Living with the Islamic State
Even if the Islamic State’s current modus operandi revolts us, the political logic to its existence remains firm. The West and the regional powers alike... Read More
War crimes in Syria – a missed opportunity for international justice
The war crimes in Syria in the absence of any response from the International Criminal Court (ICC) cry out for a mechanism that prevents international... Read More
In praise of buffer states
The United States and its NATO allies have long neglected an historical and geo-strategic truism: we need buffer states to avoid direct confrontation between regional... Read More
What if the Islamic State wins?
If Islamic State cannot be defeated militarily, and if “degrading” it remains a distant and uncertain outcome, then everyone may have to accept that the... Read More
Confronting ISIS – military intervention or peaceful alternatives?
In the absence of a viable solution the crimes committed by ISIS, it is arguable that intervention is the only available route. However, the first step to... Read More
Iraq, Syria and the MidEast – what is to be done?
The essential fact of the sectarian conflicts (internal and external) that have characterized the MidEast for decades has been the artificial boundaries left behind by... Read More
Syria – missed opportunities and future perils
One cannot deny that action in Syria is long-overdue. The question that remains – which is currently being debated by Western power-brokers – is what form such action should... Read More
Islamic State in Iraq-Syria – the standards of world law
The UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Iraq was a major advance for world law as for the first time, a non-state actor is... Read More
Kosovo, Ukraine, Syria and Iraq
The struggles by ethnic and religious groups left behind by empire cannot be resolved by outsiders. These competing groups need to find their own way... Read More
Time to do a deal with Assad?
The military options for the West vis-a-vis Iraq and the IS are limited without some ability to operate permissively in Syria. This would require movement... Read More
Syria and the ICC
There are arguments that to prosecute is to interfere with the right of self-determination of the Syrian people. However, when there is evidence of mass... Read More
Negotiating the Syrian crisis – a compromise remains far off
The trajectory of the Geneva II negotiations – either towards convergence (resolution) or divergence (non-resolution) – will affect the outcome of one of the most... Read More
For Syrian refugees child marriage is a necessity
Research by women’s right organizations purports that the prevalence of child marriage is not due to lack of awareness about the concerns of the practice,... Read More
Local pressure for peace mounts in Syria’s civil war
In the chaos of Syria’s civil war local peacebuilders are finding ways to bring respite for tired civilians from suffering and danger.
Syria – women, peacework, and the lesson from Bosnia
Below the radar of the forthcoming Geneva-2 peace talks, Bosnian and Syrian women are holding meetings to discuss the lessons that must be learnt from... Read More
A waiting game – Syria through the lens of conflict transformation
Looking at Syria through the lenses of a few selected Principles of Conflict Transformation can offer new suggestions for peaceful actions as the fatigue of violence... Read More
Palestine (and Syria) and Kosova
Regarding existential, zero-sum struggles it matters which side has more options.
Syria – no deal, really
That Syria has been on a downward spiral since 2011 is not news. Any solution for Syria must not be limited in scope. Tackling chemical... Read More
Syria and a possible UN approach to chemical weapons
The UN would likely play a key role in verifying and overseeing an effort to put Syria’s weapons under international control. But the UN Security... Read More
Chemical weapons in Syria provide an opportunity for making peace
Aiming to “transform conflict” would inject new energy into the diplomatic process around Syria, by finding new common interests between adversaries.
What should the US do on Syria?
For the US to act as part of the international community and through the UN, it must commit itself in this particular case – and... Read More
Syrian military intervention – Washington’s “well-oiled” operation
The United States has only to gain from the likely military intervention which will give it unrestricted access to Syria’s oil reserves, with a larger... Read More
R2P and International Law
The responsibility to protect is an international responsibility and not the exclusive burden of any one country, not even the US. But the use of... Read More
Syria – to intervene or not to intervene?
In the two years since the conflict began, civilian deaths have unfolded in unimaginable numbers, yet the international community did not act. With respect to... Read More
Syria disfigured – options for the West
To understand what a militarily-inspired democratic transplant might achieve in Syria, one might look at what happened when the Iraqi Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein... Read More