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
There never was an “Arab Spring”
With the top of the leadership pyramid removed, the societies left behind were rife with internal divisions. Without any historical experience, or sufficient wealth to divide... Read More
From YouTube to Jihad – Balkan volunteers in Syria
Even though conservative Islam is not much appreciated among the liberal and secular Bosniak and Albanian communities in the Western Balkans, radical groups show an... Read More
We’ll do this again sometime – retaining lessons-learned from Iraq and Afghanistan
As NATO prepares to withdraw from Afghanistan, and the engagement in Iraq passes 10 years, government leaders must take on board the lessons learned from... Read More
The military, in the barracks and in society
By staging a coup, Egypt’s generals have acted against the grain of an era in which militaries have become less involved in politics. That is... Read More
Explosions in Egypt
Democracy is the product of a process; it is not the product of instantaneous results. Egypt – and much of the Middle East – is... Read More
Keynote Lecture – “The political geography of Israel/Palestine: apartheid or confederation?”
TransConflict is pleased to announce the lecture, “The Political Geography of Israel/Palestine: Apartheid or Confederation?”, organised by the Centre for Comparative Conflict Studies (CFCCS) on... Read More
Arab Spring – what does the West expect after two years?
The Arab Spring could not be avoided; the old geopolitics of the region is permanently changed. Hence we must begin re-imagining the moral map of... Read More
Syria – a revolution at any cost?
Decentralizing the Syrian peace process is a pragmatic answer to the fact that the rebels don’t have a central authority, and that it is very... Read More
Solving the Syrian conflict starts with shutting up
Can a decentralised transitional power model – as proposed in ‘Solving the Syrian conflict starts with building trust’ – really be carried out by western diplomats... Read More
Serbia and Syria
There has been a failure of public diplomacy by the US, the UK, France and Germany to serve the interests of stability in either Serbia or... Read More
Solving the Syrian conflict starts by building trust
A locally-focused, bottom-up approach which puts Syrian interests first offers a prospective path for transition and a peaceful settlement to the conflict.
After Syria
The Lebanonization of Syria means the latter could face a long period of instability and rivalry among sectarian, tribal, and other competitors for power, resources,... Read More
Damascus and the Tariqa (the way by initiation)
With the current hardening of the sense of duality between Syrian government and opposition, good faith negotiations seem even further away. The vision of an... Read More
Transforming conflict in the Middle East requires out-of-the-box thinking
To think out-of-the-box is what we owe to the Palestinians and the Israelis more than ever, and the only real contribution we can make from... Read More
Let Palestine be
The recognition of Palestinian statehood would signal the birth of a peace process that would positively affect not just Israel and Palestine, but also the... Read More
Aid on Palestinian terms – the case for a boycott
Palestinians, already denied their right to self-determination, should not have to receive aid in ways that further undermine local priorities, capacities and ownership.
Where did Assad go to school?
The Sri Lanka model – where a long, low-intensity civil war reached a violent, bloody climax; yet its architects remain in power and have escaped... Read More