Middle East – Is anyone Still Looking for a Solution?

Thirty years ago, the sand dunes and shadowy vales in the Middle East and Northern Africa felt a tremor that seemed both familiar and disconcertingly new. Two Gulf Wars and twenty years later, it turned into an earthquake toppling leaders and making three countries all but disappear. External ‘traditional’ players are shifting places; and the inventory of local influencing factors, including religion and non-state actors, has changed. Solutions are needed lest the Wider Middle East becomes Wilder.

This session is held in the framework of Bucharest Forum 2019 which is an annual high-level event organized by the Aspen Institute Romania and the German Marshall Fund of the US, Bucharest office. Since its inception in 2012, the mission of the Bucharest Forum is to create a regional platform for forward thinking on economic and security policies, and for promoting political dialogue between governments and civil society.

Bucharest Forum 2019 will offer a platform for reflection on the challenges of the present, and on possible paths for the future, as seen from the Eastern border of the Western world. The Policy Center for the New South will contribute to the discussion and will be represented by its Senior Fellow, Mr. Mohammed Loulichki.