Youth Marginalization and Radicalization in North Africa

Thu. May 14th, 2015
Rabat

Five years after the outbreak of the Arab Spring, the uprisings have failed to fulfill the people’s aspirations for democracy, freedom, and social justice. North Africa, where the Arab Spring was born, has become a reservoir for cross-border jihadi movements and a hotbed for youth radicalization. 

The Carnegie Middle East Center, in coordination with Institut Prometheus pour la Démocratie et les Droits Humains, analyzed the youth radicalization phenomenon and explore its relation to political and socioeconomic marginalization through case studies in Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Libya, and Algeria. Participants also looked at deradicalization initiatives in the Maghreb region, shedding light on success stories and ongoing mediation efforts between civil society and the state.

Agenda

3:00 to 4:30 p.m. 
Youth Marginalization and Radicalization in North Africa

  • Moderator: Mohammed Masbah, Carnegie Middle East Center
     
  • Opening Remarks: Lina Khatib, Carnegie Middle East Center
     
  • Introduction: Yassin Bazzaz, Institut Prometheus pour la Démocratie et les Droits Humains 
     
  • Abdelali Hamieddine, Alkarama Forum for Human Rights, Morocco
     
  • Sami Braham, Center for Economic and Social Studies and Research, Tunisia
     
  • Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck, Carnegie Middle East Center

4:30 to 4:45 p.m.
Break 

4:45 to 6:00 p.m. 
The Role of Civil Society in Deradicalization

  • Moderator: Latifa Elbouhsini, Institut National de l'Action Sociale, Morocco
     
  • Khadija Marwazi, Médiateur pour la Démocratie et les Droits de l'Homme, Morocco
     
  • Rihab El Haj, New Libya Foundation
     
  • George Fahmi, Carnegie Middle East Center 
event speakers

Yassin Bazzaz

Sami Braham

Latifa Elbouhsini

Rihab El Haj

Georges Fahmi

Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Center

Fahmi was a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center, where his research focused on religious actors in democratic transition, the interplay between state and religion, and religious minorities and citizenship.

Dalia Ghanem

Senior Resident Scholar, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Dalia Ghanem was a senior resident scholar at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where her research focuses on Algeria’s political, economic, social, and security developments. Her research also examines political violence, radicalization, civil-military relationships, transborder dynamics, and gender.

Abdelali Hamieddine

Lina Khatib

Director, Middle East Center

Khatib was director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Previously, she was the co-founding head of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

Khadija Marwazi

Mohammed Masbah

Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Center

Masbah was a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center. He is a political-sociologist whose work centers on Salafism, political Islam, authoritarianism, and youth movements, with a focus on North Africa.