Syrian Civil War Research Articles

Göçmen Öğrencilerin İlk Okuma Yazma Öğrenme Sürecinde Karşılaştıkları Sorunlara İlişkin Öğretmen Görüşleri

Due to adverse living conditions, healthcare system issues, natural disasters, wars, famine, etc., people migrate to different countries every day to start a new life as immigrants. Recently, Türkiye has received migration flows due to wars in Syria and Ukraine. Additionally, there have been migrations from countries with low living standards, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. It can be said that children are the most affected group by these migrations. Educational support programs have been implemented for students coming through migration. Especially during the initial stages of learning to read and write, immigrant children have faced significant challenges. The aim of this study is to identify and evaluate the problems encountered in the process of teaching initial reading and writing to immigrant students, according to the views of teachers. As the focus is on identifying the problems encountered in the initial reading and writing instruction of immigrant students, a qualitative research method has been employed in the study. Among the qualitative research designs, "case study" has been preferred. The study was conducted in the spring semester of the 2022-2023 academic year in Denizli and Şanlıurfa. Participants are primary school teachers working in state schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education. The "criterion sampling method" was used in selecting participants, considering the criterion of "teachers with immigrant students in their classes." These students are refugees or have refugee status and have a foreign background. A total of 49 (34 female, 15 male) primary school teachers were reached in the research. Teachers participated in the study on a voluntary basis. A researcher-developed personal information form and an open-ended question form were used to obtain research data. The open-ended question form was developed with expert opinions. Participants in the sample were reached through Google Forms or directly. Content analysis was employed in data analysis. The data were transferred to the computer, and codes were identified. Related codes were grouped together to reach sub-themes. Sub-themes were combined to form themes. When explaining themes and sub-themes, direct quotations were included. According to the results obtained from the research, parents cannot assist their children's studies at home adequately because they do not know Turkish well enough. The majority of immigrant students, due to not having received preschool education, have readiness levels below what is expected. These students experience difficulties in pronouncing certain letters, writing from left to right, speaking and understanding Turkish, and communicating with their peers. According to teachers' views, even if immigrant students somehow learn to read, they struggle to comprehend what they read. These students cannot read sentences meaningfully because they are not familiar with the stress and intonation of Turkish. They also face difficulties in writing letters of the Latin alphabet because they are not familiar enough with them.

Example of Syrian Refugees in the Scope of Turkey's Migration Policy and Management

The phenomenon of migration is a concept that is often encountered today. The phenomenon of migration has a critical importance especially for many regions and countries that have faced with immigrants and migration flows in various periods. Nowadays, many countries continue to struggle with regular and irregular migration, and many countries host refugees from different regions or countries. At this point, Turkey has been seen as a bridge between the West and the East and has been accepted as a migration country or migration route for refugees. In this context, Turkey draws attention as a country that has been exposed to migration flows from various regions and geographies from the past to the present. Furthermore, especially since 2011, the increase in Syrian refugees in Turkey after the internal conflict and war in Syria and refugees who left their country and migrated to Turkey in recent years, brought along various problems in Turkey. These increasing refugees and refugee flows have required Turkey to make various policies and regulations. This article will focus on the Syrian refugees problem in Turkey and analyze Turkey's migration policies and migration management regarding refugees.

Tourism market in turbulent times: evidence of asymmetric connectedness

ABSTRACT Tourism markets have faced significant challenges due to global geopolitical and economic events. This study aims to investigate the asymmetric connectedness across regional and country-level tourism markets. By employing a time–frequency-domain analysis informed by the efficient market hypothesis and modern portfolio theory, we construct connectedness networks for both regional and country-level markets. Our findings reveal a strong asymmetric connectedness in these markets, with negative return spillovers being particularly prominent during events such as the 9/11 attacks, London and Madrid bombings, the 2007–2009 global financial crisis, European debt crisis, Syrian and Libyan civil wars, the emergence of ISIS, and the COVID-19 outbreak. These insights offer valuable implications for stakeholders in regional and country-level tourism markets and suggest effective strategies for recovery and resilience.

Effectiveness of resource management of Lebanese NGOs in response to COVID-19 and the Syrian crisis

Crises are appearing widely in different regions of the world. The Syrian war was considered one of the largest humanitarian crises where Lebanon hosted many displaced Syrians. Recently, the coronavirus outbreak coincided with a severe socio-political and economic crisis in the country. COVID-19 affected NGOs’ response to the community and refugees. Henceforth, the study examined NGO activities and strategies in response to the Syrian refugee crisis during and after COVID-19 to identify future effective practices. The paper is based on qualitative data. Forty representatives from NGOs in Lebanon participated in semi-structured interviews. They reported on (i) the influence of COVID-19 on NGOs’ activities, (ii) effective strategies for supporting Syrian refugees and the host community, and (iii) evaluation of NGOs’ achievements and failures to provide services for the community during COVID-19. Data disclosed that COVID-19 enhanced the need for different activities to support refugees and the host community but failed to procure funds and get the necessary support from the funding agencies. The paper suggested that both government and donor agencies should enhance support for NGOs during crisis times, with better communication among stakeholders being crucial. A resource dependency theory was developed and supported by stakeholder perspectives. Based on the research findings, implications, and future research suggestions are proposed.

Community engagement and crowdsourcing for effective disaster response and rescue operations during the earthquake in Syria

IntroductionOn February 6, 2023, at 4:17 a.m., a catastrophic earthquake struck the regions of southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria, leaving over 51.000 casualties, and hundreds of thousands lost their homes. In Syria, the area affected by the earthquake was already vulnerable due to the protracted Syrian conflict. AimThe aim of this article was to present a report from the field where community engagement and crowdsourcing were used to support search and rescue efforts during the Syrian earthquake. MethodsThe process was divided into 3 stages: 1- Emergency response, 2- Humanitarian aid response, 3- Systematic response. Data was collected through Google form and mapped on Google Earth. The form was distributed through social media platforms to collect the data from the affected locations.Criteria were developed to validate the data received and confirm the location affected. Confirmed locations were communicated with relevant authorities and the civil community. Resultswithin the first 24 h, 1259 reports on affected locations and collapsed building were received. Data analysis resulted in a map of 129 confirmed locations with 1083 collapsed building. The majority were in Aleppo and Idlib. This process helped organise the search and rescue operations and direct them to correct locations. ConclusionThe present article described using community engagement and crowdsourcing in supporting emergency response and rescue operations to manage the aftermath of the massive earthquake that hit Syria in February 2023. The methodology presented in the article demonstrated the potential of utilising community engagement and crowdsourcing to improve disaster response efforts and outcomes.

Beyond towards The Stranger

This article discusses the relevance of the Baumanian-Levinasian notion of religion within a concrete analysis of refugee reception. As various classical approaches and definitions of religion have described it as a social phenomenon of grouping or an ideological tool for maintaining social order, it is necessary to provide a relevant approach to discussing religion as an ethical drive to build social inclusion through transmigration. The previous 2015 Western Europe immigration crisis due to the Syrian civil war has invited xenophobic responses towards immigrants, inevitably resulting in the socio-political impact of Brexit in 2020. Demonstrations of refugee resettlement driven by religious causes have provided a practical and ethical critique of secular liberalism. Furthermore, this article also reflects on the church's role as a refuge for refugees and marginalised groups in Indonesia. In conclusion, the Baumanian-Levinasian thought on religion and ethics remains relevant to both Western and Indonesian contexts in fostering inclusion, particularly during political turmoil.

Evolution of the Syrian Peace Process and the Position of the “Key” States Regarding the Syria’s Return to the Arab Fold

