Five minutes, 20 slides. What would you say?

At every Ignite, 16 artists, technologists, thinkers, and personalities will take the stage to answer this challenge.

Location:

Washington, D.C. 20001
RSVP | Map and Directions

Ignite DC #9

Samer Araabi

Syria in a Broader Context: The Limits of U.S. Interventionism

The international community has watched with increasing trepidation as the Syrian uprising has descended into indiscriminate violence, ruthless government crackdowns, and a lack of credible, effective leadership. Many of us - particularly in the U.S., are anxious to help the Syrian people rid themselves of decades-long totalitarian rule and usher in a new democratic age. So, what exactly can we do? Though no one can say where the uprising will go, we can at least consider the options available for American involvement, and their relative efficacy. Using the latest polling data, and a comparison with past attempts by the U.S. government to assist in Middle East democratization, we can try to situate our involvement in Syria in a broader perspective, and learn some interesting lessons for our place in the international community.

About Samer Araabi:

Samer Araabi currently serves as the Government Relations Manager for Foreign Policy at the Arab American Institute, where he analyzes U.S. policy towards the Arab World. He is also a contributor to a number of foreign policy publications including the Institute for Policy Studies, the Balkans Project, Foreign Policy in Focus, the Inter Press Service, and Al Jazeera. Samer recently graduated from the London School of Economics with a Masters in Conflict Studies, and holds dual degrees in Political Theory and Economics. He has lived most of his life in the Middle East and has experienced first-hand the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006.