The Rumi Forum presented “Iran’s forthcoming Presidential elections: What impact on relations with the US” with Dr. Shireen T. Hunter, Visiting Professor at the CMCU at Georgetown University.
In June 2009 the Iranians will go to the polls to elect new president. This year’s presidential elections are particularly important for two reasons: first , the elections are widely seen as a referundum on Ahmadinejad’s populist but highly controversial economic policies and foreign policy postures; and second, becuase of the impact that they may have on US-Iran relations. Shireen Hunter discussed the lines up of candidates so-far and those who may enter the fray later and their views. She assessed the relative impact of the result of Iranian presidential elections on the prospects for US-Iran relations.
Shireen T. Hunter is Visiting Professor at the Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. From September 2005 until February 2007 she was a Visiting Fellow at the center where she conducted research on reformist Islam, a project funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. She is also Distinguished Scholar( Non –Resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., with which she has been associated since 1983 (Director of the Islam Program, 1998-2005; Senior Associate, 1993-97; and Deputy Director of the Middle East Program, 1983-92). She is Consultant to the RAND Corporation; and she was Academic Fellow at Carnegie Corporation (2000-2002). From 1993-97, Dr. Hunter was Visiting Senior Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels, and also directed CEPS’ Mediterranean Program. While at CSIS in the 1980s, she also taught courses as Professorial Lecturer at Georgetown University, Adjunct Professor at George Mason University, and holder of the Louis L. Goldstein Chair at Washington College (1989). Prior to joining CSIS, Dr. Hunter was a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution(1979-1980) Research Fellow at the Harvard University Center for International Affairs (CFIA). From 1966-1978, she was a member of the Iranian Foreign Service, serving abroad in London and Geneva. Dr. Hunter was educated at Teheran University (BA and all-but-thesis for a doctorate in international law), the London School of Economics (MSc in international relations), and the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva (PhD in international relations).
Moderator:
Maria Mariani is the Program Manager for the English for Heritage Language Speakers Program (EHLS), a National Security Education Program (NSEP) program for speakers of critical languages such as Arabic, Farsi, Dari, Urdu, Mandarin who possess cultural expertise and are interested in long-term employment with the U.S. government specifically with agencies involved in national security. Along with her management and recruitment duties she also serves on the admissions committee and acts as liaison for federal agencies.
Prior to her work with EHLS, Ms. Mariani was an Adjunct Instructor in the EFL program. She has taught at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. She ran a success decade long language business in the San Francisco Bay area with clients such as Levi Strauss & CO, Wells fargo Bank and Pacific Gas and Electric.