Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Monday 09 May
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Immediately after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, British civilian Emma Sky was enlisted as the representative of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Kirkuk, one of Iraq’s most volatile areas. She went on to serve in the region longer than any other senior military or diplomatic figure – including as political advisor to the Commanding General of US Forces in Iraq from 2007–2010.
In The Unravelling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq, Sky recounts the years following the fall of Hussein, detailing the corruption, the brutal insurgencies and the often disastrous manoeuvres of both the Bush and Obama administrations. Offering a unique insider’s perspective, it has been praised in the Guardian as ‘adetailed and darkly humorous account that tries to understand everyone involved, Iraqis and Americans, on their own terms.’
Prior to her time in Iraq, Sky worked in the Palestinian territories for a decade. She is a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute, where she teaches Middle East politics. Sky visits Melbourne and Ballarat to talk with Sally Warhaft about the Middle East post-Hussein and the lessons to be learned about the limitations of power.
Featuring
Sally Warhaft
Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year ...
Emma Sky
Emma Sky is Director of Yale World Fellows and a Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute, where she teaches Middle East politics. She is the author of The Unraveling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq.
Emma served as advisor to the Commanding General of US Forces in Iraq from 2007-2010; as advisor to the Commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in 2006; as advisor to the US Security Co-ordinator for the Middle East Peace Process in 2005; and as Governorate Co-ordinator of Kirkuk for the Coalition Provisional Authority, 2003-2004.
Prior to that, Emma worked in the Palestinian territories for a decade, managing projects to develop Palestinian institutions; and to promote co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians. In addition, Emma has provided technical assistance on poverty elimination, human rights, justice public administration reform, security sector reform, and conflict resolution in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa.
Emma has published numerous articles including in the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Politico, Atlantic, Slate, Survival, the Guardian, and the Journal of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.
Emma was educated at Oxford (UK), Alexandria (Egypt), Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) and Liverpool (UK).
Emma is an Officer of the British Empire.