- 05 Dec 2013
IRANIAN POLICY TOWARD THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR
Abstract:
The Syrian Crisis is a conflict in which outside powers are increasingly involved. Among the major players in the Syrian war is Iran. Speaking ‘live’ from Florida, Professor Mohsen Milani will discuss three issues on Iranian involvement in Syria. In part one, he will discuss how, after the death of Hafez Assad, the Iranian-Syrian alliance was transformed from political to strategic. In part two, he will explain the different dimensions of Iran’s strategy toward the Syrian Civil war. In the conclusion of his talk, Milani will discuss why there is no military solution to the lingering Syrian crisis, and why Iran should be invited to participate in Geneva II conference.
About the Speakers
Mohsen Milani is the Executive Director of the Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies and Professor of Politics at the University of South Florida. He served as a department chairman at that University from 1998 to 2012. He has served as a fellow at Harvard, Oxford, and Foscari University (Italy).
Professor Milani has authored more than 60 publications, including many in top peer-reviewed academic journals and popular journals. His book, The Making of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, has been used as required reading in many universities in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Canada, and Iran. His recent publications include “Iran’s Strategy in the Syrian Civil War” (The Washington Quarterly, Fall 2013), and the following pieces in Foreign Affairs: “What If at First Rouhani Doesn’t Succeed,” “Rouhani’s Foreign Policy,” “The Ayatollah’s Game Plan,” “Meet Me in Baghdad,” “Iran’s US Policy,” and “Iran and Saudi Arabia Square Off.” He has written about Iran’s policy toward Afghanistan (The Middle East Journal), Iran’s policy toward Iraq (a book chapter by the U.S. Institute of Peace) and “The rise and fall—and possible rise again—of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,” The Atlantic.
Since 2000, he has been invited to 165 conferences and workshops in 25 countries. His advice is solicited by private and governmental entities. Among others, he has been interviewed/quoted in, The New York Times, Le Monde, The Economist (UK), Der Spiegel, Radio Israel, Chuo-Koron (Japan), Toronto Star, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Avvenenire (Italy), Rheinischer Merkur (Germany), BBC World TV News, Publico (Portugal), Nepszabadsag (Hungry), Il Riformista (Italy), Globo News (Brazil), CNN, ABC Nightline Live, New Delhi Television, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, To the Point (PBS), Al Jazeera TV, Alhurra TV, Forbes, CBS News, Fox News, Voice of America, The Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian, Interpress, EurasiaNet, LinkTV, and more than 20 Persian language newspapers. He conducts a new “Conversation Series on Global Security” at the University of South Florida, bringing to the campus key experts for an in-depth conversation on major global challenges. He is currently writing a book about Iranian foreign policy.
