The title of her presentation: “The Arab Lobby in the US”
 
Short description:
 
Dr. Dania’s presentation will highlight the attempts by the Arab Gulf States to effectively lobby the US government. It will explain aspects of their lobbying behavior, and identify the factors that lead to its success as well as failures.    It addresses the structure of the political system in the US, its power structure, the institutions, and the factors shaping its policy.  Among the success and failure aspects of Arab Lobbying, the lecture focuses on: the grassroots bases, the strategic planning, the active research, the contributions to the US election and its finances.  In addition, the lecture discusses the difference between the ‘inside and outside the beltway lobbying’ i.e. lobbying and directly contacting policy makers as opposed to lobbying that involves influencing public opinion. It also addresses the difference between domestic and foreign lobbying, and touches on the nuances differentiating the Arab from the Arab Gulf lobbying from the strategic base value of the Arab Gulf to the US, and the negative image of Arabs in America.  Lastly, Al Khatib points to the obstacles facing the establishment of an effective Arab Gulf lobby in the US, based on her years of work on the topic, and the publication of her book by Rutledge (2015).
 
Short bio:
 
Dania is a Political Scientist and acquired her PhD from Exeter University in September 2014. The focus of her research is mostly on the Arab Gulf States efforts to lobby in the United States.  In addition, she has a 10 year of experience in marketing communications.  Her work experience as well her academic background makes her well placed to advise on a strategic communication program through which the Arab Gulf can build a grassroots base in the US and eventually forge coalitions with different US communities to influence policy making in matters of strategic and economic importance to the Gulf. She has also researched the conduits through which a US domestic base can be built and the top down approach to adopt for a comprehensive and credible narrative on which the Arab Gulf can create an effective communication strategy. This is a niche area in strategic communication that has not previously been pursued and given recent geo-political development is crucial to the Gulf and its interests