<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="margin: 0px;">You are invited to attend the</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><b>Bustani Middle East Seminar</b></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Tuesday, September 23, 2014</div><div style="margin: 0px;">4:30-6pm | MIT Building E51, Room 376 (70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge)</div><div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><i><b>The Islamic State and the Future of Iraq: Terrorism, Sectarianism, and Democracy</b></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Eric Davis</div><div style="margin: 0px;">Professor of Political Science </div><div style="margin: 0px;">Rutgers University</div><div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Dr. Davis is a Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University and past director of the University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies. His research has included the study of the relationship between state power and historical memory in modern Iraq, the political economy of Egyptian industrialization, the ideology and social bases of religious radical movements in Egypt and Israel, and the impact of oil wealth on the state and culture in Arab oil-producing countries. Dr. Davis has been appointed a fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University; the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin; the Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies, Princeton University; the Center for the Critical Analysis of Contemporary Culture, Rutgers University; and the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Abstract:</div><div style="margin: 0px;">How should we think about the future of Iraq? Does the recent seizure of large swaths of northern Iraq by the Islamic State condemn Iraq to constant strife, political instability and possible fragmentation? Or is there still a possibility that Iraq can find a path to national reconciliation and implement a transition to democracy? </div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;">Questions? Contact <a href="mailto:hae@mit.edu">hae@mit.edu</a></span></div></body></html>