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The article presents a reprint of the article "What Syrians Want" by Daniel Corstange, which appeared in the "Foreign Affairs" magazine. It discusses the Syrian public opinion on the dictatorship and five years of war in Syria. Most of Syrian refugees were found to be supporting the opposition and militant jihadi factions while majority of Sunni Arabs have split views on the government and opposition.

The article explains the complexity of the Syrian crisis by analyzing three dimensions of its manifestation: domestic, regional and international. It focuses on the regional level of the crisis but also on the international one with all its ramifications: the resurgence of a „cold war" of sorts in the Middle East, the emergence of ISIS and a new terrorist threat and the refugee problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on political sovereignty in Middle East and mentions violence in the region. Topics discussed include terror attacks, military interventions and civil wars in the region. Other topics which includes political situation in Syria and Iraq are also discussed. Sectarianism and militarization in the region are mentioned.

Having been supressed and denied their rights by successive Syrian governments over the years, Syrian Kurds are now asserting a de facto autonomy. Since the withdrawal of the Syrian President's forces from the ethnically Kurdish areas in the early months of the current civil war, the inhabitants have declared a self-rule government along the lines of the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq. For Syrian Kurds, the creation of a small autonomous region is a dream fulfilled, albeit one unrecognized by the international community. Some 15% to 17% of the Syrian population is Kurdish. Whether they can achieve statehood will depend on a reading of international law and on how the international community reacts. There are certain aspects which differentiate Kurdish self-rule in Syria from its counterpart in Iraq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented which provides information on the refugee crisis in Syria. Topics discussed include the results the Syrian civil war such as the death of about 400,000 Syrians and the use of Syria by terrorist groups as a base to expand in the Middle East, an estimated number of refugees produced by the war, and several options offered for handling the refugee crisis.

The article reconstructs a debate between Hanafi jurists who operated throughout Ottoman Greater Syria (and beyond) from the seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries concerning the evidentiary status of the Ottoman imperial registers (defters). At the centre of the jurists' debate is the permissibility of using imperial registers as independent, uncorroborated evidence. It was a debate about who had the right to regulate and determine what constituted an authentic evidential document: while some jurists argued that it was almost exclusively the privilege of the jurists, others were willing to concede this authority, at least in part, to the Ottoman dynasty and its bureaucracy. Furthermore, the article contends that the debate about the evidentiary validity of the defters captures the complex relationship between Ottoman dynastic law and the Hanafi fiqh discourse. Finally, the debate sheds light on the legal "defterization" of other types of documents and texts, such as a chronicle (taʾrīkh) and court records (sijill). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the murder of Karā Kādī, an official of the Ottomon Impire, in Aleppo, Syria on April 24, 1528 and the struggle for justice in the early 16th century. It argues that the murder highlights the resistance to the Ottoman legitimacy. It looks at the detailed description of the murder in the biographical dictionary written by Allepine scholar Radī al-Dīn Muhammad Ibn al-Hanbalī.

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has been a key diplomatic player in the current Syrian uprising; a role that stands in stark contrast to its reputation among Western authors. This article argues that this chasm between the Brotherhood's practice and reputation is a legacy of the 1982 Hama massacre. The slaughter has become a "spectacle," as per the theory of Guy Debord, leading Hama to take on an exaggerated significance in portrayals of the Brotherhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates coalition patterns between two main factions of the Syrian opposition before and after the 2011 uprising. The two factions united over common platforms on several occasions following the 2000 Damascus Spring, but failed to do so in 2011 despite repeated domestic and international pressure. Drawing upon two-level game theory to explain this change, this article argues that increased interest from both domestic and international audiences after 2011 made the two factions less flexible in negotiating a unified platform. Thus, paradoxically, it was increased pressure for unification that deterred the opposition factions from unifying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The twin refugee and ISIL crises have emerged from failed states in the MENA region, particularly Syria and Iraq, and are exacerbated by geopolitical power games, a lack of hegemonic leadership in the region, sectarianism, and the absence of inclusive and rules-based institutions of good governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts a political economy approach to examine Syria’s foreign policy during the eventful rule of Husni al-Za′im in the immediate post-independence period. In this endeavour, Syria’s foreign policy objectives have been derived from the basic characteristics it shared with other states of the global South that came to independent statehood with varying degrees of underdevelopment, dependence, vulnerability and permeability. Hence, the acquisition of foreign economic resources has been considered alongside the objectives of independence/autonomy and leadership maintenance/regime consolidation. The contention of this paper is that the interaction of these objectives as a complex process involving trade-offs is worth pursuing because it provides fundamental insights into a state’s foreign policy and contributes to its understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which formal logic can be applied to conflict analysis and resolution. It is motivated by the idea that conflicts can be understood as inconsistent sets of interests. Design/methodology/approach – A simple propositional model, based on propositional logic, which can be used to analyze conflicts, has been introduced and four algorithms have been presented to generate possible solutions to a conflict. The model is illustrated by applying it to the conflict between the Obama administration and the Syrian Government in September 2013 over the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons programme. Findings – The author shows how different solutions, such as compromises, minimally invasive solutions or solutions compatible with certain pre-defined norms, can be generated by the model. It is shown how the model can operate in situations where the game-theoretic model fails due to a lack of information about the parties’ utility values. Research limitations/implications – The model can be used as a theoretical framework for future experimental research and/or to trace the course of particular conflict scenarios. Practical implications – The model can be used as the basis for building software applications for conflict resolution practitioners, such as negotiators or mediators. Originality/value – While the idea of using logic to analyse the structure of conflicts and generate possible solutions is not new to the field of conflict studies, the model presented in this paper provides a novel way of understanding conflicts for both researchers and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that ‘Peace Infrastructures’ in Syria have disguised hegemonic power relations as seemingly ‘neutral’ and ‘innocent’ initiatives that promote tolerance, coexistence and Islam. Both government and local intermediaries have used these relevant infrastructures to expand their sociopolitical influence. Hence, based on the Syrian experience, infrastructures for peace and the associated efforts to incorporate and institutionalize local, state and mid-level participation toward localized peace, have been ultimately conflict-engendering, hegemonic pathways for power consolidation. From this perspective, employing the term ‘Infrastructures for peace’ without taking into account its correlations with power and hegemonic structures, leads to the reification of the topic and conceals significant questions about its nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article examines Iraqi political developments in the last few years. It argues that unless a constitutional mechanism for proper dispersal of political powers across Iraq's regions and branches of its government is developed quickly, it may become too late for defeating Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, stemming the sectarian and ethnic conflicts, overcoming its perpetual crises of governance or for keeping Iraq united. We suggest that a confederal structure is a better and lasting political solution for Iraq than federal or other structural configurations. We also argue that power-sharing and consensus must be intertwined directly into the constitutional fabric of the political structure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses political, social and military developments in Syria as of December 2015. It claims that the revolution in Syria was influenced by the Arab uprisings that also affected such countries as Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, political repression, and worsening socioeconomic standards. Also examined is how the protests in Syria have turned into civil war.

This article examines the phenomenon of minoritarian regimes in the Middle East, focusing on Bahrain, Syria and Israel/Palestine. It considers, in each, how minority rule was established, the mechanisms through which it is maintained, and the means through which it is legitimated. Although these regimes are not typically analyzed as a category, they have important features in common. In all three, the state's political and security institutions are controlled by members of an ethnic/religious group that is a numerical minority in the country, at the expense of a majority group with a competing claim to indigeneity. While the legal and political mechanisms that these regimes use to restrict access to power vary, they employ similar strategies for legitimating minority rule, presenting democracy as a threat not only to the regime's survival, but also to the security of the group whose interests it claims to represent. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the crisis faced by Syria following the Syrian War dealing with the displacement of several civilians, Syrian foreign policies, and the role of U.S. in the Syrian war against the Islamic State (IS). Topics include crisis faced by U.S. government as they combated the IS, political regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and role of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The article focuses on U.S. diplomatic policies to combat IS to prevent acts of terrorism by the IS. The article talks about U.S. humanitarian efforts to resolve conflict in Syria, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, and the stability of Oil prices.

The article focuses on U.S. government's role in the screening of the film "This Is Cinerama" focusing on the links between politics, technology, and cultural representation with U.S. public diplomacy. Topics include U.S. Cold War strategy, post-war situation and politics in Syria, and U.S. relations with the Soviet Union. The role of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower is mentioned. The article also discusses the United States Information Service (USIS).

A personal narrative is presented in which the author talks about his trip to Syria, his meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in February 2015, and the need to change the France's foreign policy.

This article examines the Syrian refugee challenge as a case study in order to understand the inherent contradictions evident in Turkey’s efforts to exert normative power in the Middle East. The article is divided into two sections. The first part examines how Turkey has attempted to transform itself from a country that has in the past been accused by elements in the West of “lacking [the] standards of [a] civilization” into a candidate for full European Union (EU) membership. The second part assesses the three main challenges to Ankara’s efforts as they are revealed through its response to the Syrian refugee crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arab Spring offered Kurdish political actors in the region significant opportunities to advance their goals. Particularly in Syria and Iraq, Kurdish parties took advantage of the weakening of central governments there. The Kurdish political movement in Turkey, along with its sister movement in Syria, has likewise used the struggle against the "Islamic State" to gain a lot of international sympathy and even support. At the same time, instability in the region has brought increased immediacy to the very real threats faced by Kurdish political actors, whether from hostile central governments or groups such as ISIL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Syrian conflict that broke out in March 2011 seems to not end anytime soon. For various reasons, the efforts of the international community to stop the civil war have not been successful. The Assad regime, still supported by Russia and Iran, even if has lost more and more ground against opposition forces, including the access to oil resources, is not willing to cede power. The state of insecurity and dissatisfaction in the region has increased the influence of radical Islamic groups, such as the Islamic State. In all this time, the socio-economic situation and the environment have deteriorated continously. Nearly half of the population is displaced within or outside the country, living in poverty, many settlements are in ruins, and public services are not functional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late 1950s was a turbulent period in the history of Arab nationalism. It saw the birth and demise of unity states (the United Arab Republic and the Arab Union), civil war, revolution and Western intervention. Despite its short five-month lifespan, the Iraqi–Jordanian Hashemite Arab Union contributed to the intensification of the traditional Egyptian–Iraqi rivalry, the overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy in 1958 and the American intervention in Lebanon the same year. It was the result of Arab nationalism, lingering British imperial dreams, the East–West conflict, economic considerations and an inter-Arab cold war. The Arab Union had obvious advantages over the United Arab Republic. Two such advantages were the greater number of cabinet posts granted to Jordan by the Arab Union than were granted to Syria by the United Arab Republic, and the fact that Amman retained its status as capital (one of two union capitals), whereas Damascus was downgraded to the status of provincial capital. These advantages, however, failed to prevent the premature demise of the union, which was caused by a combination of negative domestic and regional perceptions, economic constraint and military commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This conclusion summarizes the evidence explaining the divergent trajectories taken by post Arab uprising states in terms of multiple variables, each illustrated by an iconic case, namely: State Failure and Competitive governance (Syria), Regime Restoration and Hybrid Governance (Egypt) and Polyarchic Governance (Tunisia). Factors include the starting point: levels of opposition mobilization and regimes' resilience – a function of their patrimonial-bureaucratic balance; whether or not a transition coalition forms is crucial for democratization prospects. Context also matters for democratization, particularly political economic factors, such as a balance of class power and a productive economy; political culture (level of societal identity cleavages) and a minimum of international intervention. Finally, the balance of agency between democracy movements, Islamists, the military and workers shapes democratization prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article intervenes into an ongoing debate on authoritarian regimes in the Arab world following the uprisings of 2011, in particular addressing the perceived failure of those uprisings to bring about “transition” to liberal democratic models. Drawing upon the method of comparative historical sociology used in seminal analyses of democratization and dictatorship in Europe, Asia and the Americas, the article seeks to explain the varying trajectories of the Arab Uprising states in terms of several structural factors, namely the balance of class forces, the relative autonomy of the state and the geo-political context. The article provides an empirical comparison of the cases of Egypt, Tunisia and Syria as points on a continuum of outcomes following the Arab uprising. The article mounts a critique of the absence of class analysis in mainstream transition theory and hypothesises instead an important role for workers’ movements in bringing about even basic elements of liberal democracy. The empirical comparison is shown to support this hypothesis, demonstrating that in Tunisia, the state where the worker's movement was strongest a constitutional settlement has been reached while Syria, the state with the weakest and least independent workers’ movement has descended into counter-revolution and civil war: the case of Egypt lying between these two poles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article contributes to debates that aim to go beyond the “democratization” and “post-democratization” paradigms to understand change and continuity in Arab politics. In tune with calls to focus on the actualities of political dynamics, the article shows that the literatures on State Formation and Contentious Politics provide useful theoretical tools to understand change/continuity in Arab politics. It does so by examining the impact of the latest Arab uprisings on state formation trajectories in Iraq and Syria. The uprisings have aggravated a process of regime erosion – which originated in post-colonial state-building attempts – by mobilizing sectarian and ethnic identities and exposing the counties to geo-political rivalries and intervention, giving rise to trans-border movements, such as ISIS. The resulting state fragmentation has obstructed democratic transition in Syria and constrained its consolidation in Iraq. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Scholars working in the transitology tradition assume that authoritarian breakdown leads to movement towards democratization after an initial period of uncertainty. If a transition falls short of democratization, there is an assumption that a return to authoritarian normalcy has transpired. Yet, whether one looks at Egypt, Libya, Syria, or Bahrain, the emergent trend is neither democratization, a return to the old authoritarian order, or a delayed transition. Rather, the weakening and fragmenting of regimes by popular mobilizations stimulated elites’ militarization of the state apparatus and unprecedented levels of state violence against ordinary citizens in a process of regime re-making. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article challenges the sectarian narrative of Syria’s current civil war, which relies on several false assumptions about the nature of political identity. It first questions how sectarian the uprising and civil war actually are, suggesting that the conflict is ‘semi-sectarian’, given the multiple other fault lines of contention, notably class, ideology and other non-sect, sub-state ties. It then draws on the theoretical debates between primordialists, ethno-symbolists and modernists to historicise political identity development in Syria. In doing so, it reasserts the modernist case, emphasising how political identities in Syria, both national and sectarian, have developed in a complex interrelated manner in the modern era and how the recent violent mobilisation of sectarian identity is the result of long- and short-term structural, economic, socio-cultural and political factors rather than unchanging ancient animosities. Of these, the most vital remain structural changes and elite reactions to them, with the prospect of state collapse in Syria’s future the most likely cause of a descent into further sectarian chaos. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]