The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) held an E-roundtable on "Abdicating "Stateness: Shifting modes of governance and crisis management in Arab countries", lectured by Prof. Yezid Sayigh, Senior Research Fellow at Malcom H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center. The event was moderated by Prof. Ryoji Tateyama, Emeritus Professor, National Defense Academy of Japan and the chief of the Middle East and Africa Research Group at JIIA. The presentation was followed by comments and questions by a discussant, Prof. Akifumi Ikeda, Former President of Toyo Eiwa University, together with many questions from researchers who specialize in different parts of the MENA region, including Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Libya, and Sudan, resulting in lively discussions at the e-roundtable.