Arab Spring symposium reflects on a world changing two years
Two years on from the last conference held by LJMU’s School of Law to discuss the impacts of the Arab Spring of 2011, academics gathered in the Redmonds Building to consider some of the key international legal and political issues currently under debate as events in the Arab World, and in particular Syria, continue to unfold.
The symposium, titled ‘The Arab Spring: 2 Years On’ brought together leading academics and students across a range of disciplines, including Dr Jackson Maogoto (University of Manchester), Dr Jure Vidmar (University of Oxford), and Dr Chris Henderson (University of Liverpool), all of whom are well established scholars in their fields of expertise.
Co-convenor of the symposium, Dr Gary Wilson of the School of Law, said that “the event reflected the growing international law and human rights expertise within the School and the desire to bring topical issues with a legal dimension to a wider audience.”
He added:
“It was particularly pleasing to have had the participation of both colleagues and students from the School of Humanities and Social Science in the symposium, which gave it a truly inter-disciplinary perspective. Many thanks go to the eminent speakers who kindly agreed to participate at the event.”
Speaking after the event, one of the contributors Dr Jackson Maogoto said:
“The conference offered a unique experience rather than focusing on the political dimensions and their impact on international law. Its ambitions were broader with cross-disciplinary presentations that focused the historical, political and ongoing occurrences on the international legal and political framework. Aptly it identified the limitation of doctrine and legal principle and identified the Arab Spring’s uniqueness and thus the need for broader. Often many have seen it or interpreted it as a replay of some past epochal events such as the fall of communism or the democratic wave in sub-Sahara Africa.”
