THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAN
MONDAY, September 21, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
Free. Reservations required. Please call 215.409.6700 or order online. 
Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach
F.M. Kirby Auditorium
National Constitution Center
Independence Mall
525 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA
2009 is and continues to be the International Year of the Election. In India this spring, 700 million voters turned out in what is being called the world’s biggest ever exercise in democracy. Elections in Iran in June and their aftermath caught the world’s attention, while in August, Afghanistan’s second presidential elections since the Taliban era has raised important questions about the democratic process in that country. In each case, elections have an influence on the political dynamics in their respective countries, as well as reflecting the progress of, and the prospects for, U.S. policy goals. What do the election results and the reaction to them say about domestic politics in these countries, and what kind of a partner can the U.S. expect to have in these countries over the next five years? The National Constitution Center and The University of Pennsylvania Law School welcome Visiting Scholar Barnett Rubin, Michael Singh, former senior director for the Middle East at the National Security Council, and moderator Trudy Rubin.
Barnett R. Rubin is Director of Studies and Senior Fellow at the Center on International Cooperation of New York University, where he directs the program on the Reconstruction of Afghanistan. He has worked at CIC since July 2000. During 1994-2000 he was Director of the Center for Preventive Action, and Director, Peace and Conflict Studies, at the Council on Foreign Relations. In November-December 2001 he served as special advisor to the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, during the negotiations that produced the Bonn Agreement. He advised the United Nations on the drafting of the constitution of Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Compact, and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy. Rubin has written numerous articles and books including The Fragmentation of Afghanistan and Blood on the Doorstep.
Michael Singh is the Ira Weiner fellow at The Washington Institute and former senior director for the Middle East at the National Security Council. At the White House, Singh was responsible for devising and implementing strategies on a wide range of Middle East issues, from the Arab-Israeli peace process, to supporting Lebanon's Cedar Revolution, to the efforts to prevent Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons capability. Prior to working at the White House, Singh served as special assistant to secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, and as an aide to the U.S. ambassador at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Trudy Rubin moderates. Her Worldview column runs in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesdays and Sundays, and appears in many other U.S. papers. In the past six years she has visited Iraq ten times and has also written from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, China and South Korea . She is the author of Willful Blindness: the Bush Administration and Iraq, a book of her columns from 2002-2004. In 2001 she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in commentary, and in 2008 she was awarded the Edward Weintal prize for international reporting.
Parking for this event is available for $7.00 at the National Constitution Center garage located at the rear of the building on Race Street between 5th and 6th Streets. Parking availability is subject to change, so please call the Constitution Center on the day of the program or check our web site for more information. Please also see our directions by public transportation.
For reservations please call 215.409.6700 or order online. Programs at the National Constitution Center begin promptly and latecomers may not be admitted to the program. Please note that this program is subject to change.
Related Links:
Barnett Rubin
Michael Singh
Worldview
University of Pennsylvania Law School
