Study Group on Reform and Security in the Muslim World

Project Chairs

Daniel Brumberg

Over the last few years, mounting security challenges have raised concerns about how the United States can best promote political reform while safeguarding its security interests. Co-chaired by Larry Diamond and Francis Fukuyama, the Study Group is addressing this complex problem through a series of meetings that highlight the interplay of security and reform in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Each meeting will result in a country-specific report, culminating in an overarching Study Group Report to be released in fall 2008.

Study Group on Reform and Security in the Muslim World

USIP's Study Group on Reform and Security in the Muslim World was convened in February 2008 to develop a policy-relevant vision of how the United States can sustain and reassert its support for political reform in the Muslim world, while enhancing its security at home and abroad. Co-chaired by Larry Diamond and Francis Fukuyama, two of the leading experts on the regional and global security environment, the Study Group will present its findings in a final report, to be released in fall 2008.

The Study Group's final report will represent the culmination of a series of expert working groups, each of which will be inspired by a country-specific policy memo. USIP has convened an unparalleled group of core analysts to draft the policy memos:

Shuja Nawaz, formerly of the New York Times, on Pakistan
Nathan Brown, George Washington University, on Palestine
Amaney Jamal, Princeton University, on Jordan
Jean-Francois Seznec, Georgetown University, on the Gulf States
Samer Shehata, Georgetown University, on Egypt
Eric Goldstein, Human Rights Watch, on the Maghreb

Working in concert with the core analysts, a select group of advisory members of the Study Group will review and discuss each policy memo. Further case studies, especially on Lebanon, Turkey, and Indonesia, may be added before the completion of the overarching final report.

Daniel Brumberg, acting director of USIP's Muslim World Initiative and associate professor in Georgetown University's Department of Government, directs the Study Group's activities.