Roundtable: ‘The Islamic State and the necessary end of 20th century’

The emergence of the Islamic State organization is a problem dating back to the 80s, when the USA, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan created the ‘Mujahedeen bridge’ to fight against Soviet troops in Afghanistan; the fall of the Berlin Wall orphaned these ‘holy warriors’ (recognized and armed by the West by then), who felt betrayed and resorted to a globalized struggle, giving birth to Al-Qaeda. Later, a new mistake by the USA -the invasion of Iraq- facilitated the mutation of Al-Qaeda into the current Islamic State organization.

One of the objectives of this roundtable will be explaining how the old interventionist policies of the 20^th century modelled the Middle East according to a now obsolete strategic vision due to key factors such as the Arab Springs and the Iran nuclear deal, which have shifted the balance of power.

On the other hand, we will look at how the insistence on applying those old methods of the 20^th century to solve a problem of the 21^st century will lead to failure once again. In conclusion, we will explain why the future Middle East will be very different from what we have known so far, with new borders, new governments, new partnerships and a new geopolitical relationship that emanates from the current chaos.

The invitation card can be downloaded here. To attend the event you must register here.