After the 1979 revolution, Iran’s Islamist regime emerged as the clear anti-thesis of a secular Turkey and two countries’ relationship was only sustained by political Islamists on both sides. According to Akin Unver, this 1979-2010 Islamist connection is also being reversed by the sectarian faultlines unearthed by the Arab Spring. Iran’s rapid fall from grace with Turkish Islamists is one of the most important recent structural shifts in the Middle East, Unver suggests. Such a break is far from marginal and yields several important points for consideration.

Bayram Balci, Visiting Scholar, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment, analyzed the various aspects of Shia and Sunni revival, including the roles played by Turkey and Iran, and how Azerbaijan is reacting to these “new” religious cleavages. In his talk he contended that the Islamic influences from Iran (Shia) and from Turkey (Sunni) are recreating new dividing lines between Azerbaijani Shia and Sunni Muslims.

William Brumfield, Professor of Slavic Languages and Germanic Languages, Tulane University, presents an exploration of evolving Russian attitudes toward commemorating the catastrophic sacrifices of the first year (1941-1942) of the Great Fatherland War. This presentation focused on the author's recent field research and photography in the Viazma region of Smolensk oblast'.

Gill Bennett, former Chief Historian of the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office leads a discussion entitled "Six Moments of Crisis: Inside British Foreign Policy."