Difference between revisions of "Democracy and Security International Conference"

From Powerbase
Jump to: navigation, search
m (fmt bottom section)
(ported NE version of page)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
Democracy & Security International Conference was held in Prague right before the G8 2007 conference. Attendees included George Bush and a who's who of the neocon regime-change industry.  
+
[[Image:DISC_BUSH.jpg|right|thumb|George W. Bush Speaks at the Conference|text-bottom]]
 +
 
 +
The Democracy & Security International Conference also known as the “Democracy and Security: Core Values and Sound Policies” conference was held in Prague on the 5-6th of June, overlapping the 2007 [[G8 summit]] in Heiligendamm<ref>Natan Sharansky, [http://www.democracyandsecurity.org/doc/Press_Release_DaS_EN.doc  PRESIDENT BUSH TO ADDRESS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS], Accessed 08-March-2009</ref>.
 +
 
 +
==Conference Aims==
 +
[[Image:DISC_LOGO.gif|top|Conference Logo|text-bottom]]
 +
 
 +
The aim of the conference was summed up in a background paper by [[Marc F. Plattner]], that argued “building a world of free and democratic states should be our long-term goal”. The world view conveyed by the paper was one where “Increasingly the world is divided between liberal democracies and regimes that are tyrannical”. These tyrannical regimes represent a “growing security threat”, and they are “drawn together” by a “common fear and hatred of liberal democracy”. The hostile regimes “Support terrorism and threaten not only to acquire but to use nuclear weapons”. The regimes themselves were described as comprising of “The unholy trinity of Ahmadinejad, Chavez and Lukashenka”<ref> [[Marc F. Plattner]], Background Paper, [http://www.democracyandsecurity.org/doc/Background_Paper_Plattner.pdf Background Paper for the Conference on Democracy and Security], Accessed 08-March-2009</ref>.
 +
 
 +
According to the [[Wall Street Journal]] it was the personal intercession of [[Natan Sharansky]] which persuaded [[George W. Bush]] to attend in spite of the objections of the [[State Department]].<ref>[http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/bstephens/?id=110010199 The Ghost House: If Prague can be free, why not Sudan?] by BRET STEPHENS, ''Wall Street Journal'', 12 June 2007.</ref> Sharansky stated at the conference "In today's world of confrontation, there is no better weapon than the promotion of democracy," He argued for the importance of dialogue with dissidents and policy makers, saying "This conference gives those responsible for policy-making an important opportunity for direct dialogue with the dissidents themselves."<ref>Natan Sharansky, [http://www.democracyandsecurity.org/doc/Press_Release_DaS_EN.doc  PRESIDENT BUSH TO ADDRESS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS], Accessed 08-March-2009</ref>
 +
 
 +
Looking at the conference agenda and the list of attendees (below), the neoconservative credentials of the conference are easily inferred. The subjects discussed focus on expediting political change in selected countries: Mynamar, Cuba, Iran, Belarus. Venezuela were also singled out for criticism in the background paper of the conference”. <ref> [[Marc F. Plattner]], Background Paper, [http://www.democracyandsecurity.org/doc/Background_Paper_Plattner.pdf Background Paper for the Conference on Democracy and Security], Accessed 08-March-2009</ref>. The potential for dissidents to achieve political change in these countries was a key issue for discussion at the conference. The role of central european states in EU-Russian relations was also discussed, with the conference being underwritten by [[NATO]], these discussions are likely to be centred round the planned U.S. missile defence system which is planned to based in Poland and have a radar base in the Czech republic<ref>Karen DeYoung, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/01/AR2008020101910.html U.S., Poland Closer to Deal on Missile Defense], '''Washington Post''', 2-February-2009, Accessed 11-March-2009</ref>
 +
 
 +
==Neoconservative Foreign Policy==
 +
 
 +
[[Image:DISC_DISSIDENTS.jpg|right|thumb|Round Table Discussions between dissidents at the conference|text-bottom]]
 +
 
