Munk Centre for International Studies

Room Information

Description

The 2009 Peace and Conflict Society’s 4th Annual International Conference, “Redefining Central Asia: Cooperation, Stabilization & Implications of Regional Security” will bring together over 150 academics, diplomats, practitioners and students to address subjects as diverse as human rights, identity politics, state building and transition, resource scarcity, environmental and energy politics, terrorism, insurgency, foreign policy, and transnational criminal activity such as drug and arms trafficking in Central Asia. Through keynote addresses, breakout sessions, regional plenary sessions, and a symposium of student research, the Conference seeks to maximize opportunities for interaction between speakers and delegates in order to further public policy and academic dialogue about this critically important region, the challenges it faces, and potential solutions.

Ticket Information:
Students: $20
Professional/Non-Student: $50
Click here to purchase tickets

Click here to download a detailed description of the conference and the call for papers…

REDEFINING THE CONCEPT
Although Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were only founded with the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the countries of Central Asia have had a long history of cultural and political connection, both with each other and their neighbours. As the 2006 Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly noted, “regional security concerns, including terrorism, ethnic conflicts, human- and drug-trafficking, as well as political and economic instability, pose serious problems whose consequences are felt far beyond the region”. In light of these challenges, a narrow definition of “Central Asia” does not allow for careful analysis of the problems faced by this region, or consideration of sustainable solutions. Redefining Central Asia to include parts of Russia, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, Iran, and the Caucasus, in addition to the five post-Soviet states, allows for a serious consideration of the threats to human, regional, and international security that are centred in this region.

THE AIMS OF THE 2009 CONFERENCE
The 2009 Conference aims to enhance awareness of this strategically significant region, particularly through the multidisciplinary and multigenerational interaction between participants. Keynote addresses, breakout sessions, panel discussions and a symposium of student research will maximize opportunities for academic and professional delegates to engage with one another and with the student delegates. It is the goal of the conference to be solution-oriented, and to enable the next generation of policy makers and academics to benefit from discussion and debate with thematic and regional specialists, leaders and practitioners focused on Central Asia.

Sponsored by the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, the Munk Centre for International Studies and the International Human Rights Program at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, REDEFINING CENTRAL ASIA will feature over 30 leading academics, diplomats, policy makers and experienced practitioners who will address over 125 delegates over the three-day conference, held at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. In addition to a symposium of student research, one of the unique features of the conference is a Graduate and Internship Fair, which will allow IGOs, NGOs, international research institutions, think tanks and academic programs access to undergraduate, graduate and professional students from a variety of disciplines who are interested in Central Asia.

NOTEWORTHY CONFERENCE SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
HON. BOB RAE, PC, OC, Oont, QC, MP
- KEYNOTE ADDRESS: CANADIAN FOREIGN POLICY AND FUTURE ROLE IN AFGHANISTAN -
Member of Parliament and Foreign Affairs Critic for the Official Opposition
Member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee (1998-2003)
Chair of the Forum of Federations which dealt with matters in Sri
Lanka, Sudan and Iraq (7 years)

DR. THOMAS W. SIMONS JR.
Visiting Scholar, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies,
Harvard University
Senior Member U.S. Foreign Service (1963-98); American Ambassador to
Pakistan (1996-1998) during the 1998 Nuclear Crisis; Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State responsible for relations with the Soviet Union,
Eastern Europe, and Yugoslavia; Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to the
states of the former-USSR

COLONEL DANIEL BURGHART
Professor of National Security and Eurasian Studies, National Defense
Intelligence College
Former Senior National Security Policy Advisor at the Defense Threat
Reduction Agency
Former U. S. Defense and Army Attaché to Kazakhstan and Mission
Commander at the On Site Inspection Agency for the Former Soviet Union

DR. LOUISE I. SHELLEY
Director, Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC)
Professor, School of Public Policy, George Mason University
Leading expert on transnational crime and terrorism with particular
emphasis on the former-Soviet Union

DR. SYLVIA BABUS
Director, Regional Security Studies Program
Faculty lead, Central Asia Regional Security Study, Industrial College
of the Armed Forces
Served 10 years in the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute
including posts in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

DR. ROBERT F. BAUMANN
Director of Graduate Degree Programs for the Command General Staff
College (CGSC)
Senior Professor of Russian and Eurasian Military History
Leading specialist on Soviet-Russian involvement in Afghanistan, the
Caucasus and Central Asia

DR. JEAN-YVES HAINE
Senior Research Fellow, European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
European Security Research Fellow, International Institute for
Strategic Studies (IISS)
Senior Researcher, Transatlantic and Global Security at the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Leading specialist on NATO, European security and defence,
transatlantic relations and the use of force

NOAH TUCKER
Researcher, U.S. Central Command Afghanistan and Pakistan Intelligence
Center of Excellence
Has lived (3 years) and conducted extensive research in Central Asia,
particularly Uzbekistan and Afghanistan

