The Potomac Institute's International Center for Terrorism Studies hosted a seminar of October 31, 2017 entitled, “Can the State System and Separatism Co-Exist?” The political, social, economic, and strategic implications of the contemporary evolving trend of separatism in the name of self-determination is an emerging security concern nationally, regionally, and globally. The question is whether ethnic, racial, religious, and national movements seeking to establish distinct independent entities within their own homelands by various means will be forces for stability or chaos? A major task therefore is to identify warning signals as well as to propose remedies for peaceful conflict resolutions within and among nations. A panel of experts will dealt with historical lessons, examined case studies (e.g. Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa), and offered recommendations for the Trump Administration and the international community.

Professor Yonah Alexander, Director of the Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, moderated the event. The panel included the following participants: Professor David Kanin an Adjunct Professor of European Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University and a former senior analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency; Dr. Fernando Jimenez a former legal advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank and Governor of the Basque Country in Spain; Dr. Hussein Ibish a Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC; and Professor Marvin G. Weinbaum the Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies at the Middle East Institute. 

The video for this event can be viewed on Ustream or below.