German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

GIGA Talk

IS NOT TAKING PLACE! Security for the Middle East in a World of Competing Global Orders

Date

17/02/2025

Is not taking place! On 17 February 2025, GIGA intended to hold a “GIGA Talk” at our office in Berlin to discuss a recent report of the Quincy Institute on the prospects of multilateralism in a world of competing order narratives. At a time of growing power rivalry and diminished cohesion of international institutions, this issue is highly pertinent to multiple conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa and the future of the region. Protests against the programme have forced us to postpone, as we feel unable to guarantee the security of the event and panel members. We intend to discuss the pertinent topics of the report at one of our future events. We share the concerns of many protesters about the authoritarian government in Iran and its regional role, but neither the role of Iran or any other specific country was the topic of this event. We look forward to having these very important conversations at a later date.

Current events in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and Syria vividly demonstrate the Middle East’s continued pivotal role in the global security order as a region of strategic geopolitical significance, abundant energy resources, and persistent political and security challenges.

In response to these pressing realities, starting in mid-2023 the Quincy Institute’s Better Order Project convened more than 130 experts, scholars, and practitioners from over 40 countries – spanning both the Global North and South. Together, they crafted a comprehensive set of proposals aimed at stabilising a global security order in flux, with specific recommendations tailored to key regions. Their central argument rejects both the uncritical promotion of the rules-based international order (RBIO) and the emergence of a rival order dominated by competing great powers. Instead, they advocate for an inclusive global order rooted in enhanced norms, international law, multilateralism, and equitable participation of states.

At this GIGA Talk, contributors to the Better Order Project will engage with regional experts from academia and practice to examine the feasibility of these proposals for the Middle East. The panel will also explore potential pathways to a more stable and secure regional order in light of current dynamics.

Speakers: Dr. Trita Parsi is Executive Vice President at the Quincy Institute, Washington, D.C.

Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz is Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies and Professor at the University of Hamburg.

Diba Mirzaei is a Doctoral Researcher at the GIGA.

Discussant: Gregory Bledjian is Head of Division Middle East at the Federal Foreign Office.

Moderator: Dr. Sharinee Jagtiani is a Senior Officer at the German Marshall Fund.

Organisers

Prof. Dr. Bert Hoffmann

Lead Research Fellow / Co-Leader of the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies (ad interim) Head GIGA Berlin Office Editor GIGA Focus Latin America

Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

Prof. Dr. Miriam Prys-Hansen

Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Global Orders and Foreign Policies"

Address

GIGA Berlin Office and online

Language

English

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GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies

The GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies is one of the leading institutes for Middle East research in Germany and Europe. Our scholars examine topics such as state and regime structures, energy security, violent conflicts, forced migration, Islamist movements, and the reshaping of the regional order.

Global Orders and Foreign Policies

The Global Orders and Foreign Policies Research Programme deals with the fragmenting global order and its implications for our understanding of multilateralism as well as its problem-solving capacities. The scholars analyse major trends, such as climate change, global health crises, populism, and global power shifts.

IS NOT TAKING PLACE! Security for the Middle East in a World of Competing Global Orders