FBA at the Almedalen Week 2015

Time to talk to the terrorists?

Tuesday, 30 June, 2-2.45 pm

Indisputably the world is facing new types of conflicts. After the cold war, state-to-state conflicts were transformed into intrastate conflicts, and today, the international community is witnessing new and complex conflict structures. Traditional frontlines have become blurred and unconventional actors are involved in the fighting, resembling the structures of civil wars. Political, religious and criminal interests are often intertwined, displaying the conflict through the act of terror.

This new development is raising complex and difficult questions for the international community in its efforts to tackle conflict and support peace. Join the FBA in a discussion aiming to explore the controversial and complex topic of engagement with the terrorist, as part of a peacebuilding strategy. Is it justifiable to speak to the terrorist in order to reach peace?

Participants: Jonathan Powell, experienced negotiator, founder of Inter Mediate and former Chief of Staff to Tony Blair, Ingmar Karlsson, Diplomat and Senior Fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Lund, and Bitte Hammargren, renowned Swedish journalist and author with extensive experience from the Middle East. Moderator: Marika Griehsel, Swedish journalist and author.

Watch the seminar in retrospect here.

Peacekeeping in the future

Wednesday, 1 June, 2-2.45 pm

The nature of conflict is changing, becoming ever more complex and unpredictable. Civil conflicts have nearly tripled in recent years, transnational organized crime has emerged as a major stress factor on the global scene, and rebel groups and extremist networks are increasingly responsible for civilian deaths around the world. As a result, the number of displaced people due to conflict is higher today than ever before.

As the nature of conflict changes, so do the demands and expectations on peace operations. Peace operations are increasingly deployed to situations where there is no peace to keep. In addition to maintaining peace and security, peacekeepers are increasingly involved in complex political processes. With expanding mandates, peace operations tend to be deployed for longer and with more uncertain outcomes.

Join us in a discussion on future peace operations; what are the challenges for peacekeepers today, and what are the likely features of peace operations in the future?

Participants: Ameerah Haq, Vice-Chair of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations. Kai Eide, Norwegian ambassador to Sweden and former SRSG for Afghanistan. Jonas Alberoth, Deputy Director-General, FBA. Moderator: Marika Griehsel, Swedish journalist and author.

Watch the seminar in retrospect here.