The Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies (WCED) and other units at the University of Michigan International Institute will present a program titled, “Regional Revolutions: What the Revolutions of 1989 in Central Europe Tell Us about 2011 in the Middle East,” on Monday, March 28 at 4:00 pm. U-M faculty experts on Middle Eastern and East Central European politics will explore the similarities and important differences in the two waves of regional revolutions. Topics will include the significance of single party rule and foreign sponsorship of the regimes, the different patterns of popular and elite mobilization, and the potential future trajectories for Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries.

Participants include:
• Moderator: Anna Grzymala-Busse, WCEE/WCED Director, Ronald and Eileen Weiser Professor of European and Eurasian Studies, and Professor of Political Science
• Juan Cole, Center for South Asian Studies Director and Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History
• Michael Dobbs, Howard R. Marsh Visiting Professor of Journalism
• Khaled Mattawa, Associate Professor of Creative Writing
• Scott Page, Center for the Study of Complex Systems Director and Leonid Hurwicz Collegiate Professor of Complex Systems, Political Science, and Economics
• Andrew Shryock, Associate Professor of Anthropology
• Jan Svejnar, International Policy Center Director, Everett E. Berg Professor of Business Administration, and Professor of Public Policy and Economics

The panel discussion is free and open to the public and will be available via live streaming. For more information, visit www.ii.umich.edu/wced.

PLACE: 1636 International Institute/School of Social Work, 1080 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor

SPONSORS: Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, Center for African Studies, Center for Middle East and North African Studies, and International Institute

The Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies (WCED) combines academics with practical applications. The Center promotes scholarship to better understand the conditions and policies that foster the transition from autocratic rule to democratic governance, past and present. It also educates new generations of practitioners who can apply their learning and experience to help extend democratic freedoms. Initially focusing on transitions in Europe and Eurasia, it will subsequently expand its scope to other emerging democracies across the globe. For more information, visit www.ii.umich.edu/wced.

The Ronald and Eileen Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia (WCEE) supports faculty and student research, teaching, collaboration, and public engagement in studying the institutions, cultures, and histories of these regions. WCEE is housed in the University of Michigan International Institute with the Center for European Studies-European Union Center (CES-EUC); the Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies (CREES); and the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies (WCED). Named in honor of Ronald and Eileen Weiser and inspired by their time in Slovakia during Ambassador Weiser’s service as U.S. ambassador from 2001-04, WCEE began operations in September 2008. For more information, visit www.ii.umich.edu/wcee.

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