Case Of Syria Research Articles

Investments in the development of human capital in the conditions of war: Experience in the context of improving the public administration system

The article represents socio-political, economic, and historical research of the landscape of war conflicts’ consequences for human capital development. Both evident, statistically described and well-researched and latent, not evident and not ‘surface’ consequences are analyzed. Cases of Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine are considered based on dialectics and systemic-structural approach, in the plane of dynamics of human capital and efforts of these states in maintenance and development of human capital during war conflicts.

The role of international organizations in the protection and restoration of the cultural heritage of Ukraine in the conditions of armed aggression: Financial, economic and legal aspects

The article attempts to analyze the role of international organizations in the protection and restoration of the cultural heritage during war conflicts. The case of Ukrainian ongoing conflict is considered, based on systematization of UNESCO documents and activities, as well as the case of Syria as a ‘testing ground’ for UNESCO in efforts on protection and restoration of cultural heritage damaged due to hostilities. It is claimed that UNESCO in fact showed its low efficiency in protecting cultural heritage, but is capable of providing reasonable steps of post-war restoration and preventing illegal trade of stolen cultural heritage. The expedience of developing international law grounds for protection of cultural heritage is emphasized, together with employing mechanisms of public-private partnership in restoration projects.

Assessing the accuracy of global digital elevation models for hydrological analysis: the cases of Syria and Russia

Digital elevation models provide valuable information about the surface topography. The resolution and accuracy of the data used to create the models are critical for the results of hydrological analysis. Available global digital elevation models obtain high potential in terms of data sources; however, their performance requires meticulous evaluation for different terrain characteristics and applications. Aim. To determine the accuracy and resolution of data provided by current and old global models, namely SRTM 1, SRTM GL1, V3 ASTER, GMTED2010, PALSAR ALOS, and GTOPO 30, using the example of two terrains. The study considers the areas in Syria (Syrian coast) and Russia (Chernoyarsky and Akhtubinsky districts in the Astrakhan region) represented by different elevation models. A matching degree between model and real elevations measured by GPS was determined to carry out the hydrological analysis of the land surface. For this purpose, three statistical measures, including range, standard deviation and correlation were defined by means of BaseCamp, ARCGIS PRO & SAGA_GIS software. Data resolution indicates the degree of detail represented in the DEM dataset, which is established by the spatial sampling interval or the size of the grid cell used to represent the land surface. Data accuracy refers to the matching degree between the elevation values derived from the DEM and the actual data obtained on the surface. Results. In terms of correlation coefficient and standard deviation, the GMTED 2010 and ASTER V3 model for the Syrian region and the ALOS PALSAR and SRTM GL 1 model for the Russian region prove to be the most effective for hydrological analysis in the absence of accurate local models.

Competitive Peacekeeping Interventions, State Factionalisation and the Escalation of Organised Violence: the Case of Syria

Abstract This study investigates the paradox of peacekeeping interventions exacerbating conflict intensity, particularly when executed by various competing powers rather than the UN, through the lens of the Syrian conflict. By tracing the causal pathway from intervention to state factionalisation and subsequent violence escalation, we utilise novel data highlighting the impact of corruptive state factionalism on conflict dynamics in Syria. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses, we show that competitive interventions create credible threats and mobilise violence, thus intensifying the conflict. This research underscores the necessity for non-partisan, UN-led peacekeeping efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of competitive interventions in fragile states.

Interplay between sanctions, donor conditionality, and food insecurity in complex emergencies: the case of Syria.

Thirteen years into conflict, Syria remains one of the world's major humanitarian crises. Food insecurity has reached unprecedented levels in the country, with millions of civilians facing starvation and hunger. The key drivers of this are conflict-related, nature-induced, and, importantly, man-made policies. Semi-comprehensive sanctions against the country and donor conditionality vis-à-vis humanitarian operators' work are prime examples of the latter. These policies are inextricably linked with food insecurity in Syria and have direct and indirect impacts on it. Understanding the ongoing crisis as a complex emergency, this paper examines the interplay between sanctions, donor conditionality, and food insecurity, an understudied subject in the Syrian context. It explores how sanctions and donor conditionality influence three key dimensions of food security, namely, availability, affordability and economic access, and utilisation, and subsequently worsen the conditions confronting the Syrian population. The paper contributes to discussions on food security in conflict settings and how sanctions negatively affect civilians in targeted countries.

Peeling the multiple layers of inequalities in free higher education policies

ABSTRACT It has long been debated as to whether higher education (HE) is a site of social mobility that promotes meritocracy or social reproduction that creates and exacerbates inequalities in societies. In this paper, I will argue that HE, even when democratised and provided free to everyone, reproduces inequalities unless coupled with an inclusive sectoral design, an expansion of funding, and a wider strategy to reduce socio-economic inequalities. To do so, I studied the case of Syria, which has always claimed to have a meritocratic HE system that is designed to achieve equality in society by providing free HE for all since the 1970s. I analysed the database of the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) for 15 academic years from 2001 to 2015. This database included data on students’ access and graduation rate divided by the type of education (public, private, higher institutes, and technical institutes), level of education (undergraduate and postgraduate), gender (male and female), city, faculty, and specialisations. This analysis unpacked four types of inequalities, namely education type-based inequalities, specialisation-based inequalities, city-based inequalities, and gender-based inequalities. Finally, I show how gender dynamics and roles are changing in the HE sector as a result of the Syrian conflict.

Contemporary Sunni-Shia Dynamics: Conflict or Competition?

This article delves into the power competition between Saudi Arabia (Sunni) and Iran (Contemporary Shia) by examining their involvement in shaping Middle Eastern influence expansion through fundamentally different ideological approaches, namely Sunni and Shia. The author takes the cases of Syria and Yemen as focal points to narrow down the scope and gauge the efforts of both countries as balancing forces in the Middle East region. The paper adopts an ideological approach to identify conflict patterns and strategies employed by both nations. The objective of this paper is to explore the background of the conflict between these two countries, utilizing ideological approaches to achieve their political goals. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach, this article aims to address the research issues at hand. It reveals that Saudi Arabia and Iran play significant roles in Middle Eastern conflicts, particularly in Syria and Yemen, through various means such as funding and providing military logistical support. The ideological approach is inseparable from the missions carried out by both nations. Iran has succeeded in building alliances with local governments, thus securing victories in Yemen. However, Saudi Arabia, despite employing various alliance-building strategies, has yet to achieve success.

Classification and trends in international experience in ensuring the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens and the rights and legitimate interests of individuals in wars and military conflicts: the cases of Syria and some African states

Classification and trends in international experience in ensuring the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens and the rights and legitimate interests of individuals in wars and military conflicts: the cases of Syria and some African states

The Role of Non-State Actors in Modern Warfare: The Case of Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh

ABSTRACT The changes in the nature of modern warfare and armed conflicts is largely due to the revolutionary advances in science and technology, as well as to the rapidly changing ‘geopolitical context’. These changes have significantly transformed the scale and form of war and warfare, the political and economic prospects, as well as the key actors, with non-state armed groups playing a key role in various stages of hostilities. The tendency to involve non-state actors in hostilities became more pronounced in the post-Cold War period; it has been directly related to the hybrid nature of modern warfare. Even when the non-state armed groups do not affect the course and outcome of the war at the strategic level, they may accomplish their task at the operational-tactical level with no less efficiency, using the latest technological weapons, artificial intelligence-led devices, etc. The article examines the role of non-state actors in modern warfare and in hostilities, drawing upon the case of Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Understanding the Changing in the Battlefield over the Fourth-Generation Warfare Concept: The Case of Syria, 2011–2022

Understanding the Changing in the Battlefield over the Fourth-Generation Warfare Concept: The Case of Syria, 2011–2022

Friend and Foe: Russia–Turkey relations before and after the war in Ukraine

ABSTRACT The interaction between Russia and Turkey since 2015 suggests a new quality in foreign affairs combining tactical alliance and strategic competition. The Russian invasion of Ukraine did not change this. By studying the cases of Syria, Libya, and Nagorno-Karabakh, we observe not only elements of geopolitical competition and cooperation but also that the combination of the two contradictory approaches in foreign affairs created new opportunities beneficial to the two sides. Russian-Turkish interactions are a unique case study in international relations and are conditioned by their geopolitical competition with the west, a fact that the war in Ukraine did not alter.

Understanding Colonialism and Decolonization in Iran’s Contemporary Socio-Political Discourse

The article analyzes the perception of colonialism and anti-colonial struggle in modern Iran. The Iranian authorities attach particular importance to the anti-colonial struggle and condemnation of the colonial practices of the West, taking into account not only formal colonization, but also the actual subordination of formally independent states to the will of Western powers. In this regard, particular importance is attached to liberate the oppressed of the whole world. The purpose of the study is to examine the history of colonialism in Iran, the views of the spiritual leaders, presidents and senior officials of Iran on issues of colonialism and anti-colonial struggle, to identify historical events and personalities who played a key role in the anti-colonial movement in Iran. For this purpose, the materials of the Iranian agency IRNA and the speeches of Iranian spiritual leaders were analyzed. A statistical analysis of the most common terms on the subject of colonialism was also carried out. As a result, it was found that the Iranian discourse focuses on condemning the crimes of the West, especially the United States and Israel, against Muslims, as well as praising the resistance of the Iranian people to colonialism in the past and present, with an emphasis on the special role of Ayatollah Khomeini in the Iranian anti-colonial movement. Western colonialism in Iran is divided into several aspects: war crimes committed in the countries conquered by the West, preventing the free development of weaker countries, the struggle to change independent and patriotic regimes and impose rulers ineffective and obedient to Western elites on the peoples, and the imposition of destructive manifestations of Western culture. In addition, the Iranian policy in the Middle East is praised as being driven by noble motives and aiming to provide all possible assistance to the peoples of the region to achieve liberation from the colonialists. The case of Syria is cited as an important example of Iran’s anti-colonial struggle in the Middle East, when Iran helped the government of Bashar al-Assad to regain control of the country and to defeat the armed opposition.

