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High Stakes: Iraq's Elections and What They Mean for the Country's Future (event)
Apr 15, 2010 - Anonymous
Event Date:
April 20, 2010
Location:
U.S. Institute of Peace - 1200 17th Street N.W. - 2nd Floor
High Stakes: Iraq's Elections and What They Mean for the Country's Future
Location
U.S. Institute of Peace
1200 17th Street N.W.
2nd Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036
Start Date: April 20, 2010 - 10:00am
End Date: April 20, 2010 - 11:30am
Iraq’s 2010 national elections, run by Iraqi institutions and secured by Iraqi forces, will have far reaching consequences for the country’s stability, relations with its neighbors - and for U.S. engagement over the next four years and beyond. Election day itself was a success – relatively secure, with a high voter turnout and a result declared fair and credible by international monitors. At the same time, the campaign and post-election certification process occurred against a backdrop of spectacular terrorist attacks and a resurgence of sectarian political discourse. As the new Iraqi government struggles to take shape amidst great uncertainty, Iraqis are asking themselves whether they will get a government worthy of their many sacrifices and oft-tested faith in the electoral process.
What does the elections process reveal about the evolution of Iraq toward democracy as the U.S. military drawdown approaches? What factors motivated Iraqi voters in casting their ballots and how have the leading political actors accepted the sometimes unexpected results? What kind of government can Iraqis expect and when?
This event is co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of War and the United States Institute of Peace.
Speakers
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Rend al-Rahim
Director of the Iraq Foundation
Former representative of Iraq to the United States
Former candidate for the Iraqi Council of Representatives with the Iraqiya List
Former USIP Fellow -
Marisa Cochrane Sullivan
Research Manager, Institute for the Study of War
Former Command Historian for Multi-National Force-Iraq -
Joost Hiltermann
Deputy Program Director, Middle East and North Africa, International Crisis Group -
Jeremy Pam
USIP Jennings Randolph Guest Scholar
Former U.S. Treasury Department attaché in Iraq -
Rusty Barber, moderator
Director of Iraq Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace