Understanding Syria Today

Understanding Syria Today PDF Author: Michael Capek
Publisher: Mitchell Lane
ISBN: 1545751277
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
An ancient land, Syria is continually ripped by civil war and strife. That s one way to look at Syria. History and today s news certainly prove it to be true. But if we stop to look closer, beyond the fighting and politics, we can find another Syria. This is also a land of kind and generous people. For centuries Syrians have welcomed visitors from all over the world. They love to share their spicy food, rich crafts, and colorful culture. The world has always followed well-worn paths to their door. Aleppo s shops and markets draw people now, as they have since before recorded History. Damascus, with its Umayyad Mosque and Old City, is a time machine. Visitors there step through gates that lead back to the time of camel caravans and Ottoman sultans. Syria, beyond the burst of bombs and gunfire, is the glory of ancient empires mixed with the throb of modern cities. Old and new customs mingle. Guided by Sabeen, a refugee from the war, you ll discover the real Syria as it was and still can be.

Understanding Syria Today

Understanding Syria Today PDF Author: Michael Capek
Publisher: Mitchell Lane
ISBN: 1545751277
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 98

Get Book Here

Book Description
An ancient land, Syria is continually ripped by civil war and strife. That s one way to look at Syria. History and today s news certainly prove it to be true. But if we stop to look closer, beyond the fighting and politics, we can find another Syria. This is also a land of kind and generous people. For centuries Syrians have welcomed visitors from all over the world. They love to share their spicy food, rich crafts, and colorful culture. The world has always followed well-worn paths to their door. Aleppo s shops and markets draw people now, as they have since before recorded History. Damascus, with its Umayyad Mosque and Old City, is a time machine. Visitors there step through gates that lead back to the time of camel caravans and Ottoman sultans. Syria, beyond the burst of bombs and gunfire, is the glory of ancient empires mixed with the throb of modern cities. Old and new customs mingle. Guided by Sabeen, a refugee from the war, you ll discover the real Syria as it was and still can be.

Destroying a Nation

Destroying a Nation PDF Author: Nikolaos Van Dam
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1786722488
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
Following the Arab Spring, Syria descended into civil and sectarian conflict. It has since become a fractured warzone which operates as a breeding ground for new terrorist movements including ISIS as well as the root cause of the greatest refugee crisis in modern history. In this important book, former Special Envoy of the Netherlands to Syria, Nikolaos van Dam, explains the recent history of Syria, covering the growing disenchantment with the Asad regime, the chaos of civil war and the fractures which led to an immense amount of destruction in the refined social fabric of what used to be the Syrian nation. Through an in-depth examination, van Dam traces political developments within the Asad regime and the various opposition groups from the Arab Spring to the present day, and provides a deeper insight into the conflict and the possibilities and obstacles for reaching a political solution.

Inside Syria

Inside Syria PDF Author: Reese Erlich
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1633882365
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Based on first-hand reporting from Syria and Washington, journalist Reese Erlich unravels the complex dynamics underlying the Syrian civil war. Through vivid, on-the-ground accounts and interviews with both rebel leaders and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Erlich gives the reader a better understanding of this momentous power struggle and why it matters. Through his many contacts inside Syria, the author reveals who is supporting Assad and why; he describes the agendas of the rebel factions; and he depicts in stark terms the dire plight of many ordinary Syrian people caught in the cross-fire. The book also provides insights into the role of the Kurds, the continuing influence of Iran, and the policies of American leaders who seem interested only in protecting US regional interests. Disturbing and enlightening at once, this timely book shows you not only what is happening inside Syria but why it is so important for the Middle East, the US, and the world.

Demystifying Syria

Demystifying Syria PDF Author: Fred H. Lawson
Publisher: Saqi
ISBN: 0863568181
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Demystifying Syria offers an extraordinary insight into the shifting relations between the Ba'th party and the armed forces, civil law, social structure, burgeoning private enterprise, internal political opposition, the European Union and its relation to Syria. This book goes beyond the headlines to offer a detailed portrait of the political, economic, social and diplomatic dynami that shape this pivotal and fiercely independent Middle Eastern state. Contributors include Bassem Haddad, Souhail Belhadj, Baudoin Dupret, Zouhair Ghazzal, Thomas Pierret, Salwa Ismail, Joshua Landis and Joe Pace. 'Demonstrates how US intervention in the region weakened the position of the Syrian opposition ... shows Syrian studies in the best possible light, edited to a high level and recommended to everyone interested in the complexities - rather than the mysteries - of contemporary Syria.' Times Higher Education Supplement 'This compelling book offers the reader much food for thought on a country that certainly defies any attempt to be encapsulated in unidirectional and straightforward definitions.' International Spectator

The Syrian Uprising

The Syrian Uprising PDF Author: Raymond Hinnebusch
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135138760X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
Most observers did not expect the Arab spring to spread to Syria, for a number of seemingly good reasons. Yet, with amazing rapidity, massive and unprecedented anti-regime mobilization took place, which put the regime very much on the defensive; what began as the Syrian Uprising in March 2011 has evolved into one of the world’s most damaging and protracted conflicts. Despite over six years having passed since the inception of the Syrian Uprising, this phenomenon remains difficult to fully grasp, both in terms of underlying forces and long-term implications. This book presents a snapshot of how the Uprising developed in roughly the first two to three years (2011–2013) and addresses key questions regarding the domestic origins of the Uprising and its early trajectory. Firstly, what were the causes of the conflict, both in terms of structure (contradictions and crisis within the pre-Uprising order) and agency (choices of the actors)? Why did the Uprising not lead to democratization and instead descend into violent civil war with a sectarian dimension? With all 19 chapters addressing an aspect of the Uprising, the book focuses on internal dynamics, whilst a subsequent volume will look at the international dimension of the Uprising. Taking an innovative and interdisciplinary approach that seeks to capture the full complexity of the phenomenon, this book contributes significantly to our understanding of the Syrian conflict, and will therefore be a valuable resource for anyone studying Middle Eastern Politics.

