October 7, 2011

Uprisings and Transitions: Today’s Politics and Economics in the Middle East and North Africa

Columbia University, Schapiro Center, Davis Auditorium

Presented by the Committee on Global Thought, this conference examined the major path-breaking transitions in North Africa and the Middle East, as a continuation of three panels presented in Spring 2011, when the uprisings first broke out. Focusing on unresolved issues, future challenges, and strategies for the region, this conference presented panels of interdisciplinary experts analyzing key issues in this rapidly changing arena, including: financing transition, unemployment, health and migrations.

Distinguished panelists from Columbia and Harvard universities included:

  • Joseph Stiglitz, Professor of Economics, Co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Member of the CGT.
  • Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Member of the CGT.
  • Katharina Pistor, Walter E. Meyer Research Professor in Law & Social Problems; Michael I. Sovern Professor of Law, Columbia Law School, Former Member of the CGT.
  • Ishac Diwan, Affiliate at the Belfer Center’s Middle East Initiative and Chaire d’Excellence Monde Arabe at Paris Sciences et Lettres.
  • Sudhir Venkatesh, William B. Ransford Professor of Sociology, Member of the CGT.
  • Mamadou Diouf, Leitner Family Professor of African Studies, Director, Institute for African Studies, Member of the CGT.
  • Richard Parker, Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and Anthropology, Director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Politics, and Health, Member of the CGT, Columbia University.
  • Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government MESAAS, International Affairs, and Anthropology, Columbia University.
  • Alfred Stepan, Wallace S. Sayre Professor of Government, Director of the Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion, Columbia University.
  • Timothy Mitchell, William B Ransford Professor of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies, Columbia University.
  • Bruce Kogut, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Professor of Leadership and Ethics, Columbia Business School.

Click here to read more about the event.