Arta Moeini, Research Director
Arta Moeini is an international political theorist and a revisionist scholar of Nietzsche and Modernity whose interests lie at the nexus of contrasting traditions of political realism, culture and politics, and international relations theory.
Dr. Moeini’s current research engages deeply and critically with the question of the ‘future of the international order’ from a realist perspective. It introduces a recalibrated theory of international politics centered around a post-hegemonic and cultural form of realism—such realism recognizes sovereignty as elemental to the practice of international affairs and it could theoretically underpin and springboard the practice of ‘restraint’ in foreign policy as a sine qua non. It argues that the emerging new world order would be one which is decisively ‘multi-polar’ and anchored on several autonomous great cultural poles – thus affirming “global cultural pluralism” and recognizing the necessity for humane and cultural diplomacy premised on mutual respect between sovereign nations and open dialogue among statesmen to foster sustainable peace and manage conflict.
Dr. Moeini is also a Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of Statesmanship in Washington D.C as well as an elected member of the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. He holds a Ph.D. (with distinction) and M.A. in Government from Georgetown University, an M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and a B.A. in Political Science and Near Eastern Studies from UC Berkeley.
The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) launches a new program called “International System 2050: Rethinking Grand Strategy for a Multipolar World”. This new program will be led by IPD’s Research Director
The perception surrounding Canada’s failure to secure a seat on the UNSC has been widely regarded as a pivotal moment for the nation’s foreign policy. However, the defeat does not equate to the decline of Canada’s international image; rather, it is a chance to refocus domestic policy and international efforts where they are most needed.
The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) is pleased to announce our upcoming virtual panel “The Future of Grand Strategy in the Post-COVID World,” in partnership with the American Conservative as part of the launch for IPD’s International System 2050 program.
Canada’s determination to stand its ground and absorb the costs won it plaudits from human rights constituencies at home and abroad. But it was a pyrrhic victory. Canada’s ability to actually have an impact and genuinely advance its values or human rights agenda in Saudi Arabia suffered.
The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) hosted a panel discussion on the future of the Iran Nuclear Deal on July 15, 2020.
In the short-term, Israel’s expansionist policies such as the annexation of the West Bank may make Israel feel more secure but it undoubtedly puts its security and stability at great risk in the long-term. It also leaves the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict with only one viable solution that is a one-state solution associated with many complexities.
From a realist perspective, Canada’s long-term interests are guaranteed when its foreign policy is centered on multilateralism, which allows the country to capitalize on its soft power as a complementary, but a vital force to protect and promote liberal values and respect for human rights on the international stage.
This global crisis demands more cooperation among world powers. The U.S. has failed to lead, hence making it a strategic imperative for Canada to help fill the leadership vacuum and strengthen its health diplomacy.
Even before the pandemic, international companies with manufacturing in China and the privately-owned Chinese companies were moving their production base to Vietnam, among other locations in Southeast Asia. The key decision in moving manufacturing from one country or region to another includes the cost-benefit analysis, ease of doing business in a country, and the political stability – among other things.
For UnHerd, IPD Research Director Arta Moeni explores the possible outcomes of the war in Ukraine. One year on with no endgame in sight, he argues that “the likely outcome of this tragedy is stalemate,” and waging an endless war hoping to secure a “complete victory” against Russia is “reckless.”
IPD’s Research Director Arta Moeini and Senior Fellow David Carment authored a commentary for UnHerd, offering their critique of President Biden’s recent ‘Soul of the Nation’ speech.
Maintaining the extensive and global network of U.S. alliances is a sacred cow of American national security strategy. For many decades now, the foreign policy establishment has viewed America’s overseas commitments as inseparable from the national interest, such that a true cost-benefit analysis is rarely undertaken.
IPD’s Research Director Arta Moeini authored a debut feature for Compact Magazine examining Washington’s ideological foreign policy amid a changing and post-ideological world order.
Washington must accept that the international system has fundamentally changed since 2001 and adjust its posture to avoid further embarrassment and harm to its vital national interests—chief among them its global financial primacy.