Introduction: The Syrian conflict remains one of the most acute unresolved conflicts of our time. Its internationalization, the active intervention of foreign states, especially the United States and Turkey in the dynamics of the conflict and their military presence on Syrian territory, remain obstacles to the settlement. However, the spring of 2023 was marked by a number of political events in the Middle East, which allow us to take a fresh look at the prospects for the Syrian peace process. Against the backdrop of increasing Israeli strikes against Syria, a serious strengthening of Iran's position and cross-border se­curity threats spreading from Syria in the face of de­teriorating socio-economic indicators in Syria due to Western sanctions, the leading Arab countries began to reconsider their relations with earlier rejected by them President B. Assad and started negotiations on the "return" of Syria to the Arab family. Materials and methods: Russian and foreign studies on the Syrian peace process, news sources of the world media were used as materials for writing the article. The methodological base was made up of discourse analysis and a comparative analysis of the approaches of the largest regional powers to the issue of resolving the Syrian conflict. Research results: The admission of Syria to the League of Arab States, the opening of diplomatic missions of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman in Syria allow us to conclude that the peace process is now in the hands of the countries of the Middle East region. The peace process also no longer consists of negotiations between the regional countries involved in the conflict and the Syrian government solely over the political structure of Syria, but rather consists of negotiations on the conditions for the legitimization of the Syrian au­thorities. Discussion and conclusion: At the same time, the role of Russia in the peace process is to organize negotiations between Syria and a number of the most authoritative Middle Eastern states: Turkey and Iran, in order to find acceptable conditions for the normalization and withdrawal of their troops from the territory of Syria in exchange for guarantees of their security and maintaining a certain balance of their interests in Syria and the Middle East region as a whole. The existing joint foreign policy interests in other regions of Russia with Turkey and Iran built interdependence relations and gave Moscow certain levers of influence on them in the Syrian negotiation process, which makes it an influential participant in the settlement of the conflict.

GEÇİCİ KORUMA STATÜSÜ ALTINDAKI SURİYELİLERİN ENTEGRASYONUNU VE REFAHINI ARTIRMADA YEREL YÖNETİMLERİN ROLÜ: ADANA BÜYÜKŞEHİR BELEDİYESİ ÖRNEĞİ

This study examines the impact of the Syrian civil war on Türkiye, specifically the migration of Syrians to Türkiye and the legal and institutional arrangements made for their temporary protection. Initially, Syrian immigrants settled in camps along the Syrian border, but they were later allowed to reside outside the camps, leading to their integration into Turkish society. The study analyzes the legal and institutional arrangements for Syrians under temporary protection status and the services provided by the Adana Metropolitan Municipality. The role of local governments in migration policies and the financing of services for immigrants are also explored. The strategic plan and activity reports of the Adana Metropolitan Municipality are analyzed to understand the various projects undertaken by the municipality in collaboration with international stakeholders to improve the integration and social and economic welfare of immigrants.
 The findings of the study show that the Adana Metropolitan Municipality has implemented numerous initiatives to support the integration of Syrian immigrants into Turkish society. These initiatives include education and vocational training programs, health services, and social support programs. The study also emphasizes the importance of local government involvement in migration policies and the need for adequate funding to ensure that essential services are provided to immigrants.

Making Room for Refugee Interpretation of Labelling: A Case Study from the Turkish–Syrian Border

Abstract Turkey admitted millions of refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war. However, the situation of Syrians in Turkey remains precarious under the temporary protection regime, unable to qualify as Convention refugees due to Turkey’s geographic reservation to the 1967 Protocol and with limited access to work permits and citizenship. Based on in-depth interviews, we provide a case study of refugee perspectives on refugee “labelling” as an absurd, historically contingent, and myth-telling process, which contributes to a growing body of research taking a bottom-up approach to understanding refugee protection. We put forward a refugee-interpreted view on labelling, finding that refugees explained labelling as an opaque and unpredictable digitised process, administrated through paper documents which act as talismans but also scams. Our study provides rich detail about how refugees subvert and cope with the labelling process through humour and mockery, historicity, and developing alternate forms of identity. We sought to use these interviews to work with refugees to turn a critical gaze on the paradigm of labelling from a refugee perspective and address the lack of empirical research centring refugee interpretations of labelling.

Bentuk Pertanggungjawaban Pelanggaran Ham Terhadap Tawanan Perang Menurut Hukum Dan Ham Internasional

