmentation and created lawless, ungoverned spaces. In contrast, momentum on economic and political integration is gathering pace in the Gulf monarchies. And the Palestinian quest for statehood poses important questions for the responsibility of the entire international community. Can the U.S. still play a constructive role given such tectonic changes in the region’s politics?