With the international system shifting away from Pax Americana and toward a more multipolar world, a class of state actors usually called ‘middle powers’ is the subject of increased attention in policy and academic debates.
IPD’s Research Director Arta Moeini wrote an article for UnHerd on the need to avoid binary narratives when understanding the war in Ukraine as well as how these narratives obscure the West’s historical responsibility for conflict with Russia.
IPD’s Research Director Arta Moeini was quoted in the Dallas Express commenting on China-Russia coordination under the backdrop of President Putin’s visit to Beijing, events in Ukraine, and shared positioning towards Washington.
IPD’s Research Director Arta Moeini was quoted in The Dallas Express to discuss recent indications by Moscow and Tehran that they will conclude a twenty-year cooperation agreement.
Great power competition has fast become the siren song of Sino-American relations with a cascading effect across every domain of bilateral engagement between Beijing and Washington, raising the prospects of escalation and outright military conflict
IPD Executive Research Director, Arta Moeini interviewed Professor Claes Ryn to discuss “The New Cold War” rhetoric in American and Chinese exceptionalism. You can watch the full discussion below or through our YouTube channel.
Over-reliance on unilateral sanctions may not only delegitimize sanctions as a policy tool, but it could also hurt the economic opportunities and financial reputation of the countries imposing them, not to mention harming free enterprise and private industries in targeted countries.
IPD Research Director Dr. Arta Moeini recently appeared on Chronicles Live with Pedro Gonzalez, associate editor of Chronicles Magazine, and Curt Mills, senior reporter at The American Conservative, to talk about U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, neoconservatism, and liberal internationalism.
The unprecedented level of voter apathy was mainly the result of the early disqualification of well-known reformist and centrist figures by the country’s powerful Guardian Council coupled with increasing economic discontent in recent years caused by U.S. sanctions and internal mismanagement.
The key lesson here is that a state that overextends itself out of over-confidence in its own beliefs and judgment, moral narcissism, and a disregard for the limitations of its own power eventually turns millenarian and self-destructs missing various opportunities for diplomatic engagement and rapprochement and risking unnecessary escalation with strategic rivals.
Nuclear arms control is a critical aspect of managing great power competition in the international system. Developing a strong and clear understanding of arms control with other great powers is a crucial part of ensuring America’s military and economic security. An absence of denuclearization agreements poses a significant risk of escalatory spirals and an arms race which could cause further financial drain, worsening the COVID-induced global recession.
On September 9th, 2020, the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) hosted a panel in partnership with The American Conservative. The panel was part of the launch for IPD’s International System 2050
The international order is no longer bipolar, despite the elites’ insistence otherwise. Fortunately there is hope for change.
The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) is pleased to welcome Dr. Arta Moeini as the new Research Director. Arta Moeini is an international political theorist and a revisionist scholar of Nietzsche
The Western powers have failed to effectively manage the increasing threat of proliferation in the Middle East. While the international community is concerned with Iran’s nuclear program, Saudi Arabia has moved forward with developing its own nuclear program, and independent studies show that Israel has longed possessed dozens of nuclear warheads. The former is a member of the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), while the latter has refused to sign the international agreement.
On Middle East policy, the Biden campaign had staunchly criticized the Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), more commonly known as the Iran Nuclear Deal and it has begun re-engaging Iran on the nuclear dossier since assuming office in January 2021. However, serious obstacles remain for responsible actors in expanding non-proliferation efforts toward a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.
This panel will discuss how Western powers and multilateral institutions, such as the IAEA, can play a more effective role in managing non-proliferation efforts in the Middle East.
Panelists:
– Peggy Mason: Canada’s former Ambassador to the UN for Disarmament
– Mark Fitzpatrick: Associate Fellow & Former Executive Director, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
– Ali Vaez: Iran Project Director, International Crisis Group
– Negar Mortazavi: Journalist and Political Analyst, Host of Iran Podcast
– David Albright: Founder and President of the Institute for Science and International Security
Closing (5:45 PM – 6:00 PM ET)
What is the current economic landscape in the Middle East? While global foreign direct investment is expected to fall drastically in the post-COVID era, the World Bank reported a 5% contraction in the economic output of the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries in 2020 due to the pandemic. While oil prices are expected to rebound with normalization in demand, political instability, regional and geopolitical tensions, domestic corruption, and a volatile regulatory and legal environment all threaten economic recovery in the Middle East. What is the prospect for economic growth and development in the region post-pandemic, and how could MENA nations promote sustainable growth and regional trade moving forward?
At the same time, Middle Eastern diaspora communities have become financially successful and can help promote trade between North America and the region. In this respect, the diaspora can become vital intermediaries for advancing U.S. and Canada’s business interests abroad. Promoting business diplomacy can both benefit the MENA region and be an effective and positive way to advance engagement and achieve foreign policy goals of the North Atlantic.
This panel will investigate the trade and investment opportunities in the Middle East, discuss how facilitating economic engagement with the region can benefit Canadian and American national interests, and explore relevant policy prescriptions.
Panelists:
– Hon. Sergio Marchi: Canada’s Former Minister of International Trade
– Scott Jolliffe: Chairperson, Canada Arab Business Council
– Esfandyar Batmanghelidj: Founder and Publisher of Bourse & Bazaar
– Nizar Ghanem: Director of Research and Co-founder at Triangle
– Nicki Siamaki: Researcher at Control Risks
The Middle East continues to grapple with violence and instability, particularly in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. Fueled by government incompetence and foreign interventions, terrorist insurgencies have imposed severe humanitarian and economic costs on the region. Meanwhile, regional actors have engaged in an unprecedented pursuit of arms accumulation. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have imported billions of both Western and Russian-made weapons and funded militant groups across the region, intending to contain their regional adversaries, particularly Iran. Tehran has also provided sophisticated weaponry to various militia groups across the region to strengthen its geopolitical position against Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Israel.
On the other hand, with international terrorist networks and intense regional rivalry in the Middle East, it is impractical to discuss peace and security without addressing terrorism and the arms race in the region. This panel will primarily discuss the implications of the ongoing arms race in the region and the role of Western powers and multilateral organizations in facilitating trust-building security arrangements among regional stakeholders to limit the proliferation of arms across the Middle East.
Panelists:
Luciano Zaccara: Assistant Professor, Qatar University
Dania Thafer: Executive Director, Gulf International Forum
Kayhan Barzegar: Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the Science and Research Branch of Azad University
Barbara Slavin: Director of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council
Sanam Shantyaei: Senior Journalist at France24 & host of Middle East Matters
The emerging regional order in West Asia will have wide-ranging implications for global security. The Biden administration has begun re-engaging Iran on the nuclear dossier, an initiative staunchly opposed by Israel, while also taking a harder line on Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen. Meanwhile, key regional actors, including Qatar, Iraq, and Oman, have engaged in backchannel efforts to bring Iran and Saudi Arabia to the negotiating table. From a broader geopolitical perspective, with the need to secure its energy imports, China is also expected to increase its footprint in the region and influence the mentioned challenges.
In this evolving landscape, Western powers will be compelled to redefine their strategic priorities and adjust their policies with the new realities in the region. In this panel, we will discuss how the West, including the United States and its allies, can utilize multilateral diplomacy with its adversaries to prevent military escalation in the region. Most importantly, the panel will discuss if a multilateral security dialogue in the Persian Gulf region, proposed by some regional actors, can help reduce tensions among regional foes and produce sustainable peace and development for the region.
Panelists:
– Abdullah Baabood: Academic Researcher and Former Director of the Centre for Gulf Studies, Qatar University
– Trita Parsi: Executive Vice-President, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
– Ebtesam Al-Ketbi: President, Emirates Policy Centre
– Jon Allen: Canada’s Former Ambassador to Israel
– Elizabeth Hagedorn: Washington correspondent for Al-Monitor
Military interventions, political and economic instabilities, and civil unrest in the Middle East have led to a global refugee crisis with an increasing wave of refugees and asylum seekers to Europe and Canada. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has, in myriad ways, exacerbated and contributed to the ongoing security threats and destabilization of the region.
