Belfer in Brief

Confronting Modern-Day Slavery

The JFK Jr. Forum hosted a CNN broadcast taping in October of “Fight for Freedom: Confronting Modern-Day Slavery.”  Co-sponsored by the Belfer Center and the Institute of Politics, the event featured a panel of experts on human trafficking who discussed the problem and possible solutions.  The event will be broadcast by CNN at a future date.

CNN’s Richard Quest moderated the panel discussion with Academy Award winning actress Mira Sorvino, UN Goodwill Ambassador to Combat Human Trafficking, Swanee Hunt, director of Hunt Alternatives, Siddharth Kara, director of the Carr Center’s human trafficking program, Rachel Lloyd of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, and Rosi Orozco, president of Commission United Against Human Trafficking.

The event, part of the CNN Freedom Project, is supported by the Essam and Dalal Obaid Foundation.

To watch the event, see http://www.iop.harvard.edu/forum/past

Impact of the Iran Deal on the Middle East

To determine how Iran’s Arab neighbors view the nuclear agreement and envision the future role of Iran in the region, Mohseni asked 15 leading experts based in the Arab world to assess the impact of the agreement on Iran-Arab security relations. Those assessments are summarized in the report Iran and the Arab World after the Nuclear Deal: Rivalry and Engagement in a New Era,” published by the Belfer Center in August.

Based on these expert perspectives, reactions in the Arab world were divided into three distinct groups based on different political visions and geostrategic interests in the Middle East.

The first group, or the “skeptics,” represented by Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Jordan, and Morocco, expressed their skepticism and uncertainty in the framework for the nuclear deal. From their standpoint, the agreement will allow Iran to expand its primacy over other areas in the Middle East chessboard politically, economically, and militarily.

The second group, or “pro-Iran bloc,” composed of Syria, Iraq, a faction of the Lebanese political mainstream, and part of the Yemeni political opposi­tion, received the pact “with exultation.” These coun­tries believe the deal will have an important positive effect on their aspirations and political empowerment in the region.

The third group, or the “third way” countries, made up primarily of North African states like Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan, welcomed the agreement “with a mixture of joy and concern,” but were ulti­mately satisfied with the deal and design of the framework.

The full report is available at belfercenter.org/IranandArabWorld/