 +
Strong elements of neoconservative ideology were prevalent throughout the attendees and agenda at the conference. Neoconservatives advocate an interventionist often aggressive foreign policy and this was reflected through the conference delegations attitudes towards other selected nation states:
 +
 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
* '''Russia''': [[NATO]] were conference partners and one of the key speakers was Czech Foreign Minister [[Karel Schwarzenberg]]. Schwarzenberg signed the agreement with the United States that the radar base for the U.S. European defence missile system was to be installed on Czech soil <ref>Dan Bilefsky, 08-July-2009, International Herald Tribune, [http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/08/europe/shield.php U.S. and Czech Republic sign agreement on missile shield], Accessed 28-February-2009</ref>. The missile shield was described by NATO secretary general as “A Key Element For Security”<ref>Radio Free Europe, [http://www.rferl.org/content/Article/1109682.html NATO: Alliance Chief Calls Missile Defense A Key Element For Security], 05-May-2008, Accessed 08-March-2009</ref>.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
* '''Cuba''': [[Rafael Rubio]], the president of the [[Association for the Transition of Cuba]] attended to offer a dissident perspective against the Cuban regime. <ref>Democracy and Security Conference, [http://www.democracyandsecurity.org/doc/List_of_Participants.pdf List of Participants], Accessed 25-February-2009</ref>. Rubio discussed the importance to Cuba of what he called “real paths to the goal of sovereignty, democracy, reconciliation, and rights”. <ref> Rafael Rubio, Remarks [http://www.democracyandsecurity.org/doc/Rafael_Rubio_Remarks.pdf Democracy and Security Speech], Accessed 28-February-2009</ref>. Conference attendees [[Jan Bubeník]] and [[Karel Schwarzenberg]],  were both arrested and expelled from Cuba for meeting with dissidents<ref> Mimi Whitefield, (2001), [http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/btrdvde.html Detentions in Cuba open a bitter divide],''Miami Herald'', Acessed 26-February-2009</ref><ref> Jennifer Rankin, 19-July-2007, European Voice, [http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/the-prince/57957.aspx The Prince], Accessed 28-February-2009</ref>. Several of the Czech delegation at the conference including [[ Dana Baschová]]  and [[Igor Klimes]] are affiliated with the NGO [[People in Need]] who aim to “support the opposition movement in Cuba <ref> Radio Prague, (2005), [http://www.radio.cz/en/article/66720 Cuba expels Czech senator], Accessed 26-February-2009 </ref>”.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
* '''Belarus''': Belarussian dissident [[Aliaksandr Milinkevich]] the President of the Political Council of Democratic Forces of Belarus was at the conference and a conference briefing paper described Belarus along with Venezuela and Iran as an “unholy trinity”.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
* '''Iran''': Iranian relations were described by Anne Bayevsky reflecting on the conference “There was an elephant in the room that dominated conversations in the coffee breaks and the halls – Iran, its genocidal ambitions, its mad dash towards acquiring nuclear weapons, and its familial relationships with terrorists prepared to use them while screaming the suicide bombers closing argument of choice: Allah Akbar.”<ref>Anne Bayevsky, [http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2M4ZGE4M2NiNjkwZmU3NzkxMjE1N2JmMTJmNDlhZjA= Prague Marching Orders], National Review Online, 8-June-2007, Accessed 09-March-2009</ref>. [[Reza Pahlavi]] Opposition Leader to Clerical Regime of Iran was also in attendence.
 +
 
 +
==Conference Agenda==
 +
 
 +
The conference was split into discussion groups who tackled the following issues:
 +
 
 +
* Has the democratization process reached an impasse?
 +
* Does the process of democratization contribute to security?
 +
* What are the right ways to make the transition from a totalitarian/authoritarian regime to a democracy?
 +
* The role of dissidents in society
 +
* The role of democratic states, international institutions and the media in the global security environment
 +
* The role of central Europeans in EU-Russian relations <ref>Security & Democracy International Conference, [http://www.democracyandsecurity.org/doc/Conference_Program.pdf Conference Program], Accessed 01-March-2009</ref>
  
 
==Organizers==
 
==Organizers==
Line 7: Line 48:
  
 
==Participants==
 
==Participants==
−
*[[Issam Abu Issa]] -- Chairman, I.A.S. International, Qatar
+
 
−
*[[Peter Ackerman]] -- Chairman, Freedom House
+
[[DSIC Conference Participants (Detailed)]]
−
*[[Mudawi Ibrahim Adam]] -- Chairman, Sudan Social Development Organization
+
 
−
*[[Sheldon G. Adelson]] -- Las Vegas Sands Corp.
+
[[Issam Abu Issa]] | [[Peter Ackerman]] | [[Mudawi Ibrahim Adam]] | [[Sheldon G. Adelson]] | [[Miriam Adelson]] | [[Mithal al-Alusi]] | [[Ludmilla Alexeeva]] | [[Leila Alieva|Leyla Aliyeva]] | [[Jafar Alshayeb]] | [[Zainab Al-Suwaij]] | [[Ingrid Amer]] | [[Elias Amor Bravo]] | [[Sami Angawi]] -- Director General, [[Amar Center]] | [[Uzi Arad]] | [[Arie Arazi]] | [[Ronald D. Asmus]] | [[Ghassan Atiyyah]] | [[Shlomo Avineri]] | [[José María Aznar]] | [[Hüseyin Bagci]] | [[Rafael L. Bardají]] | [[Dana Baschová]] | [[Anne Bayefsky]] | [[Pavel Bém]] | [[Mokhtar Benabdallaoui]] | [[David Bercuson]] | [[Antonín Berdych]] | [[Rudolf Blažek]] |[[Michael Bohnen]] | [[Roberta Bonazzi]] | [[José Brechner]] | [[Diario di America]] | [[Jan Bubeník]] | [[Fraser Cameron]] | [[Alberto Carnero]] | [[Oldrich Cerny]] | [[Chin-mo Cheng]] | [[Irwin Cotler]] | [[Devon Cross]] | [[Cina Dabestani]] | [[Priscilla de Callier]] | [[Pepper de Callier]] | [[Richard Dearlove]] | [[Pavol Demeš]] | [[Ron Dermer]] | [[Barbara Dillon Hillas]] | [[Linda Duffield]] | [[Gabriel Eichler]] | [[Bassem Eid]] | [[Helmut Elfenkämper]] | [[Mohamed Eljahmi]] | [[Marc S. Ellenbogen]] | [[David Elliman]] | [[Amir Abbas Fakhravar]] | [[Oleksandr Feldman]] | [[Javier Fernandéz-Lasquetty]] | [[Charles Fries]] | [[Jeffrey Gedmin]] | [[Jared Genser]] | [[Reuel Marc Gerecht]] | [[Farid Ghadry]] | [[John K. Glenn]] | [[David Goder]] | [[Vera Golovensky]] | [[Richard W. Graber]] | [[Colleen Graffy]] | [[Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg]] | [[Václav Havel]] | [[Anna Y. C. Ho]] | [[Jim Hoft]] | [[Mamoun Homsy]] | [[Karen P. Hughes]] | [[Jana Hybášková]] | [[Saad Eddin Ibrahim]] | [[Toomas Hendrik Ilves]] | [[Bruce P. Jackson]] | [[Vladislav Jandjuk]] | [[Pavle Jankovic]] | [[Josef Janning]] | [[Roman Joch]] | [[Josef Joffe]] | [[Daniel B. Johnson]] | [[Jon Juaristi]] | [[Sven Jürgenson]] | [[Cheol Hwan Kang]] | [[Garri Kasparov]] | [[Nibras Kazimi]] | [[Eli Khoury]] | [[Iain King]] | [[Jakub Klepal]] | [[Igor Klimes]] | [[Tomas Klvana]] | [[Julian Knapp]] | [[Bessel Kok]] | [[Petr Kolar]] | [[Jana Kosarkova]] | [[Martin Kramer]] | [[Irina Krasovskaya]] | [[Veronika Kuchynova Smigolova]] | [[Ziv Nevo Kulman]] | [[Ieva Kupce]] | [[Ronald S. Lauder]] | [[Joseph Lieberman]] | [[Tod Lindberg]] | [[Junning Liu]] | [[Herb London]] | [[Jeff Lovitt]] | [[Woon-Ki Lyeo]] | [[Monika MacDonagh-Pajerova]] | [[Kanan Makiya]] | [[Toshio Masuda]] | [[Margarita Mathiopoulos]] | [[Clifford D. May]] | [[Aliaksandr Milinkevich]] | [[Jorge Moragas Sanchez]] | [[Karinna Moskalenko]] | [[Cameron Munter]] | [[Joshua Muravchik]] | [[Rami Nasrallah]] | [[Fiamma Nirenstein]] | [[Michael Novak]] | [[Jan Novák]] | [[John O’Sulivan]] | [[Reza Pahlavi]] | [[Zbynek Pavlacik]] | [[Antonio Pedauyé]] | [[Jiri Pehe]] | [[Richard Perle]] | [[Ross Perrone]] | [[Walid Phares]] | [[Marc F. Plattner]] | [[Tomas Pojar]] | [[Daniel Polisar]] | [[Roman Polonsky]] | [[Tomasz Pompowski]] | [[Andrei Popov]] | [[Shay Porat]] | [[Harold Rhode]] | [[Roger W. Robinson, Jr.]] | [[Berel Rodal]] | [[Nina Rosenwald]] | [[Allen Roth]] | [[Michael Rubin]] | [[Rafael Rubio]] | [[Ivo Samson]] | [[Andor Sandor]] | [[Mohsen Sazegara]] | [[Christian Schmidt]] | [[Jirí Schneider]] | [[Steven Schneier]] | [[Karel Schwarzenberg]] | [[Jirí Sedivý]] | [[Natan Sharansky]] | [[Jamie Shea]] | [[Ssu-tsun Shen]] | [[Stefano Silvestri]] | [[Jakub Slosárek]] | [[Eugeniusz Smolar]] | [[Jan Snaidauf]] | [[Radek Spicar]] | [[Bret Stephens]] | [[Veton Surroi]] | [[C. Holland Taylor]] | [[Yulia Tymoshenko]]<ref>Democracy and Security International Conference, List of participants [http://www.democracyandsecurity.org/doc/List_of_Participants.pdf List of Participants], Accessed 25-February-2009</ref>
−
*[[Miriam Adelson]] -- Las Vegas Sands Corp.
+
 
−
*[[Mithal al-Alusi]] -- Iraqi MP
+
==Affiliations==
−
*[[Ludmilla Alexeeva]] -- Chair, [[Helsinki Group]]
+
 
−
*[[Leyla Aliyeva]] -- President, [[Center for National and International Studies]], Azerbaijan
+
[[Adelson Family Charitable Foundation]] | [[Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies]] | [[Amar Center]] | [[American Enterprise Institute]] | [[American Islamic Congress]] | [[Ano pro Evropu]] | [[Association for International Affairs]] | [[Belorusian Government in Exile]] | [[Benson Oak]] | [[Bizlink Group]] | [[Brandeis University]] | [[Bubenik Partners]] | [[Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute]] | [[Case for Freedom]] | [[Center for National and International Studies]] | [[Committee for Democratization of North Korea]] | [[Diario di America]] | [[Die Zeit]] | [[Dillon Hillas & Dillon, LLC]] | [[Elmrock Capital]] | [[European Foundation for Democracy]] | [[EU-Russia Center]] | [[FAES Foundation]] | [[Forum 2000 Foundation]] | [[Freedom House]] | [[Freedom Now]] |  [[Gateway Pundit]] | [[Global Panel Foundation]] | [[Hassan II University]] | [[Helsinki Group]] | [[Hoover Institution]] | [[Hudson Institute]] | [[Institute for Policy and Strategy]] | [[International and Security Affairs Center Fund]] | [[International Center on Nonviolent Conflict]] | [[International Tolerance Center]] | [[Iranian Enterprise Institute]] | [[Iranian Freedom Institute]] | [[Iraq Foundation for Development and Democracy]] | [[Las Vegas Sands Corp]] | [[Middle East Technical University]] | [[New York Sun]] | [[New York University]] | [[Obcansky institut]] | [[Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group]] | [[Pembroke College]] | [[People In Need]] | [[Policy Association for an Open Society]] | [[Prague Security Studies Institute]] | [[Project on Transitional Democracies]] | [[Quantum Communications]] | [[Radio Free Europe]]/[[Radio Liberty]] | [[Reform Party of Syria]] | [[Ronald Lauder Foundation]] | [[Scarlet Communications Group]] | [[Sudan Social Development Organization]] | [[Tamkang University]] | [[The Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies]] | [[The German Marshall Fund of the United States]] | [[The Hebrew University]] | [[Transatlantic Center]] | [[Union Liberal Cubana]] | [[United Civil Front]] | [[University of Alcalá de Henares]] | [[UPI]] | [[We Remember Foundation]] | [[Westminster Foundation for Democracy]]
−
*[[Jafar Alshayeb]] -- Managing Director, Bizlink Group, Saudi Arabia
 
