Seminar: Politiske partier i overgangen til demokrati – Hvad er vejen frem i Egypten?

TIME: Thursday, 27 September, 13 – 16

VENUE: Mogens Dahl Koncert Sal, Snorresgade 22, Islands Brygge, 2300 Kbn S.

During transitional periods, political parties have to make the political system work and start to deliver on some of the expectations that the public has invested in them.

TIME: Thursday, 27 September, 13 – 16

VENUE: Mogens Dahl Koncert Sal, Snorresgade 22, Islands Brygge, 2300 Kbn S.

During transitional periods, political parties have to make the political system work and start to deliver on some of the expectations that the public has invested in them.

The Egyptian political parties are facing a lot of challenges. The electoral process showed that there was a demand for capacity development, especially among the newly established parties. The political party map of Egypt is still in state of flux with new parties emerging.

Furthermore, the political parties are distracted by the ongoing power struggle between the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), the Muslim Brotherhood and the revolutionaries. What will be the answers of the political parties to these challenges – what way will they take in this process?

The study “Political Parties and Democratic Transitions” made for DIPD by Global Partners & Associates shows interesting findings from the transitions in Indonesia, Turkey, Serbia and South Africa that might be relevant for the political parties in Egypt and in other transition countries such as Myanmar.

The publication shows that despite every country and every transition has its own distinctiveness, four themes emerge that reflect the common, often very practical challenges for parties: building a political organization, establishing constructive dialogue between political parties, negotiating space for democratic politics with the former regime, and responding to and shaping voter expectations.

Speakers

Dr. Emad Gad is a former MP (People’s Assembly) for the Egyptian Social Democratic Party (4th largest in Parliament and member of the Egyptian Bloc). He is a founding member and head of the daily steering committee. Dr. Gad has a Phd in Political science and is a member of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

Greg Power is Director of Global Partners in London and lead editor of the study. Greg Power leads the company’s work on developing parliamentary democracy and political parties, working in Egypt and other countries in the region.

Dr. Noha El-Mikaway serves as representative for the Ford Foundation’s Middle East and North Africa office in Cairo, Egypt. She was formerly Head of the Democratic Governance unit at the UNDP Regional Centre in Cairo and before that Senior Adviser with the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre.

Ashraf Khalil is a Cairo-based correspondent for the Times of London, Foreign Policy, and others. He is the author of Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation (St. Martin’s Press, 2012).

Commentators

Ziad Akl is a full time researcher in Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies since June 2005. He was the research coordinator for the program of Democratic Transition from 2005-2007. He writes a weekly column for the Daily News Egypt and a weekly editorial for Al-Ahram online. Currently, he is the editor of the forthcoming book “Egypt: the mechanics of political change”.

Mahmoud Salem is a blogger, activist, writer and a business development consultant. His blog is the most prominent English-language Egyptian blog, entitled: “Rantings of a Sandmonkey”. He co-authored two books “Tweets from Tahrir” and “18 days” and founded “7etan” the first Graffitti School in Egypt.

Ivan Doherty is NDI’s senior associate and director of political party programs, overseeing programs in more than 55 countries and responsible for building NDI’s relationships with political party international organizations and other democracy foundations. Before joining NDI he worked for more than 15 years with Ireland’s Fine Gael Party in a number of senior positions

Programme

13.00-13.05: Welcome by Bjørn Førde, Director, DIPD

13.00-13.10: Introduction by Helle Malmvig, DIIS – Chair

13.10-13.30: Greg Power: Political Parties in Democratic Transitions – their roles and challenges

13.30-13.50: Dr. Emad Gad: Perspectives on the Egyptian transition process and visions for the future

13.50-14.20: Ashraf Khalil: Perspectives on the Egyptian transition process and visions for the future

14.20-14.40: Q & A session

14.40-15.00: Coffee break

15.00-15.20: Noha El-Mikawy: International assistance to the transitional processes in the Middle Eastern Region

15.20-15.40: Comments from Ziad Akl, Mahmoud Salem and Ivan Doherty

15.40-16.00: Q & A session

The seminar will be held in English.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required.

Read more about the seminar and use the online registration form on the website no later than Tuesday, 25 September at 12 noon.

Please await confirmation by e-mail from DIIS for participation.

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