Konferenzbericht: “Frisst der Arabische Frühling seine Kinder? Aussichten für den demokratischen Wandel”

Franziska Brantner und die Bertelsmann Stiftung luden kürzlich in Brüssel zur Diskussion über die Zukunft des Arabischen Frühlings. Im Zentrum stand die Frage, ob am Ende der Umbrüche tatsächlich demokratische Gesellschaften entstehen und friedliche Verhältnisse in der Region herrschen werden. Dazu hat Franziska Brantner sechs namhafte Expertinnen und Experten aus der Region zusammen gebracht, die teilweise selbst aktiv am Wandel mitgewirkt haben und weiterhin mitwirken.

Bild oben (v.l.n.r.): Sarah Wafa, Mehdi Lahlou, Khalil Al-Anani, Franziska Brantner, Christian-Peter Hanelt, Ramla Jaber, Arslan Chikhaoui, Muhannad Al-Hassani

Hören Sie sich hier die Audioaufzeichnung der Konferenz an (auf Englisch).
Lesen Sie einen ausführlichen Bericht über die Konferenz (auf Englisch).

Hintergundinformationen zur Konferenz (auf Englisch):

Revolutions devour their children. It is far from certain that the Arab Spring will prove an exception to this sinister proposition. Pessimists point to the increasingly fractious political landscape in post-Gaddafi Libya, the foot-dragging and authoritarian reflexes by Egypt’s military rulers, the brutal crackdown on protestors in Syria, and the behind-the-scene manoeuvring by the ultra-conservative powers Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Optimists disagree. They believe that the enthusiasm and aspirations of the millions of protestors that carried the revolutions to initial victories in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya will continue to push reforms forward despite occasional and partial backsliding during the transition, and their success will continue to inspire millions in neighbouring countries.

Both sides agree, however, that the stakes are enormously high and the challenges daunting. The vacuum left by the old regimes might well be filled by other, better organised forces than the pro-democracy movements. In Egypt, for instance, it is yet to be seen if the military rulers are the honest brokers of change they claim to be. It is likewise unclear where the long and fiercely oppressed Islamist movements are heading. Will secular Turkey be their role model, or rather the Salafist movement? And what will happen if the pro-democracy forces fail to deliver on their economic and social promises?

Franziska Brantner and the Bertelsmann Stiftung invite you to discuss these pressing issues with a panel of distinguished representatives from the region, some of which are directly involved in the transition of their respective country. The discussion aims not only at providing first-hand information but also at spelling out how the EU can contribute to promoting peaceful and democratic change:

4 October 2011, 11h00 to 13h00
European Parliament (Brussels), Room ASP 5G2

Chairs:
Dr Franziska Brantner, MEP
Christian-Peter Hanelt, Senior Europe and Middle East Expert, Bertelsmann Stiftung

Khalil Al-Anani
Egyptian scholar, instructor of Middle East politics, School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University and Cairo

Muhannad Al-Hassani
Syrian lawyer; President, Syrian Organization for Human Rights (Swasiya); Laureate of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders 2010

Dr Arslan Chikhaoui
Chairman and CEO, Nord-Sud Ventures, Algiers; Member, Defense and Security Forum (DSF), London

Ramla Jaber
Communication Officer, Tunisian Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment, Tunis; Journalist for CNN, CBS news, ETV and Co-founder of the first Tunisian-English interactive news website www.tunisia-live.net

Prof Mehdi Lahlou
Professor of Economics, National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (INSEA-Ministry of Planning), Rabat

Sarah Wafa
Media activist; Event Host at Human Concern International, Kingston, Canada

Further information about the panellists and the key issues under debate can be found in the recent ‘The Future of the Mediterranean‘ paper by the Bertelsmann Stiftung.