−
*[[Zainab Al-Suwaij]] -- Co-Founder & Executive Director, [[American Islamic Congress]]
 
−
*[[Ingrid Amer]] -- Second Secretary, Embassy of Estonia, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Elias Amor Bravo]] -- Economist, [[Union Liberal Cubana]], Spain
 
−
*[[Sami Angawi]] -- Director General, [[Amar Center]], Saudi Arabia
 
−
*[[Uzi Arad]] -- Director, [[Institute for Policy and Strategy]], Israel
 
−
*[[Arie Arazi]] -- Ambassador of Israel, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Ronald D. Asmus]] -- Executive Director, Transatlantic Center, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Belgium
 
−
*[[Ghassan Atiyyah]] -- Executive Director, [[Iraq Foundation for Development and Democracy]]
 
−
*[[Shlomo Avineri]] -- Professor of Political Science, The Hebrew University, Israel
 
−
*[[José María Aznar]] -- President, [[FAES Foundation]], Spain
 
−
*[[Hüseyin Bagci]] -- Professor of International Relations, Middle East Technical University, Turkey
 
−
*[[Rafael L. Bardají]] -- National Security Adviser to President Aznar; Director of International Policy [[FAES Foundation]]
 
−
*[[Dana Baschová]] -- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Anne Bayefsky]] -- Senior Fellow, [[Hudson Institute]]
 
−
*[[Pavel Bém]] -- Lord Mayor of the City of Prague
 
−
*[[Mokhtar Benabdallaoui]] -- Head of the Philosophy Department, Hassan II University, Morocco
 
−
*[[David Bercuson]] -- Director of Programs, [[Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute]]
 
−
*[[Antonín Berdych]] -- President, [[Association for International Affairs]]
 
−
*[[Rudolf Blažek]] -- Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Prague, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Michael Bohnen]] -- President, [[Adelson Family Charitable Foundation]]  
 
−
*[[Roberta Bonazzi]] -- Executive Director, [[European Foundation for Democracy]], Belgium
 
−
*[[José Brechner]] -- Political Analyst, [[Diario di America]], Argentina
 
−
*[[Jan Bubeník]] -- Managing Partner, Bubenik Partners, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Fraser Cameron]] -- Director, [[EU-Russia Center]], Belgium
 
−
*[[Alberto Carnero]] -- Director of International Department, [[FAES Foundation]]
 
−
*[[Oldřich Černý]] -- Executive Director, [[Prague Security Studies Institute]]
 
−
*[[Chin-mo Cheng]] -- Assistant Professor, Tamkang University, Taiwan
 
−
*[[Irwin Cotler]] -- Canadian MP, Former Minister of Justice & Attorney General of Canada
 
−
*[[Devon Cross]] -- [[Case for Freedom]], USA
 
−
*[[Cina Dabestani]] -- Board Member, [[Iranian Enterprise Institute]], USA
 
−
*[[Priscilla de Callier]] -- Advisor, [[Forum 2000 Foundation]], Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Pepper de Callier]] -- Senior Advisor, [[Forum 2000 Foundation]], Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Richard Dearlove]] -- Master, Pembroke College
 
−
*[[Pavol Demeš]] -- Director for CEE, German Marshall Fund of the United States, Slovakia
 
−
*[[Ron Dermer]] -- Minister of Economic Affairs, Embassy of Israel, USA
 
−
*[[Barbara Dillon Hillas]] -- Principal, [[Dillon Hillas & Dillon, LLC]], Poland
 
−
*[[Linda Duffield]] -- Ambassador of the United Kingdom, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Gabriel Eichler]] -- CEO, Benson Oak, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Bassem Eid]] -- Executive Director, [[Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group]]
 
−
*[[Helmut Elfenkämper]] -- Ambassador of Germany, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Mohamed Eljahmi]] -- Libyan-American Democracy Activist
 
−
*[[Marc S. Ellenbogen]] -- Chairman of [[Global Panel Foundation]] and Special Correspondent, UPI
 
−
*[[David Elliman]] -- Chairman, Elmrock Capital, Inc., USA
 
−
*[[Amir Abbas Fakhravar]] -- President, [[Iranian Freedom Institute]], USA
 
−
*[[Oleksandr Feldman]] -- President, [[International Tolerance Center]], Ukraine
 
−
*[[Javier Fernandéz-Lasquetty]] -- General Secretary, [[FAES Foundation]]
 
−
*[[Charles Fries]] -- Ambassador of France, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Jeffrey Gedmin]] -- President, [[Radio Free Europe]]/[[Radio Liberty]], Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Jared Genser]] -- President, [[Freedom Now]], USA
 
−
*[[Reuel Marc Gerecht]] -- Resident Fellow, [[American Enterprise Institute]], Belgium
 
−
*[[Farid Ghadry]] -- President, [[Reform Party of Syria]], USA
 
−
*[[John K. Glenn]] -- Director of Foreign Policy, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
 