ROBERT S. MILLER
Founder of the ZOR Foundation
Senior Middle East Analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency (1990-4)
Former Middle East Director of Operations for the U.S. Air Force

DR. JASON STRAKES
Research Associate, Illicit Arms Transfer Database Project, Division
of Political Science
Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University
Greater Middle East analyst at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine
Command Human Terrain System-Research Reachback Center East
Specialist in foreign policy, security and defence policy in
post-Soviet Central Asia and the Middle East


For more information, please see www.redefiningcentralasia.org (forthcoming).
To submit a paper to the student symposium, e-mail studentsymposium@trudeaucentre.ca

CONFERENCE AGENDA

FRIDAY OCTOBER 9, 2009

5:00 PM
REGISTRATION OPENS
FLAVELLE HOUSE ENTRANCE
Registration will take place at the Faculty of Law. Please arrive early to ensure you are registered before the beginning of the first event. Registration closes at 7:00pm for the day.

7:00 PM
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL: AFGHANISTAN, NATO AND REGIONAL SECURITY
The opening keynote address will consist of a panel address followed by discussion. It will use Afghanistan as the lens to understanding conflict in the wider region and provide a theoretical and practical background for the conference centred on the challenges faced in Afghanistan and the wider region.

Chair: Brian Stewart
Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Munk Centre for International Studies, Former Senior Foreign Correspondent for CBC News

Jean-Yves Haine – EU/NATO Perspectives on Afghanistan
Senior Research Fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), European Security Research Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

Robert F. Baumann – American Perspectives on Afghanistan
Director of Graduate Degree Programs and Professor of Russian and Eurasian Military History, Command General Staff College (CGSC)

Thomas W. Simons Jr. – Redefining Central Asia: A Caveat
Visiting Scholar, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, US Ambassador to Pakistan (1996-1998)
Former Senior Member of the Foreign Service

9:30 PM
SPEAKER WELCOME RECEPTION
A private reception for speakers, sponsors, conference organizers and International Symposium presenters.

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SATURDAY OCTOBER 10, 2009

9:00 AM
COFFEE AND MORNING REFRESHMENTS
ROWELL ROOM
Join us for coffee and light refreshment and have a chance to mingle with your fellow delegates. Delegates who were unable to register on Friday will have the opportunity to register in the morning, prior to the first Saturday keynote address. Please arrive early to ensure you are able to register before the keynote begins.
REGISTRATION CONT’ - FLAVELLE HOUSE ENTRANCE

10:00 AM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: CANADIAN FOREIGN POLICY AND FUTURE ROLE IN AFGHANISTAN
This first Saturday keynote address will explore the nature of Canada’s role in Afghanistan, focusing specifically on Canadian Foreign Policy and the direction the keynote speaker feels we should take in the future.

Hon. Bob Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP
MP for Toronto Centre, Foreign Affairs Critic for the Official Opposition of Canada, Former Premier of Ontario

Chair: Bill Graham, PC, QC
Chancellor of Trinity College, Chair of the Atlantic Council of Canada, Co-vice Chair of the Canadian International Council

11:00 AM
INTERMISSION
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11:10 AM
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SYMPOSIUM: PART I
The International Student Symposium features the work of student researchers (PhD, Professional degree students, Masters and Undergraduates) from around the world. Their research touches on some of the most pressing issues facing the region related to the themes of this year’s conference. In order to facilitate lively discussion and to maximize feedback that students can incorporate into their papers for eventual publication, each presentation will be followed by a discussion with a respondent, as well as an opportunity for question and answer with the audience.

AFGHANISTAN
Chair: Jean-Yves Haines
Senior Research Fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), European Security Research Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

Ben McVicker
University of Toronto, Canada
Revisiting a Forgotten Interregnum: the Western Dialogue with the Taliban, 1996-2001

David E. Merrell
University of Washington, School of Law, USA
Promoting Cooperation Between Afghanistan and its Northern Neighbors: What Afghanistan Can Learn from State Incorporation of Community-Based Dispute Resolution in Kyrgyzstan

Mark Silinsky
Tulane University, USA
US Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan: More Building and Less Killing

12:50 PM
INTERMISSION – BREAK FOR LUNCH –
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1:40 PM
PLENARY ADDRESS: REEXAMINING THE CONCEPT OF CENTRAL ASIA
This panel presentation will lay the historical context for the conference, outlining the importance of reexamining and “Redefining” Central Asia. It will include a visual presentation and set the stage for examining challenges to peace in the region and act as a foundation to understanding the transnational nature of the threats to human, regional and international security that we will address.

Robert M. Cutler – Historical and Cultural Geography of Central Asia
Senior Fellow at Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, Carleton University

Amanda Goodman – Interconnectedness of Religion in Central Asia
Associate Professor of Religion, University of Toronto

Ikboljon Qoraboyev – Central Asia: Pathways to Regional Order
University of Montpellier 1, France/ UNU-CRIS, Belgium

2:40 PM
INTERMISSION
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2:50 PM
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SYMPOSIUM: PART II

EXTERNAL ACTORS, POLITICAL ACTORS, AND THEIR INFLUENCE IN THE REGION
Chair: Mischa Kaplan
Visiting Doctoral Fellow at the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Toronto

Carter Page
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK
Redefining the Balance Between Capitalist and Socialist Traditions in Central Asia

Magnus C. M. Brod
Philipps-Universitat Marburg, Germany
The Silk Road Personnel: Traders in Xinjiang between China and the Central Asian States

Kelsey Scribner
University of Notre Dame, USA
China’s Future of Leadership: Demystifying Xi Jinping

4:30 PM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: ON THE GROUND IN AFGHANISTAN: A CANADIAN PERSPECTIVE

Christopher Alexander
Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan (2003-2005), UN Deputy Special Representative to the Secretary General for Political Affairs in Afghanistan (2005-2009)

Chair: Brian Stewart
Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Munk Centre for International Studies, Former Senior Foreign Correspondent for CBC News

5:30 PM
INTERMISSION – BREAK FOR DINNER –
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6:40 PM
KEYNOTE PANEL: CHALLENGES TO PEACEBUILDING AND NATIONBUILDING

Chair: Taylor Owen
Trudeau Scholar at the University of Oxford, Canada Action Scholar

Discussant: Colonel Daniel Burghart
Professor of National Security and Eurasia Studies at the National Defense Intelligence College, Former U.S Defense and Army Attaché to Kazakhstan and Mission Commander at the On Site Inspection Agency for the Former Soviet Union

Sylvia Babus
Director of Regional Security Studies Program and Faculty Lead, Central Asia Regional Security Study, Industrial College of the Armed Forces

Jason E. Strakes
Research Associate, Illicit Arms Transfer Database Project, Division of Political Science, Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University

Noah Tucker
Researcher, US Central Command HTAT Afghanistan and Pakistan Intelligence Centre of Excellence

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9:00 PM
CONFERENCE PUB NIGHT
The annual pub night continues to be one of the favourite “added highlights” of our conference weekends. Come out to talk with and really get to know your fellow delegates, symposium presenters and several of the speakers.

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SUNDAY OCTOBER 11, 2009

8:00 AM
COFFEE AND MORNING REFRESHMENTS
Join us for coffee and light refreshments and have a chance to mingle with your fellow delegates.
ROWELL ROOM

9:00 AM
PLENARY ADDRESS: TRANSNATIONAL CRIME AND MOVEMENT OF PEOPLES
This plenary session will address the cross-border and transnational issues of human trafficking, the narcotics trade and migration.

Chair: Ron Levi
Director of the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Professor of Criminology, University of Toronto

Louise I. Shelley – Human Trafficking
Director of Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Centre (TraCCC), Public Policy School, George Mason University

Matthew Light – Soviet Migration Policies
Professor of Criminology, University of Toronto

Joshua Faust – Narcotics Trade in Afghanistan
Defence and Intelligence Analyst, Afghanistan Country Editor at Global Voices Online

11:00 AM
INTERMISSION
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11:20 AM
ROUNDTABLE: ENERGY AND POLITICS IN CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS
This plenary session will address energy security in the Caucasus and Foreign Policy Actors.

Chair and Discussant: Lucan Way
Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto

ROBERT S. MILLER
Former Middle East Director of Operations for U.S. Air Force, Former Middle East Analyst at National Defense Intelligence
Agency (1990-4)

Robert M. Cutler
Senior Fellow at Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, Carleton University

Deniz Tura
Independent scholar and practitioner in the Eurasian energy field

1:20 PM
INTERMISSION – BREAK FOR LUNCH –
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2:20 PM
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SYMPOSIUM: PART III

CENTRAL ASIA: RELIGION, AND IDENTITY POLITICS

Chair: Ron Levi
Director of the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Professor of Criminology, University of Toronto

Sherzod Muminov
University of Tsukuba, Japan
'Central Asia': The Evolution of the Concept and its Role in the Discourse of Regional Integration

Hélène Thibault
Université de Montréal, Canada
Tajikistan: A Secular State

Rebekah Tromble
Indiana University, USA
"Bad" Islam: The Myth of Uzbek Radicalism in Kyrgyzstan and Its Consequences for Regional Security

Laila Kadiwal
University of Oxford, UK
Belonging to the Nation: A Perspective from the Pamir, Tajikistan

4:30 PM
CLOSING REMARKS
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Sponsored by

Peace and Conflict Society
Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies
Munk Centre for International Studies

Co-sponsored by

International Human Rights Program at the Faculty of Law
Central Asian Society at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto's Faculty of Law