#IPEVLIVE | The Pandemic as a Magnifying Glass: What Conditions that Prevent Ending Violence Can We Now See More Clearly?

Violence and the widespread public desire to transition from violence has been a major concern in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region for many Years. More recently, the pandemic has increased the level of misery and dislocation in the MENA region amid fears that desperate current circumstances may trigger more violence. At the same time, the pandemic crisis may also present new opportunities for a more peaceful future in the MENA region and even a more hopeful model for the rest of the world.

To discuss these risks and opportunities, the Fondation Maison de Sciences de l’Homme is launching #IPEVLIVE, a series of eight live conversations as part of IPEV - International Panel on Exiting Violence.

This conversation focuses on the ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted governance weaknesses in the MENA region and contributed to their ongoing crisis of legitimacy.

Scholars who advise relief agencies and donor countries see new opportunities to link pandemic-related assistance with the implementation of more durable reforms that reduce inequality, prioritize investment in critical infrastructure, and encourage transparent and responsive citizen-government interactions to prevent and discourage violence.

Questions and ideas about exactly how interventions and aid can be targeted to meet current needs while also supporting more permanent anti-violence social, political, and governance structures will be explored.

Speakers

• Rim Turkmani, Research Director, Syria Research Program
• Jalel Harchaoui, Senior Fellow, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime
• Marie Kortam, associate reseacher, Institut français du Proche-Orient
• Tarik Youssef, Foreign Policy Director

Moderated by Hal Plotkin, an American journalist and broadcaster and a former Senior Policy Advisor in the administration of the U.S. President Barack Obama