Assad or We Burn the Country

Assad or We Burn the Country PDF Author: Sam Dagher
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 031655670X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 591

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Book Description
From a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist specializing in the Middle East, this groundbreaking account of the Syrian Civil War reveals the never-before-published true story of a 21st-century humanitarian disaster. In spring 2011, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad turned to his friend and army commander, Manaf Tlass, for advice about how to respond to Arab Spring-inspired protests. Tlass pushed for conciliation but Assad decided to crush the uprising -- an act which would catapult the country into an eight-year long war, killing almost half a million and fueling terrorism and a global refugee crisis. Assad or We Burn the Country examines Syria's tragedy through the generational saga of the Assad and Tlass families, once deeply intertwined and now estranged in Bashar's bloody quest to preserve his father's inheritance. By drawing on his own reporting experience in Damascus and exclusive interviews with Tlass, Dagher takes readers within palace walls to reveal the family behind the destruction of a country and the chaos of an entire region. Dagher shows how one of the world's most vicious police states came to be and explains how a regional conflict extended globally, engulfing the Middle East and pitting the United States and Russia against one another. Timely, propulsive, and expertly reported, Assad or We Burn the Country is the definitive account of this global crisis, going far beyond the news story that has dominated headlines for years.

The Syria Dilemma

The Syria Dilemma PDF Author: Nader Hashemi
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026202683X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
The current conflict in Syria has killed more than 80,000 people and displaced four million, yet most observers predict that the worst is still to come. And for two years, the international community has failed to take action. World leaders have repeatedly resolved not to let atrocities happen in plain view, but the legacy of the bloody and costly intervention in Iraq has left policymakers with little appetite for more military operations. So we find ourselves in the grip of a double burden: the urge to stop the bleeding in Syria, and the fear that attempting to do so would be Iraq redux. What should be done about the apparently intractable Syrian conflict? This book focuses on the ethical and political dilemmas at the heart of the debate about Syria and the possibility of humanitarian intervention in today's world. The contributors--Syria experts, international relations theorists, human rights activists, and scholars of humanitarian intervention--don't always agree, but together they represent the best political thinking on the issue. The Syria Dilemma includes original pieces from Michael Ignatieff, Mary Kaldor, Radwan Ziadeh, Thomas Pierret, Afra Jalabi, and others. Contributors: Asli Bâli, Richard Falk, Tom Farer, Charles Glass, Shadi Hamid, Nader Hashemi, Christopher Hill, Michael Ignatieff, Afra Jalabi, Rafif Jouejati, Mary Kaldor, MarcLynch, Vali Nasr, Thomas Pierret, Danny Postel, Aziz Rana, Christoph Reuter, Kenneth Roth, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Fareed Zakaria, Radwan Ziadeh, Stephen Zunes

Palestinians in Syria

Palestinians in Syria PDF Author: Anaheed Al-Hardan
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231541228
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
One hundred thousand Palestinians fled to Syria after being expelled from Palestine upon the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Integrating into Syrian society over time, their experience stands in stark contrast to the plight of Palestinian refugees in other Arab countries, leading to different ways through which to understand the 1948 Nakba, or catastrophe, in their popular memory. Conducting interviews with first-, second-, and third-generation members of Syria's Palestinian community, Anaheed Al-Hardan follows the evolution of the Nakba—the central signifier of the Palestinian refugee past and present—in Arab intellectual discourses, Syria's Palestinian politics, and the community's memorialization. Al-Hardan's sophisticated research sheds light on the enduring relevance of the Nakba among the communities it helped create, while challenging the nationalist and patriotic idea that memories of the Nakba are static and universally shared among Palestinians. Her study also critically tracks the Nakba's changing meaning in light of Syria's twenty-first-century civil war.

The Struggle for Power in Syria

The Struggle for Power in Syria PDF Author: Nikolaos van Dam
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Syria
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Syria: From National Independence to Proxy War

Syria: From National Independence to Proxy War PDF Author: Linda Matar
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319984586
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
This edited collection aims to analytically reconceptualise the Syrian crisis by examining how and why the country has moved from a stable to a war-torn society. It is written by scholars from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, all of whom make no attempt to speculate on the future trajectory of the conflict, but aim instead to examine the historical background that has laid the objective conditions for Syria’s descent to its current situation. Their work represents an attempt to dissect the multi-layered foundation of the Syrian conflict and to make understanding its complex inner workings accessible to a broader readership. The book is divided into four parts, each of which elaborates on the origins and dynamics of today’s crisis from the perspective of a different discipline. When put together, the four parts provide a holistic picture of Syria’s developmental trajectory from the early twentieth century through to the present day. Themes addressed include Syria’s postcolonial development efforts, its leap into socialism and then into neoliberalism in the late twentieth century, its politics within the resistance front, and finally its food and health security concerns.