Rethinking armed groups and order: Syria and the rise of militiatocracies

Abstract In recent years, the relations between weak central governments and armed groups in the periphery have attracted great attention. Rebels, warlords and other actors have not only undermined the authorities' grip on power, but gradually come to shape the nature of governance and political system in their countries. Warlordism, rebelocracies and aliocracies are just a few of the political systems identified by students of conflict and armed groups. However, the literature has generally overlooked one category of armed groups and their implications on political order: pro-government militias (PGMs). As PGMs have become ubiquitous in civil wars, this article identifies a new political order emerging in countries where central governments have become reliant on PGMs in counter-insurgency operations. The article defines this order as a militiatocracy. Unlike armed groups in other political orders, PGMs do not seek to overthrow, undermine or replace the central government. Instead, in militiatocracies, PGMs and central governments develop symbiotic relations, which on the one hand help the government to survive an insurgency, but on the other allow militia leaders to secure an increasing presence in politics. The article illustrates the emergence and nature of militiatocracies by employing the case of Syria during the civil war.

Contribution of International Non-Governmental Organizations to Peaceful Conflict Resolution Processes: The Case of the Syrian Conflict

Due to the increase in the number of conflicts, which lead to the growth of tension and destabilization of the system of international relations, the search for new mechanisms for their settlement and new participants who are able to introduce a positive agenda through interaction with all parties is an urgent research task. This paper focuses on international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), acting as such new actors and taking part in the settlement of the conflict in Syria. The purpose of the article is to analyze their contribution to the Syrian peace process, to consider their possibilities and limitations. The methodology is based on discourse analysis and case studies. The case of Syria was chosen because of the ongoing nature of the civil war there, as well as the fact that INGOs have proposed a number of new initiatives to resolve the conflict, which makes this study novel. The study identified the main organizations that propose a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and also identified the main trends in the participation of INGOs in the crisis settlement in Syria. Thus, participating in the peace process, they also implement peacebuilding projects, actively cooperate with local INGOs, and switch to remote work formats due to security problems. However, the analysis of their proposals for the peace process also revealed the main problems of the activities of INGOs within the framework of track II diplomacy, which consist in their neglect of the principle of impartiality. The ability of INGOs to promote their initiatives is also influenced by the dynamics of traditional diplomacy. The key takeaway is that, despite the complexity of the Syrian peace process and the dominant role of traditional diplomacy, INGOs have a significant positive impact on the peace process as they promote grassroots cohesion among the Syrian population and encourage them to form civil associations similar to INGOs, which are also gradually beginning to look for ways of national reconciliation.

Economy of an Intra-state Armed Conflict: The Case of Syria

Contemporary international relations have been witnessing many armed conflicts. As usual, they do not cause dissolution of states due to the factors that include adaptation of economies to extraordinary conditions with common and specific features of country cases. The need of analyzing them to find ways for conflicts’ settlement explains the theoretical importance of the article. Facing the diversity of notions describing conflicts, the author assumes existence of a notion of economy of an intra-state armed conflict (EISAC). Such hypothesis looks new exploiting two groups of arguments based on content analysis and empiric materials accumulated during the author’s stints as a diplomat in Damascus. Firstly, any EISAC has closer links with the conflict itself than the relevant state. It can emerge under scenarios of “failed state” (Somalia), “partially failed state” (Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen), parallel economies (Syria), a formal split of a state (South Sudan), or in more than a country (ISIS). Secondly, Libya, Syria, and Yemen have proved that the EISAC does not mean manipulation with meanings of similar definitions including a wartime militarized economy or a peace-time defense sector (USSR, North Korea) not correlating with the crisis generating economy (Lebanon) or the sanctioned economy (Iraq:1980-2003, Iran). Also, it does not make a hyponym of the economy in a conflict inspired by foreign aggression (Kuwait: 1990-1991). Yet, the scale of damage caused by foreign aggressions could be compared with that resulting from intra-state conflicts. Syria has been chosen as its economy has acquired classical features of the EISAC.

Feeding the world in a narrowing safe operating space

Feeding the world in a narrowing safe operating space

International Humanitarian Law Perspective on Un-Targeting Attack

The Syrian conflict started on January 26th, 2011. At first, the conflict in Syria was an internal conflict between the government of Bashar Al Assad and the Rebel, the descent into war began with the violent and brutal repression of peaceful pro-reform protests, which later turned into an armed uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, and has since become a regional conflict involving state and non-state actors. In the development of the conflict, some parties intervened to provide support for the Bashar al-Assad. One of the countries that intervene against Syria is Russia. In the armed conflict which happened in Syria on September 2015 and early October 2016, more than 9,000 people, including 4,000 Syrian civilians, were killed by the Russian airstrikes. The International Humanitarian Law hostilities regulate the protection of victims of conflict and restrictions on the means and methods of warfare. This study aims to identify the obstacles of legal enforcement of international humanitarian law toward un-targeting attack in Syria. In addition, this study tries to reveal the responsibility of these states, both Russia and Syria for the loss and injury caused by an un-targeting attack. The result shows that the obstacles of law enforcement in Syria case caused Syria is not a state party in several international conventions. Therefore, these conventions are not applicable formally in the armed conflict in Syria. Based on International Humanitarian Law, Syria Government is responsible for the un-targeting attack that occurred in Syria, and required to make full reparation for the loss or injury caused by such violations. They are required to make full reparation for the loss or injury caused by an un-targeting attack. Furthermore, Individuals belonging to an Organizations or State are held personally responsible before the law. Then, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) must carry out UN Charter Articles 41 and 42 and UNSC as the main organ responsible for maintaining international peace and security.

An evaluation of Climate Change and Water Scarcity as a causative factor of Political Instability in the Middle East Region: The Case of Syria

The Middle East region has been thrown into a theatre of conflicts in recent decades, with almost all the countries in the region been affected by one conflict or the other. Notable among them conflicts is the Arab spring, which saw the toppling of most dictatorial regimes in the region, others include the conflicts in Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Palestine, among others. The true causative factors of these conflicts and political upheavals in the Middle East region have still been debated. It is predicating on this background that this paper seeks to; trace the root(s) of the conflicts in the Middle East Region. The paper links the exacerbating effects of climate change, and water scarcity to the political instability in Syria, and the Middle East in general. The paper traces the genesis of the conflict to the worst global faming in 100 years, which drove food crises, especially bread to an all-time high. The situation is identified to have resulted to a water scarcity, as well as forced both crop and animals’ farmers out of their source of living in Syria.

Rethinking the Climate–Conflict Nexus: A Human–Environmental–Climate Security Approach

Abstract Scholars of environmental politics and policy experts have long debated whether climate change can be linked to violent conflict. I present a new framework called human–environmental–climate security (HECS), which integrates critiques of traditional security frameworks while offering a systematized method of process tracing. Using existing concepts of vulnerability and resilience, I illustrate the empirical utility of centering the human subject and local conceptions of security when analyzing the role of climate in armed conflict. I develop this framework using the cases of Syria, Sudan, and Morocco. I argue that the ecological drivers of conflicts in Sudan and Syria are best understood as a result of policy decisions that reflected the ideology and preferences of ruling elites rather than direct functions of climate change. Conversely, I present the case of Morocco as a counterfactual in which sound government policy attenuated environmental drivers of conflict. In doing so, this approach considers the impacts of international and domestic structures of inequality on people’s climate vulnerability and resilience.

Household composting in North Syria case study

The purpose of this study (Technical Assessment) is to recognize how to convert solid waste materials into composting in North Syria, Non-State Armed Group (NSAG) controlled areas, and indicates the produced mass of the compost per capita, the assessment showed that: the weather condition in the north of Syria is suitable for converting the domestic solid waste into compost within 99-111 days at the temperature: 10-350C, The volume of the compost is about: 49.3%-55.2% of the volume of the solid waste before composting, that means the composting by housed hold could minimize the volume of solid waste to 44.8%-50.7% so the environment pollution of the and cost of dealing with the solid waste will be low, in general, the loss of mass and volume will have occurred during the composting process. The productivity of compost of each family is about: 0.69 – 0.8 kg/day and the production per capita is 0.08-0.129 kg/day, and the density of the compost 851.6-933.8 kg/m3. Only 6% of people who are involved in the questionnaire in Aleppo and Idleb governorates have no access to farmland whereas 94% of people have access to the farms and about 75% of people who have access to the farmland use fertilization, 92.35% of the interviewees reported that they are not familiar with the processes of converting the domestic solid waste into compost, whereas 7.65% reported that they are familiar with the composting process, and 57.1% of them reported that they were interested to convert the solid waste into compost and 42.9% of them expressed that they were not interest of composting; data shows the reasons why people were not interested in converting the solid waste into compost:13.3% do not have the composting tools, 67.2% are not familiar with composting processes, 12.8% do not need compost and 6.7% of people need a long time to perform the composting.