Introduction: The Syrian conflict was motivated by the Arab Spring, which was related to demonstrations and popular resistance in the Middle East and North Africa which ended with the fall of the ruling regimes in these regional countries.Purposes of the Research: The research method uses a normative juridical method. This type of research is descriptive analytical using primary, secondary and tertiary sources of legal materials where the collection of legal materials is carried out using library research. Furthermore, the analysis technique uses qualitative analysis, by identifying facts, eliminating irrelevant things, determining the issue and then concluding the results of the analysis according to the problem being studied.Methods of the Research: The research method uses a normative juridical method. This type of research is descriptive analytical using primary, secondary and tertiary sources of legal materials where the collection of legal materials is carried out using library research. Furthermore, the analysis technique uses qualitative analysis, by identifying facts, eliminating irrelevant things, determining the issue and then concluding the results of the analysis according to the problem being studied.Results of the Research: Legal violations against prisoners of war based on international legal and human rights instruments according to the Geneva Convention III of 1949 (Geneva Convention (III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of Wat) and Additional Protocol I year 1977 (Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of international Armed Conflicts) have the right to be treated with dignity and humanity, such as not being forced to provide information unless they know their identity. Their torture and cruel treatment is seen as a war crime. prisoners of war must be moved from dangerous areas to safe places. Their living conditions must be equivalent to those of members of the armed forces of the host nation. Accountability for legal violations against prisoners for serious human rights violations against prisoners of war legally basically refers to the principle of exhaustion of local remedies through the mechanism of a national court forum. The unwillingness and inability of countries suspected of committing serious violations of human rights to resolve the problem of these violations at the national level can underlie the emergence of the judicial competence of the International Criminal Court (ICC). War crimes and crimes against humanity in accordance with the Rome Statute (Article 5 paragraph (1).

Türkiye-Avrupa Birliği İlişkileri Bağlamında Çatışmalar, Düzensiz Göç ve Türkiye’nin Güvenliği

Due to its geographical proximity to conflict zones, Turkey has become the target country for asylum seekers and refugees from different countries having diverse ethnic origins. Turkey’s emerging role as a target country became even more problematic due to the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, triggered by the Arab Spring. The Syrian conflict not only led to an increased flow of refugees but also destabilized the Turkish borders. In this regard, Turkey has established a set of strategies and transformations to tackle these issues. This paper examines how migration has evolved as a security issue for Turkey in the last four decades, in general. In particular, the study deals with the security-related issues in terms of migration from the Turkish perspective and evaluates the refugee crisis in 2016 and its implications for Turkey and the European Union. The article concludes with reactions to irregular migration and the refugee flow by shedding light on both Turkey and the European Union’s perspectives.

Gender based violence (GBV) coordination in a complex, multi-crisis context: a qualitative case study of Lebanon’s compounded crises (2019–2023)

BackgroundSince 2019 Lebanon has faced multiple compounded crises. Political and social instability, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Beirut Port explosion, alongside the influx of refugees related to the ongoing Syrian conflict, have resulted in a nationwide economic emergency. In the context of the humanitarian response to the Syrian conflict, the UN and government-led gender-based violence (GBV) task force has coordinated the sub-sector since 2012. The compounded crisis, however, created new challenges for GBV coordination and service delivery, which we explore in this paper. We highlight lessons for strengthening GBV coordination in Lebanon and other complex emergencies.MethodsWe conducted 29 remote in-depth interviews, reviewed key policy documents and observed seven GBV task force meetings. We analysed and presented our findings across three key themes: context-relevant and adaptable coordination mechanisms; coordination to support GBV service delivery; and stakeholders’ roles, legitimacy and power.ResultsParallel response frameworks developed to address the multiple crises, created a complex humanitarian architecture within an increasingly challenging operating context, with some perceived inefficiencies. Positively, coordination was integrated under the established government-UN interagency system and the GBV task force maintained GBV sub-sector coordination. The task force was commended for effectively adapting to the evolving context, including working remotely, maintaining essential GBV services, assessing the compounded crises’ impact on programming and adjusting accordingly, and harmonising guidance, tools and approaches. The importance of ensuring a government co-led response was highlighted by both UN and government informants, who pointed to examples where marginalising government leadership compromised coordination effectiveness and sustainability. The participation of local actors had become increasingly important but more difficult, with the impact of the various crises, and remote modalities, challenging service delivery and staff wellbeing.ConclusionExperiences from Lebanon highlight the essential role of government leadership in coordination; the value of investing in local GBV capacity; the significance of effective national, subnational and intersectoral coordination to support service delivery and address cross-cutting GBV issues; the importance of targeted interventions to support marginalised populations; and the need to prioritize the well-being of front-line staff during crisis response. In Lebanon, and other complex crises, donors are encouraged to increase flexible, multiyear funding for GBV coordination and services, while women-led organizations should be at the forefront of recovery efforts, contributing to a more equitable society.

