1st Hague-Brussels Forum

The first Hague-Brussels Forum of the Jean Monnet Chair on the European Union’s role in Security and Global Affairs (EURISGA) was dedicated to the causes, evolution and implications of the ‘Women, Life and Freedom Movement’ taking place in Iran. The Forum consisted of an expert panel and in-depth discussion with an audience of policy-makers from both The Hague and Brussels as well as academics and students.

The panel examined the political context and motivations behind the protests and assessed the implications for Iranian society, the wider region and external actors, such as the European Union.

The Hague-Brussels Forum was opened by Professor Joachim Koops, Jean Monnet Chair on the European Union’s role in Security and Global Affairs and moderated by Professor Tahir Abbas, Professor of Radicalisation Studies at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University. Panelists included:

• Dr. Hamidreza Azizi (Senior Iran Analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group)
• Dr Pejman Abdolmohammadi (Associate Professor in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Trento – joined online)
• Dr. Vanessa Newby (Assistant Professor of International Relations at ISGA and an expert on Gender, Peace and Security)
• Dr. Matthew Hoye (Associate Professor of Global Justice, ISGA)

The Hague-Brussels Forum was the first of two events seeking to bring together the Hague and Brussels policy, research and student communities to address current and pressing challenges related to the EU’s role in security and global affairs and its capacity to respond to contemporary developments.