18 May 2017 Arthur N. Rupe Great Debate: Is ISIS an Existential Threat to the United States?
Thursday, May 18, 2017 / 7:30 PM
Participants:
Monica Duffy Toft
Marc Gopin
Moderator: Mark Juergensmeyer
UCSB Campbell Hall
FREE
The question of whether ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) poses an existential threat to the United States and to countries in the Middle East remains a security issue of national and international consequence. Monica Duffy Toft and Marc Gopin will engage in an informed debate about the extent and nature of the threat ISIS poses and how the US should respond.
Monica Duffy Toft is Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Toft, who spent four years in the US Army as a Russian linguist, was named a Carnegie Scholar by the Carnegie Foundation of New York for her research on religion and violence. Her most recent books include the coedited Political Demography: How Population Changes are Reshaping International Security, and National Politics and Rethinking Religion in World Affairs.
Marc Gopin is the James H. Laue Professor of Religion, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, and the Director of the Center on Religion, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Gopin has trained thousands of people worldwide in peacemaking strategies for conflicts involving religion and culture. His publications include Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence and Peacemaking and Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East.
The Rupe Great Debate Series is presented by the UCSB College of Letters and Science. It is co-presented by Arts and Lectures and the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center.