DATE: 4-5:30 p.m., March 28

PLACE: 1636 International Institute/School of Social Work Building, 1080 S. University, Ann Arbor

EVENT: What can we learn about the current turmoil and popular mobilization in the Middle East and North Africa from the collapse of communist regimes in 1989? Do these events constitute a “revolutionary cascade?” In both 1989 and 2011, anger and frustration at illegitimate autocratic regimes spurred regional protest and regime collapse. A panel of University of Michigan experts on Middle Eastern and East Central European politics will explore the similarities and the differences: the importance of single party rule and foreign sponsorship of the regimes, the different patterns of popular and elite mobilization, and the very different forms of regime collapse.

Presenters include:

• Moderator Anna Grzymala-Busse, professor of political science and director of the Ronald and Eileen Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia/Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies
• Juan Cole, professor of history and director of the Center for South Asian Studies
• Michael Dobbs, visiting professor of communications and former Warsaw correspondent for the Washington Post
• Khaled Mattawa, associate professor of creative writing
• Scott Page, professor of political science and economics and director of the Center for the Study of Complex Systems
• Andrew Shryock, associate professor of anthropology
• Jan Svejnar, professor of business, economics and public policy, and director of the International Policy Center

INFORMATION: The panel discussion is free to the public and will be available via live web streaming. Visit www.ii.umich.edu/wced or call (734) 764-0351.

SPONSORS: Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, African Studies Center, Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, International Institute, International Policy Center