Türkiye'nin Kriz Yönetimine Yaklaşımı: Suriye Örneği

This study aims to shed light on Türkiye's crisis management approach and comprehensively analyze Türkiye's cross-border operations in the Syrian theater. It focuses on the practical side of crisis management and highlights Türkiye's success in managing the Syrian Civil War, which poses an existential threat to Türkiye. Despite facing significant challenges, such as the July 15 coup attempt, Türkiye has managed crises effectively, as evidenced by its successive cross-border operations in the Syrian theater as part of the fight against terrorism. The reason for choosing the operations in Syria after the July 15 coup attempt as the sample is that both crises occurred back-to-back, and the Syrian Civil War is Türkiye's most crucial crisis in the 21st century. As a result of the spread of the Arab Spring process to Türkiye's southern neighbor with a 911 km land border, Syria has become a failed state, its state apparatus has gradually disappeared, and its public structure has ceased to exist. During this process, various terrorist organizations and non-state armed groups emerged in the country. These organizations found extensive areas of operation, extended their initial local influence to a regional level, and significantly strengthened their influence in political, economic, and social circles. DAESH and YPG/PKK are among the most prominent of these organizations, not to mention various other groups linked to Al-Qaeda. The post-2011 political, military, and economic turmoil in Syria, the emerging power vacuum in the region, and the states, non-state armed actors, and terrorist organizations trying to fill this vacuum have caused severe ruptures in Türkiye's security approaches. However, it has faced significant challenges in tackling crises stemming from terrorism and migration. The approach of providing security behind the borders and meeting terrorism on the country's territory has deepened the security crisis stemming from terrorism in Türkiye in the five years.

Kamu Diplomasisi, Göç ve Mülteci Siyaseti: Türkiye Örneği

Public diplomacy, which is a candidate to replace the classical understanding of diplomacy, is based on the idea of explaining the ideas, ideals, values, institutions, culture, and policies of a country or nation to the public opinion of other countries. The aim here is to create a sphere of influence on other peoples and win their hearts and minds. Through public diplomacy, which is based on strategic communication logic, countries' foreign policies can find a wider area of legitimacy. Türkiye has a strong soft power reserve with its ancient history, culture, language, political system, geography, various TV series, and movies. It is also among the most generous countries in the world in terms of humanitarian diplomacy, which is a sub-dimension of public diplomacy. After the civil war in Syria, Türkiye has hosted more than 3.5 million Syrians and has been hosting more than a million irregular migrants and refugees from different countries. Türkiye's migration policies based on humanitarian values are supported by a kind of public diplomacy. Turkey has been hosting millions of Syrian refugees for more than 12 years. During this endless process of hosting Syrians, Turkey has been faced with significant economic, political, social and cultural problems. Turkey, which has to bear the economic, political and social costs of migrants and refugees on its own, has to create public opinion both for the global sharing of this burden and for the establishment of a peaceful environment in Syria and the repatriation of refugees. Public diplomacy activities are a holistic approach that includes the aforementioned public opinion building. This study analyzes Türkiye's migration and refugee policy from a public diplomacy perspective.

Educational Challenges that Syrian Refugee Students with Disabilities Experience

Since the beginning of civil war in Syria, Türkiye has been receiving millions of Syrian refugees. Based on the reports of Ministry of National Education (MONE) in Türkiye, more than one million refugees in Türkiye are at school age. Children are one of the most effected groups from the refugee flow. The related literature indicated that lack of communication and language skills, limited support by parents, economic and cultural differences were reported as educational challenges that typically developing Syrian refugee children in Türkiye have been experiencing. There are few studies explored the educational challenges that Syrian refugee children with disabilities have ben experiencing. Thus, this study explored the educational challenges that Syrian refugee children with disabilities experiencing. A structured and a semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight parents of refugee children with disabilities and eight teachers of students. This study found that, language and communication barriers, cultural differences, economic issues, limited cooperation, and lack of educational materials were the challenges regarding education of refugee children with disabilities. This study provided implications for practice and suggestions for future research.Keywords: Educational Challenge, Syrian, Refugee, Disability, Parent, Teacher