While these challenges pose serious risks to Canadian security, Ottawa will also have the opportunity to limit such risks and prevent a spillover effect vis-à-vis effective humanitarian initiatives in the region. In this panel, we will primarily investigate Canada’s Middle East Strategy’s degree of success in providing humanitarian aid to the region. Secondly, the panel will discuss what programs and initiatives Canada can introduce to further build on the renewed strategy. and more specifically, how Canada can utilize its policy instruments to more effectively deal with the increasing influx of refugees from the Middle East.
Panelists:
Erica Di Ruggiero: Director of Centre for Global Health, University of Toronto
Reyhana Patel: Head of Communications & Government Relations, Islamic Relief Canada
Amir Barmaki: Former Head of UN OCHA in Iran
Catherine Gribbin: Senior Legal Advisor for International and Humanitarian Law, Canadian Red Cross
In 2016, Canada launched an ambitious five-year “Middle East Engagement Strategy” (2016-2021), committing to investing CA$3.5 billion over five years to help establish the necessary conditions for security and stability, alleviate human suffering and enable stabilization programs in the region. In the latest development, during the meeting of the Global Coalition against ISIS, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau announced more than $43.6 million in Peace and Stabilization Operations Program funding for 11 projects in Syria and Iraq.
With Canada’s Middle East Engagement Strategy expiring this year, it is time to examine and evaluate this massive investment in the Middle East region in the past five years. More importantly, the panel will discuss a principled and strategic roadmap for the future of Canada’s short-term and long-term engagement in the Middle East.
Panelists:
– Ferry de Kerckhove: Canada’s Former Ambassador to Egypt
– Dennis Horak: Canada’s Former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
– Chris Kilford: Former Canadian Defence Attaché in Turkey, member of the national board of the Canadian International Council (CIC)
– David Dewitt: University Professor Emeritus, York University
While the United States continues to pull back from certain regional conflicts, reflected by the Biden administration’s decision to halt American backing for Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen and the expected withdrawal from Afghanistan, US troops continue to be stationed across the region. Meanwhile, Russia and China have significantly maintained and even expanded their regional activities. On one hand, the Kremlin has maintained its military presence in Syria, and on the other hand, China has signed an unprecedented 25-year strategic agreement with Iran.
As the global power structure continues to shift, it is essential to analyze the future of the US regional presence under the Biden administration, explore the emerging global rivalry with Russia and China, and at last, investigate the implications of such competition for peace and security in the Middle East.
Panelists:
– Dmitri Trenin: Director of Carnegie Moscow Center
– Joost R. Hiltermann: Director of MENA Programme, International Crisis Group
– Roxane Farmanfarmaian: Affiliated Lecturer in International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa, University of Cambridge
– Andrew A. Michta: Dean of the College of International and Security Studies at Marshall Center
– Kelley Vlahos: Senior Advisor, Quincy Institute
The security architecture of the Middle East has undergone rapid transformations in an exceptionally short period. Notable developments include the United States gradual withdrawal from the region, rapprochement between Israel and some GCC states through the Abraham Accords and the rise of Chinese and Russian regional engagement.
With these new trends in the Middle East, it is timely to investigate the security implications of the Biden administration’s Middle East policy. In this respect, we will discuss the Biden team’s new approach vis-à-vis Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. The panel will also discuss the role of other major powers, including China and Russia in shaping this new security environment in the region, and how the Biden administration will respond to these powers’ increasing regional presence.
Panelists:
– Sanam Vakil: Deputy Director of MENA Programme at Chatham House
– Denise Natali: Acting Director, Institute for National Strategic Studies & Director of the Center for Strategic Research, National Defense University
– Hassan Ahmadian: Professor of the Middle East and North Africa Studies, University of Tehran
– Abdulaziz Sagar: Chairman, Gulf Research Center
– Andrew Parasiliti: President, Al-Monitor
