Syria Policy Research Articles

Military diplomacy and Russia’s policy in Syria

Military diplomacy and Russia’s policy in Syria

Сирия в системе региональной безопасности в 2000—2011 годах

Syria’s role in regional security in the period of 2000-2011 is discussed. Special attention is paid to the coming to power of Bashar Assad, marked by attempts to soften the confrontation of Syria with regional and extra-regional powers, while simultaneously building a flexible system of situational alliances. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that an independent foreign policy of Syria have angered the US, which during the presidency of George W. Bush sought to establish a doctrine of American leadership in several regions of the world. It is proved that the aggravation of contradictions with the USA and Israel objectively was promoted by the Second Intifada, since Damascus has traditionally supported the Palestinian people’s struggle for national self-determination. Special attention is paid to the fact that Syria made a “turn to the East,” was to improve relations with Iran and Russia. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that the reasons are shown for the uncompromising attitude of the West towards the fate of the Syrian political regime in the civil war in the country, namely that the government of Bashar Assad has intensified confrontation with the West.

Paradoxes in Turkey’s Syria policy: Analyzing the critical episode of agenda building

AbstractThis article explores the discursive reasons behind the paradoxes in Turkey’s foreign policy since the onset of the Syria crisis. By looking at representation of Turkey’s Syria policy in two prominent pro-government newspapers, Star and Yeni Şafak, the authors highlight the significance of the February 2012 episode, after which Ankara experienced deep discursive dilemmas for three reasons: the uncertain portrayal of the dyadic context, the ambiguous framing of third-party roles, and ambivalent agenda building. Despite the shadow of imminent civil war, Turkey’s foreign policy elite refrained from framing the real risks arising within Syria. Idealistic-normative calls appealed to massacre rhetoric in order to legitimize humanitarian intervention. However, the geopolitical framing of third-party roles did not assist in the building of diplomatic ground for international intervention. Quite the contrary, it led to the shaping of public opinion toward realistic-utilitarian interference. Swinging between intervention and interference, Ankara pushed itself toward a liminal position. Even though the Turkish government’s rhetorical ambivalence helped to sway anti-war domestic public opinion, it did not help to control the spiraling of Syria into civil war. That is to say, the ambivalent agenda building in the critical February 2012 episode perpetuated paradoxes in Turkey’s Syria policy and left lingering implications for the transformation of the Syrian crisis in the years to come.

The United States’ Syria quandary

Following the collapse of the latest ceasefire, the Obama administration faces increasing pressure from interventionists for more robust military action against the Assad regime. But the United States' military options are problematic. The administration's Syria policy will probably not change substantially before he leaves office in January, though Hillary Clinton – his likely successor – has indicated that she would lean farther forward, in particular by imposing no-fly zones.

Mediation in Syria: initiatives, strategies, and obstacles, 2011–2016

ABSTRACTThis article investigates mediation efforts in Syria from the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 through the spring of 2016. It describes the principal initiatives, analyses differences and similarities across mediators, and identifies strategic obstacles that prevented substantive progress. Focusing on mediation initiatives undertaken by the Arab League and the United Nations, it finds that there is considerable path dependence across efforts and that most of the limited achievements, notably ceasefires in 2012 and 2016, resulted from the application of external leverage. Settlement in Syria was conditioned on overcoming significant commitment problems, aggravated by sectarian mistrust, the fractured nature of the opposition, and international disunity. The article contributes the first review of mediation in Syria that comprehends the conflict in its entirety, systematizes data for research on conflict management, and evaluates existing mediation policy in Syria with an eye to the future.

Las dinámicas de seguridad internas y externas de la política de Catar frente al levantamiento sirio

Catar jugó un papel fundamental en apoyar la oposición a Bashar al-Assad desde el comienzo del levantamiento sirio en 2011. Mientras que Kuwait emergió como un conducto clave (extraoficial) para las transferencias financieras de los estados del Golfo a Siria y como apoyo de Arabia Saudí, al inicio tomó forma de flujo ilícito de militantes y armas para grupos de combatientes de la oposición, Catar adoptó desde el inicio una posición política para organizar la organización siria, además de proveer decenas de millones de dólares a los grupos rebeldes. El apoyo catarí, cada vez más controvertido, era percibido como relacionado con grupos unidos a la Hermandad Musulmana siria. A lo largo del 2012, Catar y Arabia Saudí apoyaron a grupos rivales, contribuyendo a la fragmentación de la oposición, antes de que la responsabilidad por el «archivo sirio» se traspasase de modo decisivo de Doha a Riyadh en primavera de 2013. Esto representó un duro revés a la ambición de Catar de convertirse en un poder regional y resaltó cómo la política sobre Siria de Catar estaba debilitada por la falta de capacidad institucional para sostener los procesos de toma de decisiones altamente personalizados.

Here's How to Make Russia Sanctions Really Bite

The recent Panama Papers situation would seem to support economic and other sanctions against Russia, irrespective of Russian foreign policy in Crimea, Syria and Eastern Ukraine.Consequently, the West should expand its current sanctions in two ways:First, their scope should expand to cover a significantly larger share of the Russian political and economic elite.Second, Western law enforcement should target the Russian ruling elite’s wealth held illegally in Western bank accounts, securities, and real estate. Much of its wealth, secreted away in the West for safekeeping, is the fruit of the poisonous tree under foreign, domestic Russian, and international law.If the West were to adopt change its law enforcement priorities by elevating its approach, it would merely being selective in choosing whom to investigate and possibly prosecute.

The Effect of ‘Religious Extremism’ in Russia on Country’s Foreign Policy in Syria

The Effect of ‘Religious Extremism’ in Russia on Country’s Foreign Policy in Syria Olga Ermolaeva Abstract From the beginning of a civil war in Syria, Russia played one of the key roles in unfolding the crisis. Intensive rhetoric developed over the reasons behind Russian foreign policy in Syria. All that shaped a demand in an indepth analysis of reasons behind Russian foreign policy decisions. Apart from historically strong ties with Syria, geopolitical and economic interests between two states, Russian foreign policy in Syria tends to be securityoriented in a way that some domestic security implications strongly affect Russian foreign policy decisions. In many ways, domestic factors form operational environment of foreign policy-making of any state. To Russia, Syrian stability is seen as vital to Middle East stability, and consequently to Russia’s national security and integrity. In particular, Russia is worried about the rising strength of ‘Religious Extremism’ in the Middle East, because this development could give impulse to political opposition and bolster insurgencies in Russian Muslimpopulated regions. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/rhps.v4n2a7

Economic Development and Foreign Policy, The Case of Syria 1949-1954

This paper aims to enhance our understanding the relationship between economic development and foreign policy in Syria in the post-independence period. In this endeavour, Syria has been taken as a state of the global South that was bound to be preoccupied with its condition of underdevelopment, dependence, vulnerability and permeability. Adopting a political economy approach to examine a period of instability marked by three military coups, this paper presents socioeconomic needs of the country as a source of foreign policy and identifies the acquisition of external resources as a key foreign policy objective .

Foreign Policy and the United States in Russian Public Opinion

Surveys conducted during the Russia’s tumultuous election season of 2011–2012 yield insight into Russians’ complex views of their government’s foreign policies and the United States. Foreign policy is an area where the Russian government receives unusually high marks from the population, but voters tend not to choose candidates on the basis of their foreign policy views. Suspicions toward the United States are widespread but neither universal nor uniform: There is support for cooperation with the US on some issues. Antipathy toward America is not a key source of support for Putin, but it does correlate with support for Russia’s Syria policy. These results may reflect deeper tendencies in Russian public opinion than do polls conducted during the massive anti-American propaganda campaign underway since the start of the Ukraine crisis. If so, it is doubtful that public anti-American sentiment either drives or constrains Russia’s foreign policies.

The Syrian Tragedy and Precedent

If Washington's Syria policy succeeds, it will crystallise efforts to privilege diplomacy over the use of force and create a precedent other powers will be apt to follow.

Power and policy in Syria: intelligence services, foreign relations and democracy in the modern Middle East

As Bashar al-Asad rescinds emergency rule in the face of demonstrations and protests, finds itself in a key position in a Middle East beset by regional tensions, the repercussions of the global 'war on terror' and popular uprisings. The bloodless coup by General Hafez al-Assad, in 1970, put in place a powerful autocratic machinery at the core of the state which continues till today under the control of his son Bashar. Here Radwan Ziadeh presents a fresh and penetrating analysis of Syria's political structure - a 'despotic' state monopoly, a bureaucratic climate marked by fear, and the administrative structure through which centralized control is exercised. With a focus on Syria's intelligence services which have significant influence in legal and policy decisions, and the conditions and patterns of foreign policy decision-making, particularly vis-a-vis the US, Power and Policy in Syria is essential reading for all those interested in Syria, the modern Middle East, International Relations and Security Studies.