−
*[[David Goder]] -- [[Case for Freedom]], USA
 
−
*[[Vera Golovensky]] -- Director of International Relations, [[Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies]]
 
−
*[[Richard W. Graber]] -- Ambassador of the United States of America, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Colleen Graffy]] -- Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy, State Department
 
−
*[[Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg]] -- Chairman of the CSU‘s Foreign Committee, German Bundestag
 
−
*[[Václav Havel]] -- Former President of the Czech Republic, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Anna Y. C. Ho]] -- Assistant to the Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Czech
 
−
*[[Jim Hoft]] -- [[Gateway Pundit]] Blog, USA
 
−
*[[Mamoun Homsy]] -- Fmr. Member of Syrian Parliament, Lebanon
 
−
*[[Karen P. Hughes]] -- Under Secretary, Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
 
−
*[[Jana Hybášková]] -- Member of the European Parliament, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Saad Eddin Ibrahim]] -- Chairman, Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, Egypt
 
−
*[[Toomas Hendrik Ilves]] -- President of Estonia, Estonia
 
−
*[[Bruce P. Jackson]] -- President, [[Project on Transitional Democracies]], USA
 
−
*[[Vladislav Jandjuk]] -- Representative, [[Belorusian Government in Exile]], Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Pavle Janković]] -- President, [[International and Security Affairs Center Fund]], Serbia
 
−
*[[Josef Janning]] -- Head of International Relations Program; Member of Management Commitee, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Germany
 
−
*[[Roman Joch]] -- Director, [[Občanský institut]], Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Josef Joffe]] -- Publisher-Editor, Die Zeit, Germany
 
−
*[[Daniel B. Johnson]] -- Writer and Journalist, New York Sun Commentary, USA
 
−
*[[Jon Juaristi]] -- Professor, University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain
 
−
*[[Sven Jürgenson]] -- Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of Estonia
 
−
*[[Cheol Hwan Kang]] -- Chairman of Commission, Committe for Democratization of North Korea
 
−
*[[Garri Kasparov]] -- Chessplayer and Politician, [[United Civil Front]], Russia
 
−
*[[Nibras Kazimi]] Visiting Scholar [[Hudson Institute]] USA
 
−
*[[Eli Khoury]] Chairman and CEO, [[Quantum Communications]] Lebanon
 
−
*[[Iain King]] Director of Programmes, [[Westminster Foundation for Democracy]] United Kingdom
 
−
*[[Jakub Klepal]] Deputy Executive Director [[Forum 2000 Foundation]] Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Igor Klimeš]] Desk Officer for the Middle East, People In Need, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Tomáš Klvaňa]] Professor New York University in Prague Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Julian Knapp]] Political Consultant United Kingdom
 
−
*[[Bessel Kok]] Chairman [[Scarlet Communications Group]] Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Petr Kolář]] Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States of America USA
 
−
*[[Jana Košárková]] Acting Director Prague Security Studies Institute Washington USA
 
−
*[[Martin Kramer]] Senior Fellow [[The Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies]] at the Shalem Center Israel
 
−
*[[Irina Krasovskaya]] President
 
−
*[[We Remember Foundation]] Belarus
 
−
*[[Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová]] Director Security Policy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Ziv Nevo Kulman]] Deputy Chief of Mission Embassy of Israel Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Ieva Kupce]] Head of Public Diplomacy Ministry of Defence Latvia
 
−
*[[Ronald S. Lauder]] [[Ronald Lauder Foundation]] USA
 
−
*[[Joseph Lieberman]] Senator United States Senate USA
 
−
*[[Tod Lindberg]] Research Fellow [[Hoover Institution]] USA
 
−
*[[Junning Liu]] Professor China
 
−
*[[Herb London]] President [[Hudson Institute]] USA
 
−
*[[Jeff Lovitt]] Executive Director [[Policy Association for an Open Society]] Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Woon-Ki Lyeo]] Deputy Chief of Mission Embassy of South Korea Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová]] Chair [[Ano pro Evropu]] Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Kanan Makiya]] Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Brandeis University, USA
 
−
*[[Toshio Masuda]] President Masuda US Research Center, LLC USA
 
−
*[[Margarita Mathiopoulos]] Chief Executive Officer EAG European AdvisoryGroup GMBH Germany
 
−
*[[Clifford D. May]] President The [[Foundation for the Defense of Democracies]] USA
 
−
*[[Aliaksandr Milinkevich]] President Political Council of Democratic Forces of Belarus, Belarus
 
−
*[[Jorge Moragas Sanchez]] Secretary of International Relations, Partido Popular, Spain
 
−
*[[Karinna Moskalenko]] Defense Attorney, Russia
 
−
*[[Cameron Munter]] Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the United States of America, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Joshua Muravchik]] Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute, USA
 
−
*[[Rami Nasrallah]] Head of Board of Directors, International Peace and Cooperation, Center, East Jerusalam
 
−
*[[Fiamma Nirenstein]] journalist and Historian, Il Giornale, Italy
 
−
*[[Michael Novak]] Scholar, American Enterprise Institute, USA
 
−
*[[Jan Novák]] Head of the Office of the Government, Government of the Czech Republic Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[John O’Sulivan]] Senior Fellow [[Hudson Institute]] USA
 
−
*[[Reza Pahlavi]] Opposition Leader to Clerical Regime of Iran, USA
 
−
*[[Zbyněk Pavlačík]] Director [[Jagello 2000]] Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Antonio Pedauyé]] Ambasador of Spain to the Czech Republic, Embassy of Spain, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Jiří Pehe]] Resident Director, New York University in Prague, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Richard Perle]] Resident Fellow, [[American Enterprise Institute]], USA
 
−
*[[Ross Perrone]] Ronald Lauder Foundation, USA
 
−
*[[Walid Phares]] Senior Fellow, [[Foundation for the Defense of Democracies]], USA
 
−
*[[Marc F. Plattner]] Editor, Journal of Democracy, [[National Endowment for Democracy]] USA
 
−
*[[Tomáš Pojar]] Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Daniel Polisar]] President, The [[Shalem Center]] Israel
 
−
*[[Roman Polonsky]] Project’s Director of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies at the Shalem Center Israel
 
−
*[[Tomasz Pompowski]] Foreign and Opinions Editor, Polskapresse, Poland
 
−
*[[Andrei Popov]] Executive Director, Foreign Policy Association of Moldova, Moldova
 
−
*[[Shay Porat]] Vice President for External Affairs, The Shalem Center, Israel
 
−
*[[Harold Rhode]], Office Assesment, US Defense Department, USA
 
−
*[[Roger W. Robinson, Jr.]] Co-Founder, Prague Security Studies Institute, USA
 
−
*[[Berel Rodal]] Vice Chairman, Interntional Center on Nonviolent, Conflict, USA
 
−
*[[Nina Rosenwald]] Principal [[American Securities]] USA
 
−
*[[Allen Roth]] [[Policy Forum]] USA
 
−
*[[Michael Rubin]] Resident Scholar [[American Enterprise Institute]], USA
 
−
*[[Rafael Rubio]] President [[Association for the Transition of Cuba]], Spain
 
−
*[[Ivo Samson]] Head of Security Policy Program, Research Center of the Slovak Foreign, Policy Association, Slovakia
 
−
*[[Andor Šándor]] Fmr. Head of Czech Military Intelligence, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Mohsen Sazegara]] Visiting Researcher, Harvard Law School, USA
 
−
*[[Christian Schmidt]] Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Defence, Germany
 
−
*[[Jiří Schneider]], Program Director, Prague Security Studies Institute, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Steven Schneier]], Director, Policy Forum, USA
 
−
*[[Karel Schwarzenberg]], Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Jiří Šedivý]], Deputy Vice Prime Minister for European Affairs, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Natan Sharansky]] Chairman, The [[Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies]] at the Shalem Center, Israel, The Prague Security Studies Institute, Pohořelec 6, 118 00 Prague 1, Czech Republic
 
−
*[[Jamie Shea]], Director, Policy Planning, Private Office of the Secretary General, NATO Belgium
 
−
*[[Ssu-tsun Shen]], Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Stefano Silvestri]] President, Institute for International Affairs, Italy
 
−
*[[Jakub Šlosárek]] Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Eugeniusz Smolar]] President, Center for International Relations Poland
 
−
*[[Jan Šnaidauf]], Project Coordinator, Forum 2000 Foundation, Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Radek Špicar]], External Affairs Director, [[Škoda Auto]], Czech Rep.
 
−
*[[Bret Stephens]], Foreign Affairs Columnist and Member of the Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal, USA
 
−
*[[Veton Surroi]] Head, Reformist Party Kosovo
 
−
*[[C. Holland Taylor]] Chairman & CEO LibForAll, USA
 
−
*[[Yulia Tymoshenko]] -- MP Ukraine
 
  
 
==Contact, References and Resources==
 
==Contact, References and Resources==
Line 178: Line 63:
 
*Jim Lobe, [http://www.ips.org/blog/jimlobe/?p=27 A Neo-Conservative International Targets Iran], ''Lobelog.com'', 9 June 2007
 
*Jim Lobe, [http://www.ips.org/blog/jimlobe/?p=27 A Neo-Conservative International Targets Iran], ''Lobelog.com'', 9 June 2007
 
*Anne Bayefsky, [http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2M4ZGE4M2NiNjkwZmU3NzkxMjE1N2JmMTJmNDlhZjA= Prague Marching Orders: Walking the Talk], ''National Review Online'', 8 June 2007
 
*Anne Bayefsky, [http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2M4ZGE4M2NiNjkwZmU3NzkxMjE1N2JmMTJmNDlhZjA= Prague Marching Orders: Walking the Talk], ''National Review Online'', 8 June 2007
 +
*George Bush, Fora.tv, [http://fora.tv/2007/06/05/George_W__Bush_on_Democracy_and_Security#chapter_01, Bush Speech on Democracy and Security], Accessed 26-February-2009
 +
*Karel Schwarzenberg,[http://www.mzv.cz/public/d8/41/ad/73424_14945_PSSI_security_and_democracy_final.doc Karel Schwarzenberg's Speech at “Democracy and Security International Conference” (Prague, June 5, 2007)], Accessed 26-February-2009
 +
*Rafael Rubio, Remarks [http://www.democracyandsecurity.org/doc/Rafael_Rubio_Remarks.pdf Democracy and Security Speech], Accessed 28-February-2009
 +
*Security & Democracy International Conference, [http://www.democracyandsecurity.org/doc/Conference_Program.pdf Conference Program], Accessed 01-March-2009
  
 
===References===
 
===References===
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
 +
 +
[[Category:Conferences]][[Category:Czech Republic]]

Revision as of 17:26, 5 July 2010

George W. Bush Speaks at the Conference

The Democracy & Security International Conference also known as the “Democracy and Security: Core Values and Sound Policies” conference was held in Prague on the 5-6th of June, overlapping the 2007 G8 summit in Heiligendamm[1].

Conference Aims

Conference Logo

The aim of the conference was summed up in a background paper by Marc F. Plattner, that argued “building a world of free and democratic states should be our long-term goal”. The world view conveyed by the paper was one where “Increasingly the world is divided between liberal democracies and regimes that are tyrannical”. These tyrannical regimes represent a “growing security threat”, and they are “drawn together” by a “common fear and hatred of liberal democracy”. The hostile regimes “Support terrorism and threaten not only to acquire but to use nuclear weapons”. The regimes themselves were described as comprising of “The unholy trinity of Ahmadinejad, Chavez and Lukashenka”[2].

According to the Wall Street Journal it was the personal intercession of Natan Sharansky which persuaded George W. Bush to attend in spite of the objections of the State Department.[3] Sharansky stated at the conference "In today's world of confrontation, there is no better weapon than the promotion of democracy," He argued for the importance of dialogue with dissidents and policy makers, saying "This conference gives those responsible for policy-making an important opportunity for direct dialogue with the dissidents themselves."[4]

Looking at the conference agenda and the list of attendees (below), the neoconservative credentials of the conference are easily inferred. The subjects discussed focus on expediting political change in selected countries: Mynamar, Cuba, Iran, Belarus. Venezuela were also singled out for criticism in the background paper of the conference”. [5]. The potential for dissidents to achieve political change in these countries was a key issue for discussion at the conference. The role of central european states in EU-Russian relations was also discussed, with the conference being underwritten by NATO, these discussions are likely to be centred round the planned U.S. missile defence system which is planned to based in Poland and have a radar base in the Czech republic[6]

Neoconservative Foreign Policy

Round Table Discussions between dissidents at the conference

Strong elements of neoconservative ideology were prevalent throughout the attendees and agenda at the conference. Neoconservatives advocate an interventionist often aggressive foreign policy and this was reflected through the conference delegations attitudes towards other selected nation states:


  • Russia: NATO were conference partners and one of the key speakers was Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. Schwarzenberg signed the agreement with the United States that the radar base for the U.S. European defence missile system was to be installed on Czech soil [7]. The missile shield was described by NATO secretary general as “A Key Element For Security”[8].



  • Belarus: Belarussian dissident Aliaksandr Milinkevich the President of the Political Council of Democratic Forces of Belarus was at the conference and a conference briefing paper described Belarus along with Venezuela and Iran as an “unholy trinity”.


  • Iran: Iranian relations were described by Anne Bayevsky reflecting on the conference “There was an elephant in the room that dominated conversations in the coffee breaks and the halls – Iran, its genocidal ambitions, its mad dash towards acquiring nuclear weapons, and its familial relationships with terrorists prepared to use them while screaming the suicide bombers closing argument of choice: Allah Akbar.”[14]. Reza Pahlavi Opposition Leader to Clerical Regime of Iran was also in attendence.

Conference Agenda

The conference was split into discussion groups who tackled the following issues:

  • Has the democratization process reached an impasse?
  • Does the process of democratization contribute to security?
  • What are the right ways to make the transition from a totalitarian/authoritarian regime to a democracy?
  • The role of dissidents in society
  • The role of democratic states, international institutions and the media in the global security environment
  • The role of central Europeans in EU-Russian relations [15]

Organizers

Participants

DSIC Conference Participants (Detailed)

Issam Abu Issa | Peter Ackerman | Mudawi Ibrahim Adam | Sheldon G. Adelson | Miriam Adelson | Mithal al-Alusi | Ludmilla Alexeeva | Leyla Aliyeva | Jafar Alshayeb | Zainab Al-Suwaij | Ingrid Amer | Elias Amor Bravo | Sami Angawi -- Director General, Amar Center | Uzi Arad | Arie Arazi | Ronald D. Asmus | Ghassan Atiyyah | Shlomo Avineri | José María Aznar | Hüseyin Bagci | Rafael L. Bardají | Dana Baschová | Anne Bayefsky | Pavel Bém | Mokhtar Benabdallaoui | David Bercuson | Antonín Berdych | Rudolf Blažek |Michael Bohnen | Roberta Bonazzi | José Brechner | Diario di America | Jan Bubeník | Fraser Cameron | Alberto Carnero | Oldrich Cerny | Chin-mo Cheng | Irwin Cotler | Devon Cross | Cina Dabestani | Priscilla de Callier | Pepper de Callier | Richard Dearlove | Pavol Demeš | Ron Dermer | Barbara Dillon Hillas | Linda Duffield | Gabriel Eichler | Bassem Eid | Helmut Elfenkämper | Mohamed Eljahmi | Marc S. Ellenbogen | David Elliman | Amir Abbas Fakhravar | Oleksandr Feldman | Javier Fernandéz-Lasquetty | Charles Fries | Jeffrey Gedmin | Jared Genser | Reuel Marc Gerecht | Farid Ghadry | John K. Glenn | David Goder | Vera Golovensky | Richard W. Graber | Colleen Graffy | Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg | Václav Havel | Anna Y. C. Ho | Jim Hoft | Mamoun Homsy | Karen P. Hughes | Jana Hybášková | Saad Eddin Ibrahim | Toomas Hendrik Ilves | Bruce P. Jackson | Vladislav Jandjuk | Pavle Jankovic | Josef Janning | Roman Joch | Josef Joffe | Daniel B. Johnson | Jon Juaristi | Sven Jürgenson | Cheol Hwan Kang | Garri Kasparov | Nibras Kazimi | Eli Khoury | Iain King | Jakub Klepal | Igor Klimes | Tomas Klvana | Julian Knapp | Bessel Kok | Petr Kolar | Jana Kosarkova | Martin Kramer | Irina Krasovskaya | Veronika Kuchynova Smigolova | Ziv Nevo Kulman | Ieva Kupce | Ronald S. Lauder | Joseph Lieberman | Tod Lindberg | Junning Liu | Herb London | Jeff Lovitt | Woon-Ki Lyeo | Monika MacDonagh-Pajerova | Kanan Makiya | Toshio Masuda | Margarita Mathiopoulos | Clifford D. May | Aliaksandr Milinkevich | Jorge Moragas Sanchez | Karinna Moskalenko | Cameron Munter | Joshua Muravchik | Rami Nasrallah | Fiamma Nirenstein | Michael Novak | Jan Novák | John O’Sulivan | Reza Pahlavi | Zbynek Pavlacik | Antonio Pedauyé | Jiri Pehe | Richard Perle | Ross Perrone | Walid Phares | Marc F. Plattner | Tomas Pojar | Daniel Polisar | Roman Polonsky | Tomasz Pompowski | Andrei Popov | Shay Porat | Harold Rhode | Roger W. Robinson, Jr. | Berel Rodal | Nina Rosenwald | Allen Roth | Michael Rubin | Rafael Rubio | Ivo Samson | Andor Sandor | Mohsen Sazegara | Christian Schmidt | Jirí Schneider | Steven Schneier | Karel Schwarzenberg | Jirí Sedivý | Natan Sharansky | Jamie Shea | Ssu-tsun Shen | Stefano Silvestri | Jakub Slosárek | Eugeniusz Smolar | Jan Snaidauf | Radek Spicar | Bret Stephens | Veton Surroi | C. Holland Taylor | Yulia Tymoshenko[16]

