Reforms in the Middle East

Stability in the Middle East is possible only if the United States and Europe work closely together with the region’s own representatives. At the 133rd Bergedorf Round Table, policy makers and experts from the Middle East, the USA, and EU member states analyzed the current situation and discussed options for political action. Some participants judged the intervention in Iraq positively, despite all its errors and associated perils. This “controlled earthquake,” they said, brought movement to the region’s political landscape after decades of stagnation. Others argued that the invasion turned Iraq into a magnet for international terrorism, and that ethnic and sectarian conflicts now threaten to destabilize the entire region. Regarding the Iranian nuclear program, the discussion focused on Iran’s internal dynamics and the role of the United States. On the issue of modernization, the conference revealed how far attitudes diverge over the relationship of state, religion, and ethnicity within the Islamic world. The Western side saw the region’s radicalization as both a fundamental obstacle to cooperation and the chief cause for the breakdown of security there. Participants from the Middle East accused the West of applying less stringent standards toward allied autocrats and being biased towards Israel. The Round Table identified ways of supporting reforms externally and developed policy approaches for the USA and the EU.