Number of results to display per page
Search Results
402. After The Jarabulus Offensive: How Far Will Turkey Shift Its Syria Policy?
- Author:
- Soner Cagaptay
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- The July 15 attempted coup, which exposed rifts within the Turkish military, coupled with the August 9 meeting between Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian president Vladimir Putin, and the Turkish incursion into Syria on August 24, appear to signal a change in trajectory for Turkey’s Syria policy. Since Erdogan’s ouster of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in May 2015, Turkey has already implemented some significant foreign policy shifts, including normalization with Israel and a desire to mend ties with Russia.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, Civil War, Peace Studies, and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Turkey, and Syria
403. Emerging European Security Challenges
- Author:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- The Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University (LISD) convened a special Liechtenstein Colloquium,“Emerging European Security Challenges,” in Triesenberg, Principality of Liechtenstein, from November 12-15, 2015. The colloquium brought together senior diplomats, academics, policy-makers, experts and representatives of European civil society and NGOs. The colloquium was off-the-record and was financially supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and SIBIL Foundation, Vaduz. The objective of the colloquium was to examine the interactions between and the various effects of three key crises—the Ukraine war, the war in Syria, and the European refugee crisis—for broader regional, EU, and international security. Cluster One considered “Russia, Ukraine, the West, and the future of collective security,” including the role of the Baltic states in security issues, the relationship between Russia and the European Union, and the role of media, information and hybrid warfare. Cluster Two, “The Syrian War and ISIS/Da’esh” focused on several issues related to the ongoing civil war and conflict in the Middle East, including alliances of the Assad government, rebel and other opposition groups, ISIS/Da’esh, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, and, especially, the Kurds. Emphasis was put on the plight of Christians and other religious groups in the region. Cluster Three, “The refugee crisis and the challenge of European collective action,” connected the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II to the situation in the MENA region. It focused on refugees and migrants within Europe’s borders and along the Balkan route, the role of Turkey, Greece and Germany, terrorism concerns, and EU actions and emerging differences between member states. The protection of religious minorities and the longer-term question of integration and assimilation of refugees and asylum-seekers offered another focus. This report reflects the substance of these discussions and includes an updated Chair’s Addendum.
- Topic:
- Security, Terrorism, European Union, Refugee Crisis, ISIS, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Middle East, and Syria
404. Europe Today and What's Next
- Author:
- Hannes Androsch
- Publication Date:
- 12-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- In many places it is forgotten that Europe, especially the EU, is a veritable success story, as this continent has never before experienced a period such as the past seven decades of democracy, peace and prosperity. Faced with the current challenges, especially the refugee crisis, there has been an increasing tendency among European governments to take unilateral action. This approach cannot be successful, however, as European governments attempt to implement policy prescriptions of the past to solve problems of the present. In fact, we need not less but more Europe—but also a reformed Europe: a European Union with one voice for external policy (common foreign, security and defense policy and asylum and migration policy) and the capacity to overcome its internal turmoil (common economic, budget, and tax policies, and a minimum of a transfer union). We also need a European Union that makes the benefits of globalization available to all people. The European Union is currently experiencing one of its worst crises in its history. Old fault lines that have run through the continent for centuries, once considered overcome, have become prominent once again; new challenges have arisen, especially in the wake of globalization, climate change and new technological developments (the Digital Revolution). The world has seemingly become ungovernable. The proclaimed 1989 “end of history” (Fukuyama) is certainly over, and history has a firm grip on Europe. This, at least since the outbreak of the financial and economic crisis in 2007/08, no longer deniable fact is reflected in the still unresolved crisis in Greece (“Grexit”), the associated Euro Crisis, the British referendum on exit from the EU (“Brexit”), and in the renaissance of geopolitics. The annexation of Crimea by Russia undertaken in violation of international law, the war in eastern Ukraine, as well as state disintegration in Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Syria have made it clear that, from the Caucasus to the Balkans and from Pakistan/Afghanistan via the Middle East to North Africa, extends a “Ring of Fire,”—a term used by former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew to describe the geopolitical challenges of Europe more than twenty years ago. These long concealed —or ignored—distortions are now breaking out again in the form of “wars of succession,” leaving behind territories plagued by unrest, civil wars, and failed states, and resulting in terrorism and refugee waves now reaching the center of Europe. The resulting “crisis mode,” within which the European Union has been operating for several years now, reached its climax with the result of the referendum conducted in June, determining Britain’s exit from the European Union (Brexit). Aside from the medium and long-term economic implications for the country, Brexit was an earthquake with unforeseeable consequences especially on the political level. Scotland is once again discussing its potential separation from the United Kingdom, the fragile peace funded by the EU in Northern Ireland is threatened by collapse, and in a considerable number of other EU countries—mainly France and the Netherlands—populist and nationalist parties are interpreting Brexit as a signal to seek their salvation in national initiatives.
