Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research and a leading Palestinian political analyst, will speak on "Prospects for Peace: What the Polls Show Palestinians are Thinking," at 3 p.m. March 1 at Duke University.
The lecture will be in Fleishman Commons of the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, at the corner of Science and Towerview drives. It is free and open to the public. Visitor parking is available for a fee on Science Drive and in the Bryan Center parking deck.
Shikaki has conducted more than 100 polls among Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since 1993 and has written extensively on the peace process, public opinion and the Palestinian battle for statehood. He lives in Ramallah in the West Bank.
He is a frequent guest on broadcast news programs and has published op-ed articles in Arab, American, European and Asian newspapers, including al Sharq al Awsat, al Quds, al Ayyam, Daily Star, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Le Stampa and LaVanguardia.
Shikaki, who earned his doctorate from Columbia University in 1985, has taught at several universities, including Bir Zeit University and al-Najah National University (both in Palestine), the University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee) and the University of South Florida.
His recent scholarly publications include "Palestinian Public Opinion and the Peace Process: Long Term Trends and Policy Implications" (Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace, 2005), "The Future of Palestine," (Foreign Affairs, November-December 2004); "Building a State, Building a Peace: How to make a Roadmap that Works for Palestinians and Israelis" (The Brookings Institution: Washington, D.C., summer 2003); and "The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process: Oslo and the Lessons of Failure" (East Sussex: Sussex Academic Press, 2002).
The lecture is co-sponsored by the Sanford Institute and Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations at UNC-Chapel Hill. Call 613-7394 for more information.