The new Eastern Mediterranean Equation and Transatlantic Implications
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
OCP Policy Center is pleased to welcome Ian Lesser, Executive Director of the Transatlantic Center in Brussels and Senior Director, Foreign and Security Policy at The German Marshall Fund of the United States, a strategic partner of OCP Policy Center.
Mr. Lesser will give a presentation about “The new Eastern Mediterranean Equation and Transatlantic Implications” on Thursday March 10th at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Rabat.
The prevailing disorder and conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean could be a durable feature of the strategic environment in the years ahead. Sustained sectarian conflict, the more assertive role of regional actors, including Iran, Russia and Turkey, and the the uncertain engagement of Europe and the United States, are prominent features of this environment. From migration flows, energy security and terrorism, to the growing role of distant actors such as China, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean are now at the center of global geopolitics. What are the immediate and longer-term prospects? How are leading external stakeholders, including the United States and Europe likely to react? Beyond the proliferation of crises, could events on Cyprus or elsewhere offer new opportunities for stability and cooperation? What are the potential implications for more distant Mediterranean and Atlantic actors, including Morocco?
This event is by invitation only.
About GMF
The German Marshall Fund of the United States strengthens transatlantic cooperation on regional, national, and global challenges and opportunities in the spirit of the Marshall Plan. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working in the transatlantic sphere, by convening leaders and members of the policy and business communities, by contributing research and analysis on transatlantic topics, and by providing exchange opportunities to foster renewed commitment to the transatlantic relationship.
In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 as a non-partisan, non-profit organization through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has offices in Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, Bucharest, Warsaw, and Tunis. GMF also has smaller representations in Bratislava, Turin, and Stockholm. More information can be found on GMF’s website.
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Ian Lesser
Ian Lesser is Senior Director for Foreign and Security Policy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, managing activity in these areas across GMF. He also serves as Executive Director of the Transatlantic Center, GMF’s Brussels Office, and leads GMF work on the Mediterranean, Turkey, and the Southern Atlantic.
Prior to joining GMF, Dr. Lesser was Vice President and Director of Studies at the Pacific Council on International Policy (the western partner of the Council on Foreign Relations). He came to the Pacific Council from RAND, where he spent over a decade as a senior analyst and research manager specializing in strategic studies. From 1994-1995, he was a member of the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, responsible for Turkey, Southern Europe, North Africa, and the multilateral track of the Middle East peace process.
A frequent commentator for international media, he has written extensively on international policy issues. His books and reports include Morocco’s New Geopolitics: A Wider Atlantic Perspective (2012); Beyond Suspicion: Rethinking US-Turkish Relations (2007); Security and Strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean (2006); Turkish Foreign Policy in an Age of Uncertainty (2003); Greece’s New Geopolitics (2001); and Countering the New Terrorism (1999).
He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the Pacific Council on International Policy. He serves on the advisory boards of the NATO Defense College Foundation, the International Spectator, Turkish Policy Quarterly and Insight Turkey, has been a senior fellow of the Onassis Foundation and the Luso-American Foundation, and a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington.