LISTEN

The Syrian uprising broke out more than two months into the Arab Spring and took everyone by surprise. For a number of reasons, the prospect of an uprising taking place in Syria at this point was deemed to be low, but the resilience and bravery of the Syrian people facing the regime’s brutality defied all expectations. Starting out as peaceful protests for reform and democratic change, the situation in Syria has after two years developed into a full scale conflict between opposition forces and regime loyalists. Based on her experience as a diplomat in Syria during the first year and a half of the uprising, Ambassador Lassen will analyze the development and major turning points of the crisis, the power bases of the regime and the role of minorities, the changing nature of the opposition, the role of the international community and the potential regional consequences of the current crisis.

Christina Markus Lassen is a current Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. Ambassador Lassen came to Harvard directly from Damascus, where for the last three years she has served as Denmark’s ambassador to Syria and to Jordan. Previous assignments include: Head of Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Executive Secretariat; Special Advisor to the Prime Minister (Middle East and Transatlantic Affairs); and Embassy Secretary for Political Affairs at the Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C. Ambassador Lassen has a Master’s degree and a Bachelor’s degree (Business and International Relations) from Copenhagen Business School. While at Harvard, she is conducting research on the Arab uprisings, and their implications and consequences for relations between the Arab world and the EU/US.

Co-Sponsored with the Bustani Middle East Seminar.

The Bustani Middle East Seminar is organized under the auspices of the MIT Center for International Studies, which conducts research on contemporary international issues and provides and opportunity for faculty and students to share perspectives and exchange views. Each year the Bustani Seminar invites scholars, journalists, consultants, and other experts from the Middle East, Europe, and the United States to MIT to present recent research findings on contemporary politics, society and culture, and economic and technological development in the Middle East.