Affiliations

Adelson Family Charitable Foundation | Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies | Amar Center | American Enterprise Institute | American Islamic Congress | Ano pro Evropu | Association for International Affairs | Belorusian Government in Exile | Benson Oak | Bizlink Group | Brandeis University | Bubenik Partners | Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute | Case for Freedom | Center for National and International Studies | Committee for Democratization of North Korea | Diario di America | Die Zeit | Dillon Hillas & Dillon, LLC | Elmrock Capital | European Foundation for Democracy | EU-Russia Center | FAES Foundation | Forum 2000 Foundation | Freedom House | Freedom Now | Gateway Pundit | Global Panel Foundation | Hassan II University | Helsinki Group | Hoover Institution | Hudson Institute | Institute for Policy and Strategy | International and Security Affairs Center Fund | International Center on Nonviolent Conflict | International Tolerance Center | Iranian Enterprise Institute | Iranian Freedom Institute | Iraq Foundation for Development and Democracy | Las Vegas Sands Corp | Middle East Technical University | New York Sun | New York University | Obcansky institut | Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group | Pembroke College | People In Need | Policy Association for an Open Society | Prague Security Studies Institute | Project on Transitional Democracies | Quantum Communications | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | Reform Party of Syria | Ronald Lauder Foundation | Scarlet Communications Group | Sudan Social Development Organization | Tamkang University | The Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies | The German Marshall Fund of the United States | The Hebrew University | Transatlantic Center | Union Liberal Cubana | United Civil Front | University of Alcalá de Henares | UPI | We Remember Foundation | Westminster Foundation for Democracy

Contact, References and Resources

Contact

Resources

References

  1. ↑ Natan Sharansky, PRESIDENT BUSH TO ADDRESS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS, Accessed 08-March-2009
  2. ↑ Marc F. Plattner, Background Paper, Background Paper for the Conference on Democracy and Security, Accessed 08-March-2009
  3. ↑ The Ghost House: If Prague can be free, why not Sudan? by BRET STEPHENS, Wall Street Journal, 12 June 2007.
  4. ↑ Natan Sharansky, PRESIDENT BUSH TO ADDRESS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS, Accessed 08-March-2009
  5. ↑ Marc F. Plattner, Background Paper, Background Paper for the Conference on Democracy and Security, Accessed 08-March-2009
  6. ↑ Karen DeYoung, U.S., Poland Closer to Deal on Missile Defense, Washington Post, 2-February-2009, Accessed 11-March-2009
  7. ↑ Dan Bilefsky, 08-July-2009, International Herald Tribune, U.S. and Czech Republic sign agreement on missile shield, Accessed 28-February-2009
  8. ↑ Radio Free Europe, NATO: Alliance Chief Calls Missile Defense A Key Element For Security, 05-May-2008, Accessed 08-March-2009
  9. ↑ Democracy and Security Conference, List of Participants, Accessed 25-February-2009
  10. ↑ Rafael Rubio, Remarks Democracy and Security Speech, Accessed 28-February-2009
  11. ↑ Mimi Whitefield, (2001), Detentions in Cuba open a bitter divide,Miami Herald, Acessed 26-February-2009
  12. ↑ Jennifer Rankin, 19-July-2007, European Voice, The Prince, Accessed 28-February-2009
  13. ↑ Radio Prague, (2005), Cuba expels Czech senator, Accessed 26-February-2009
  14. ↑ Anne Bayevsky, Prague Marching Orders, National Review Online, 8-June-2007, Accessed 09-March-2009
  15. ↑ Security & Democracy International Conference, Conference Program, Accessed 01-March-2009
  16. ↑ Democracy and Security International Conference, List of participants List of Participants, Accessed 25-February-2009
Retrieved from "https://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Democracy_and_Security_International_Conference&oldid=124015"