Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Tuesday 13 November
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
Following last year’s ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched a violent attack on Syrian activists who presented similar demands: for economic prosperity, political freedom and civil rights.
In the ensuing civil war, thousands of people have died, and many more have fled to bordering countries. The Syrian government continues to claim that the opposition are terrorists trying to destabilise the country – and the opposition says this is merely a tactic employed to justify the regime’s attacks. Meanwhile, global leaders struggle to find a diplomatic solution for this war-torn country.
Join host Sally Warhaft and guests Rodger Shanahan, Dr Sally Totman and Brian Stoddart as they discuss the complex situation in Syria – and what, if any, role Australia should play as a ‘good global citizen’.
Featuring
Sally Warhaft
Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year ...
Sally Totman
Sally is Senior Lecturer in Middle East Studies and the Convener of the Middle East Studies program at Deakin. In addition, Sally is the Chair of the Faculty of Arts & Education Academic Progress and Discipline Committee and co-founder of the Australia Middle East Research Forum (AMERF).
She joined Deakin in February 2007 having taught Middle East politics, International Relations, and Australian foreign policy at Macquarie University in Sydney for 9 years.
Sally is an author and international expert on Middle East policy and politics and is a frequent commentator for, and contributor on, a wide range of issues relating to the Middle East for various radio, television and print media groups (e.g. Radio National, ABC Radio, ABC Television, Bloomberg, The Age/Sydney Morning Herald), as well as speaking at public forums and delivering public lectures.
Rodger Shanahan
Dr Rodger Shanahan is a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy and part-time member of the Refugee Review Tribunal. A former army officer, he had extensive service within the Parachute Battalion Group and has had operational service with the UN in South Lebanon and Syria.
Dr Shanahan also has operational experience with the Parachute Battalion Group in East Timor, in Beirut as military liaison officer during the 2006 war, and in Afghanistan several times since 2008 (conducting operational inquiries).
He has also been posted to the Australian Embassies in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Dr Shanahan has MAs in International Relations and Middle East Studies from the ANU, and a PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Sydney.
He has written numerous journal, media and policy articles and is the author of Clans, Parties and Clerics: the Shi’a of Lebanon.
Brian Stoddart
Brian Stoddart, emeritus professor at La Trobe University, where he served as vice-chancellor, is now an international consultant on higher education reform - work which took him to Syria immediately before the current disturbances.
He is also an online columnist for Global Policy Journal, produced by the London School of Economics, is a regular contributor to news sites like The Conversation and a long-time contributor to radio and the press.
His latest book (available on Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks) is A House in Damascus. It records his experiences of living and working in the Old City of Damascus immediately before the present conflict.