The Middle East and Syria Policy of Turkey From Past to Present

The Middle East and Syria Policy of Turkey From Past to Present

The Wars in Syria and Palestine of Thutmose III

Thutmose III's (15th c. B.C.) suitable and sensible new policy lay the basis for Egypt's empire in Syria and Palestine. Main source of our knowledge on this formative period stems from the so-called Annals of this king in the inner chambers of the great Karnak temple of Amun. Part One contains a new collation of these Annals, along with a hand-copy of the inscription, textual analysis and commentary. In Part Two the reader will find new translations together with commentary on additional sources bearing on the wars: the king's speeches, royal encomia, and private biographies. The volume concludes with an historical commentary, and places the wars in their historical context. A comprehensive, illuminating and accessible assessment of Egypt's policy in Syria and Palestine.

Diplomacy in the Middle East: The International Relations of Regional and outside Powers

Part 1 The four great powers: France's Arab policy, Remy Leveau Britain and the Middle East after 1945, Wm. Roger Louis America and the Middle East, William B. Quandt the Middle East in Russia's strategic prism, Alvin Z. Rubinstein. Part 2 Israel and the Arabs: Egypt, Michael Doran Israeli foreign policy, Bernard Reich in search of budget security - Jordanian foreign policy, Laurie A. Brand the foreign policy of Syria, C. Ernest Dawn. Part 3 The larger Arab world: Iraqi foreign policy, Phebe Marr Moroccan foreign policy, I. William Zartman Saudi Arabia's foreign policy, Hermann Frederick Eilts. Part 4 The other Middle East: Iran, Shaul Bakhash Turkey's foreign policy - independent or reactive?, George S. Harris. Part 5 Rounding out the area: the foreign policies of other Middle Eastern states, L. Carl Brown. Part 6 Conclusion - making sense of Middle Eastern diplomacy, L. Carl Brown.

Syrian foreign policy and state/resistance dynamics in Lebanon

By analyzing the behavior of the major actors during Israel's “Peace for Galilee” and “Grapes of Wrath” operations in Lebanon, this article explains how Syria foils Israeli policy objectives there. The research proposition investigated is that Syria's policy owes its success to Damascus’ capacity to manage rather than to resolve serious conflicts between the Lebanese government and the resistance movement (Hizballah). This prevents their quarrels from spilling over into the national arena as a result of Israeli provocation. It is argued that it is the Lebanese parties’ strict adherence to unwritten rules governing their behavior during Tel Aviv's military operations that has rendered and will continue to render Israel's use of force in Lebanon self‐defeating. The analysis indicates why, under the prevailing circumstances, several options presently being explored by the Israelis are unlikely to resolve their problem in Lebanon, and suggests that a rapid return to the negotiating table should be encouraged by the United States.

Arab Unity Schemes Revisited: Interest, Identity, and Policy in Syria and Egypt

From the day in April 1946 when the last French soldiers left and Syrians were finally able to run their own affairs, their policies toward other Arabs have differed significantly, although decreasingly over the years, from the policies pursued by Egyptians. Within their country, Syrian legislators used to privilege Arab over non-Arab foreigners in various respects, including the investment of capital as well as the acquisition of citizenship and political rights, while fewer, if any, advantages of this sort were granted in Egypt Such differences in the treatment of noncitizen Arabs at home have been paralleled by different policies toward other Arab states. Unity schemes, a prominent feature in inter-Arab relations generally, are one key area where approaches diverged quantitatively as well as qualitatively and where favorable attitudes in Syria often contrasted with considerable reluctance on the Egyptian side.

French policy in Syria and Zionism: proposal for a Zionist settlement

In the Anglo-French rivalry over the control of Palestine (which according to the Sykes-Picot Agreement of May 1916 should have been mostly under international control), Great Britain succeeded in weighting the balance in her favour. Clemenceau, the French prime minister, gave up Palestine to Britain at the beginning of December 1918.2 From then on, French policy-makers would consider the Zionists as a British proxy or a tool, wishing to cut further strips of land from French Syria and in order to add them to British Palestine.

Economic Policy and Class Structure in Syria: 1958–1980

It is indeed an interesting endeavor to investigate the impact of economic policies on social stratification. Doing so enables us to see to what extent economic policies bring changes in class structure in a society. We take the case of Syria to study its economic policies and their accompanying impact on the evolving pattern of the Syrian elite from the late 1950s to the early 1980s and then look at accompanying impact on class structure.The two poles or aspects of this paper are (1) economic policies themselves and (2) their impact on class structure. The question that we are going to raise in the first pole is the following: what is the nature of the economic policies? This refers to land reforms, industrial and commercial reforms, and foreign trade controls.

The foreign policy of Syria: Goals, capabilities, constraints and options

(1982). The foreign policy of Syria: Goals, capabilities, constraints and options. Survival: Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 175-183.