Welcome to the AIIA NSW

The AIIA NSW is an independent, non-profit organisation, committed to the promotion of informed discussion among the Australian public on international issues and their impact on Australia. Members and visitors hear well informed speakers discuss international issues in an informal environment at the historic Glover Cottages, at 124 Kent St, Millers Point, Sydney.  

Iran's Steady Rise Towards Middle East Hegemony

Egypt in distress, Syria in civil war, what next?

Guest Menu

Hosted by:

The event will start on: Tuesday, 20 March 2012 6:00 PM

And will end on: Tuesday, 20 March 2012 7:30 PM

At The Glover Cottages, Sydney

124 Kent Street , Sydney NSW

    nsw.branch@aiia.asn.au

Posted by: nsw   

Since the Chinese and Russian veto of the UN Security Council Resolution on Syria’s Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the Syrian leader has redoubled the military assault on his opponents, ignoring any distinction between civilians and armed rebels..

 ABC’s Four Corners program aired the Channel 4 documentary on Syrian torture. This was followed by a Kerry O’Brien interview with the redoubtable journalist and author, Robert Fisk, who confirmed the brutality, and anticipated that Al Assad would remain in power. (It was also a reminder of how ABC’s 7:30 viewers miss Kerry, and of our lack of foreign correspondents to match Robert Fisk)

Neighboring Iran, of course, is anxious for the al-Assad regime to prevail, so it can get on with its prime target of achieving dominace in the Persian Gulf and its oil supplies, a prospect which terrifies Saudi Arabia and Sunni countries.

 The US would like to negotiate a settlement with Iran, but President Barack Obama is constrained at home and fearful of a possible Israeli strike. Meanwhile the fruits of the so called Arab Spring are proving to be very limited, especially in Egypt.

To unravel the short-term prospects for the Middle East, particularly the ascent of Iran and the options for the Western powers, we welcome back Middle East expert and international law lecturer Dr Anthony Billingsley and Dr Rodger Shanahan, a former army officer and non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute.

 Dr Billingsley is a regular contributor to ABC and SBS programs. He is a lecturer in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of New South Wales. Anthony’s main work focus is on the Middle East and on international law. His specialist interests include political succession in the Arab world, the role of constitutions and law in the region and the politics of the Gulf, Syria and Egypt. He also is interested in international legal issues such as the use of force and humanitarian intervention and in the impact of US foreign policy, especially on the Middle East.

Dr Shanahan is a former army officer and now a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute. In the Army he had extensive regimental service within the Parachute Battalion Group. Operationally he served as a UN Military Observer in South Lebanon and Syria, as a battery commander in East Timor in 1999, as the Military Liaison Officer in Beirut during the 2006 war with Israel, and has deployed as an operational inquiry officer to Afghanistan several times since 2008. He has also served in the Australian Embassies in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Dr. Shanahan has particular expertise in the field of Shi'a geopolitics in Middle East, specifically Iraq, Iran and Bahrain. Dr Shanahan has MAs in International Relations and Middle East Studies from the ANU and a PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Sydney.

Entry:  AIIA members $15; senior / student members $10; visitors $20 

 


New Transcripts & Media

AIIA NSW Events Gallery

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
(Click above for more photos)

AIIA NSW

Join Us

Membership of the AIIA gives you access to a pre-eminent nationwide network of expert knowledge on international affairs.

Join now!

Glover Cottages

AIIA NSW acknowledges
the support of...

Latest AIIA NSW News

AIIANSW starts new blog, posts videos

The AIIA in NSW has started a new blog to provide its members with more news and pictures about its activities, including videos of most of its meetings, as well as comments about about major foreign policy issues. 

Called the Glover Cottages Portal - after the name of its historic Sydney headquarters - it will provide comment and analysis as well as liove links to specific web pages of media that cover intern ational issues well, such as ABC's Lateline, the Financial Times and the New York Times. 

Edited by AIIANSW council member Shannon Barnes, the Glover Cottages Portal is open to anyone with a positive interest in international affairs. 

AIIA NSW hosts senior Chinese delegation

 

A delegation from China's State Council Information Office in Beijing, headed by Dong Yunhu, the deputy director, visited the AIIA at the Glover Cottages on December 16 for an exchange of views on journalism and media developments in Asia.
Mr Dong and his team of six had come to Sydney from Indonesia, where he delivered a speech at the 4th Bali Democracy Forum. He is an author and former secretary-general of the China Society for Human Rights Studies.

Colin Chapman, AIIA NSW president, opened the meeting with an overview of the Australian media, noting that only one national newspaper and three metropolitan dailies took international affairs seriously, while only one broadcaster, the ABC, supported a correspondent in Beijing, though there were a number of internet entities that provided analysis and comment.
Louisa Graham, general manager of the Walkleys Foundation, and a former AIIA NSW vice-president, told the visitors that one good reason why the Australian press had not been dragged into scandals like the one in Britain, which is currently the subject to a major investigation, was because Australian journalists were bound by a code of ethics. Mr Dong asked for - and was given a copy of the code. 

In his remarks he made it clear he favoured an open press, while also adding the caveat that in China journalists were obliged to consider also their responsibilities to society. Mr Dong said China is struggling with the rapidity at which communications are developing through the use of internet and electronic means. This was highlighted in a question by William Hobart who asked how the SCIO felt about the micro blogging surge in China. He stressed that media freedom is very important, but defined freedom as the ability to “act within the law,” and emphasised that as the media grows in importance and reach so too does its responsibilities, such as not to undermine public order or security.

The two sides agreed to continue their dialogue, possibly by holding a conference on journalistic principles and standards. The China State Council also agreed to investigate an AIIA request to provide more information on the problems and challenges China faces in addressing climate change. 


 


Rudd to be keynote speaker at AIIA Charteris dinner

Read more...