In this lecture Shafeeq Ghabra will discuss major political changes that the Arab world has undergone since 2011, focussing on power shifts, sectarianism, the role of youth groups and the challenges of reform in the region. A Kuwaiti political scientist, he will devote particular attention to the Gulf’s role in the Arab Spring and its aftermath, tracing GCC monarchies’ efforts at domestic reform and their involvement in the overarching political changes in the Middle East.
Event details
Speaker: Professor Shafeeq Ghabra, Kuwait University
Chair: Dr Toby Dodge, LSE
Date: Tuesday 12 January 2016
Time: 18.30-20:00
Location: Wolfson theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Event Hashtag: #LSEKuwait
Attendance: This event is free and open to all on a first come first served basis. Our events are very well attended, please make sure to arrive early. We cannot guarantee entry.
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Speaker
Shafeeq Ghabra is a Professor of Political Science at Kuwait University and founding President of Jusoor Arabiya which focuses on youth leadership programmes and strategic planning. He is former founding president of the American University of Kuwait (2003-2006). He also directed the Kuwait Information Office in Washington, DC (1998-2002) and the Center of Strategic Studies at Kuwait University (2002-2003). He earned his BA from Georgetown University in 1975, his MA from Purdue University in 1983, and his PhD in Political Science from the University of Texas in 1987. He is the author of five books and numerous studies.
His recent publications include Hayat Ghayr Amina (Unsafe life: the generation of dreams and disappointments), published by Saqi Books in 2012, ‘Kuwait: at the crossroads of change or political stagnation?’ published by the Middle East Institute in 2014, and ‘The Egyptian revolution of 2011’ in the Routledge handbook of the Arab Spring published by Routledge in 2015.