Delimiting a New World Order: Religion, Globalism, and the Syrian Crisis

Sovereignty, Legitimacy and the Responsibility to Protect:  Who is responsible and who is legitimate in Syria? by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Syria and the New Middle East Western leaders’ conflicting statements underscore the unease about change in the Arab world. Unless one believes that diplomats speak unscripted, an earlier statementby U.S. secretary of State, John Kerry Read more

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The origins and evolution of the Grinch that derailed the Arab Spring

The Pakistanization  of Turkey and the Afghanization of Syria in the new proxy-war   by Ahmed E. Souaiaia*   Witnessing the first democratic elections in Tunisia in 2011, I stood at the edge of the city listening to residents explaining the role of “neighborhood watch committees” in keeping peace and protecting personal and public property. Read more

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Turkey’s lost and future opportunities in Syria

by Foti Benlisoy and Annalena Di Giovanni Turkey A few months ago, in January 2013, an accident in a steel factory of Gaziantep, a bordering town in southwest Turkey, claimed the lives of seven workers. Under normal circumstances such news would have passed unobserved and eventually forgotten; Turkey is after all a country in which Read more

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Iraqi analysts: Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria mirrors al-Qaeda in Iraq

by Mohammed al-Qaisi Al-Qaeda in Iraq attacks places of worship, culture and education deeming them blasphemous, officials say.  As tensions increase between Syrian citizens and members of extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) Iraqi officials, researchers and security leaders warned of similarities between JAN and al-Qaeda in Iraq in terms of ideology and strategy. “We are Read more

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The Iranian key to the Syrian crisis

by Heiko Wimmen The deep implications of Iran’s strategic and ideological investment in the Assad regime forces international efforts for a ‘grand bargain’ to face the stark and unpalatable reality of political compromise in Syria. As the Syrian crisis continues its descent into a protracted civil war, a ‘political solution’ remains the professed preference of Read more

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Between the Kurdistan and Syria crises lies Turkey’s moral and legal dilemma

by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Casualties of Syria’s war Turkey’s zero-problem with its neighbors foreign policy doctrine did not survive the Arab Spring test. At first, Turkey’s Justice and Development Party leaders took a cautious position regarding the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings. Their confliction was especially on display during the Libyan armed rebellion when Turkey, a member of Read more

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Revolutions and rebellions and Syria’s paths to war and peace

by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Another massacre in Syria: click  on image to view video In less than a month, peaceful Tunisian and Egyptian protesters ousted two of the most authoritarian rulers of the Arab world. The human and economic costs: a total of about 1100 people dead (300 in Tunisia and 800 in Egypt) and Read more

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