- Topic:
- Security, Global Recession, European Union, Refugee Crisis, Brexit, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, United Kingdom, Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Asia, and Syria
405. The Revolution Turns Five: Faculty reflections on the fifth anniversary of the Arab uprisings
- Author:
- Fida Adely, Michael Hudson, Joseph Sassoon, Noureddine Jebnoun, Marwa Daoudy, Emad El-Din Shahin, and Rochelle A. Davis
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- In this fifth year anniversary of the Arab revolts or “Arab Spring,” we might ask ourselves “what has changed in the region?” Given the conflicts raging in the Arab world as we speak, many have concluded that the revolts failed, or that rather than bringing “progress” they have pushed us back—entrenching authoritarianism, displacing millions, exacerbating sectarian differences, etc. But such conclusions reflect a short view of history and a truncated understanding of change. More troublesome, they can fuel a view of the region as unchanging, stagnant, and even backward.
- Topic:
- Arts, Culture, Social Movement, Economy, Arab Spring, Youth, Syrian War, Revolution, and Counterrevolution
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Libya, Arab Countries, Syria, North America, Egypt, and Tunisia
406. Five Years Of Conflict Brings New Normals In Damascus
- Author:
- Benan Grams
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- After four years of being unable to travel to see my home and family in Damascus during what Syrians refer to as “The Crisis,” I am now visiting them for the third time in recent months. The political chaos that swept the country between 2011 and 2015 created high levels of uncertainty about who might be perceived as a threat to the regime, while the deteriorating security conditions elevated the risk of kidnapping and blackmailing. Although for an outsider, the situation does not seem to have become any safer, Syrians, particularly in Damascus, have learned to adapt to the current situation and find a sense of stability in the chaos.
- Topic:
- Security, Arab Spring, Syrian War, and Revolution
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Arab Countries, Syria, and Damascus
407. Forced Migration and Internal Displacement in the Arab World and Beyond
- Author:
- Rochelle A. Davis, Fowzia Abdullahi Abukar, and Emma Murphy
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- Since 2010, Professor Rochelle Davis has conducted research among the refugee communities in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, working with MAAS Alum Abbie Taylor. With 60 million people counted as refugees or internally displaced, we are currently witnessing the largest global forced displacement since World War II. These displaced millions are primarily fleeing war, conflict, and persecution, but a host of other factors also contribute to the unstable conditions they face in their home countries: forced conscription; lack of access to health care, jobs, and education; drought and environmental degradation. More than half come from the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa. Despite the news of migrants arriving daily in Europe, the overwhelming majority of those displaced remain in or near their home countries.
- Topic:
- Migration, United Nations, Refugees, Islamic State, Research, Displacement, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Middle East, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Somalia
408. Syrian Scholar Finds Safe Haven at CCAS: A Conversation with Visiting Lecturer Mohammad AlAhmad
- Author:
- Will Todman, Mohammad AlAhmad, and Dana Dairani
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- On April 22, 2015, CCAS Visiting Lecturer Dr. Mohammad AlAmad and his family left their home and lives in Syria behind. “Human smugglers drove us to the Turkish border,” says AlAhmad, “and then my wife and I carried our two young children, walking through barbed wire and muddy water into Turkey. We were full of trepidation, fear, and the pain of being displaced.” Though AlAhmad left Syria because he had been accepted to participate in the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund, which provides support for threatened scholars and places them with visiting appointments at partner academic institutions, he did not yet know his family’s ultimate destination. Once in Turkey, AlAhmad learned that his appointment would be at Georgetown, starting in August.
- Topic:
- Authoritarianism, Refugees, Islamic State, Arab Spring, Syrian War, Literature, Revolution, and Higher Education
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Middle East, Syria, North America, United States of America, and Raqqa
409. Being Present in a World Stacked with War and Pain
- Author:
- Katherine Dunn
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- MAAS Alum Katherine Dunn shares her experiences working with refugees in Jordan. In the northwest part of Jordan, approximately 160,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). All but about 1,000 of them live outside of refugee camps, spread throughout towns and villages. For many of them, the UNHCR help desk is the frontline of contact with the organization’s staff; we answer over 20,000 inquiries annually in Irbid alone. People come to ask about monthly financial assistance, which is available to the most vulnerable, and also to seek advice on other protection issues. Amid such daunting numbers, we risk becoming mechanical in our approach. Each person brings reminders, however, of his or her particular needs and experiences.
- Topic:
- Humanitarian Aid, United Nations, Refugee Crisis, and NGOs
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Syria, and Jordan
410. R2P Monitor, Issue 30, 15 November 2016
- Author:
- Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
- Publication Date:
- 11-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
- Abstract:
- R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 30 looks at developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Burma/Myanmar, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Nigeria, Central African Republic and Philippines.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Sudan, Philippines, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Nigeria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic