Visiting Speaker: Dr Joost Hiltermann, International Crisis Group

In his presentation, Dr Hiltermann will address the rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East, especially the conditions in which it emerged and the Western response so far.  The thrust of his approach will concern the fact that the Islamic State is not one thing but in fact a coalition of groups that have quite different and diverging agendas, and that a cookie-cutter response to it is therefore likely to backfire.  He will try to outline the main elements of a more strategic Western Approach to the challenge IS poses - in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere where the group has popped up.

Dr Hiltermann is a Program Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, the Brussels-based independent, non-governmental organisation dedicated to preventing deadly conflict.  In this capacity, he leads the organisation's research, analysis, policy prescription and advocacy in and about the region.  An Arabic speaker, he has been working in and on the Middle East for more than three decades.