Worst of Friends, Best of Rivals: Agency vs Structure in Turkey-Russia Relations

The article studies the dynamics behind the unprecedented rapprochement between Turkey and Russia since the 2000s. It explains the growing degree of co-operation between Ankara and Moscow through the role of political leadership as well as to Turkey’s adjustment to the changing balance of power at the regional and global level. At the same time, the article highlights the competitive aspects of the relationship. It does so with reference to a series of case studies: the war in Syria, Turkey’s intervention in Libya since 2019, the purchase of S-400 surface to air missiles, energy security in the Black Sea the Southern Caucasus, and Turkey’s response to Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Limitations On Warfare Methods: A Brief Examination Under International Humanitarian Law

The intricate landscape of modern warfare poses multi-faceted challenges to International Humanitarian Law (IHL). This research offers a nuanced examination of the limitations of warfare methods under IHL, underpinned by a systematic literature review (SLR) and an in-depth analysis of select case studies. By leveraging the PRISMA framework, a comprehensive search through notable databases yielded 42 salient articles. The study navigated through critical events, including the Rwandan Genocide, the Syrian conflict, the Mali cultural property crisis, and the environmental aftermath of the Gulf War. Through qualitative analysis, each case study was dissected for breaches, international responses, and the IHL framework's efficacy in addressing the challenges posed. Findings underscored significant gaps in IHL's applicability and enforcement. While the Rwandan genocide elucidated the international community's inertia, the Syrian conflict spotlighted IHL's frailties amidst multi-actor wars. Mali brought the urgent need for robust cultural property protection to the fore, while the Gulf War highlighted IHL's inadequacies in preempting environmental catastrophes. This study accentuates the pressing need for revisiting, fortifying, and expanding the IHL parameters to resonate with contemporary warfare realities. It advocates for a more agile, anticipatory, and encompassing IHL that delineates rights and wrongs and guarantees redress and reparation. The synthesis of historical case insights with present-day implications offers a roadmap for a more resilient IHL, paving the way for a harmonized global response to future conflicts.

SYRIAN IMMIGRATION EFFECT ON SOCIAL CAPITAL IN TURKEY: EMPIRICAL STUDY

ABSTRACT
 The aim of this study is to examine the impact of migration from Syria on Turkey's social capital. In this context, Turkey's social capital index produced at the provincial level and be considered as intervention year of 2012, the pre-intervention of 2007 and 2017 were evaluated after the intervention. One of the methods accepted in the impact analysis literature to examine the impact of immigrants who entered Turkey after the Syrian civil war on social capital; single group designs, comparative group designs, difference-in-difference method and trend score matching methods are applied and the results are interpreted. Accordingly, it was observed that Syrian migration did not have a positive or negative effect on the social capital index values evaluated within the scope of the criteria discussed in this study.

The crime effect of refugees

AbstractWe analyze the impact on crime of millions of refugees who entered and stayed in Turkey as a result of the civil war in Syria. Using a novel administrative data source on the flow of offense records to prosecutors’ offices in 81 provinces of the country each year, and utilizing the staggered movement of refugees across provinces over time, we estimate instrumental variables models that address potential endogeneity of the number of refugees and their location and find that an increase in the number of refugees leads to more crime. We estimate that the influx of refugees between 2012 and 2016 generated additional 75,000 to 150,000 crimes per year, although it is not possible to identify the distribution of these crimes between refugees and natives. Additional analyses reveal that a low‐educated native population has a separate, but smaller, effect on crime. Our results underline the need to quickly strengthen the social safety systems, to take actions to dampen the impact on the labor market, and to provide support to the criminal justice system for mitigating the repercussions of massive influx of individuals into a country, and to counter the social and political backlash that typically emerges in the wake of such large‐scale population movements.

Renewable Rush in Syria Faces Economic Crisis

<p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;">Since 2011, the conflict in Syria left the country with a devastating energy sector and fragile economy. The residents struggle daily to live with only two hours a day of electricity. The crisis encouraged some Syrians to assemble photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate energy. Unfortunately, the geopolitical risks, the inflation, and displacement are making the situation worse. The geopolitical risks are complex and multifaceted due to the ongoing war and the involvement of various regional and international actors. In this letter, we focus on the situation in war-torn Syria, its economy, and the opportunities for renewable energy development in the country. We also give some recommendations for academics and policy makers.</span></p>