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662. Awaiting Justice: Prospects for Prosecuting War Crimes in Syria
- Author:
- Maria Radziejowska
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- In light of the current situation in Syria, and calls to hold to account those responsible for the atrocities allegedly committed during the conflict, a group of members of the American Congress suggested that the Security Council should create an ad hoc tribunal for Syria. A Blue Ribbon Panel of international criminal law experts presented a draft Statute for a Syrian Extraordinary Tribunal to Prosecute Atrocity Crimes, while some of the Security Council members suggested referring the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court. Issues pertaining to establishing justice and restoring the rule of law in Syria will certainly be on the agenda for future peace talks. The question of working out a transitional justice strategy for the country is inevitable. Whether such a strategy should include a judicial accountability mechanism will certainly be considered.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, Law Enforcement, and Law
- Political Geography:
- Syria
663. Turkey and Syrian Refugees: The Limits of Hospitality
- Author:
- Elizabeth Ferris, Osman Bahadir Dinçer, Vittoria Federici, Sema Karaca, Kemal Kirisci, and Elif Özmenek Çarmikli
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Strategic Research Organization (USAK)
- Abstract:
- On April 29, 2011, the first Syrian refugees crossed the border into Turkey. Two years later, the country hosts some 600,000 Syrian refugees—200,000 of them living in 21 refugee camps with an additional 400,000 living outside of the camps (see charts 1 and 2 below). These estimates, reported by both the Turkish government and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), are conservative. Indeed, officials working directly with refugees on the ground suggest that the number living outside of the camps may be as high as 800,000.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Humanitarian Aid, Islam, Migration, and Sectarianism
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Arabia, and Syria
664. The Struggle For Life Between Borders: Syrian Refugees Fieldwork
- Author:
- Sema Karaca, Mehmet Güçer, and O. Bahadir Dinçer
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Strategic Research Organization (USAK)
- Abstract:
- The rage ofthe 26-year-old Tunisian man, Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in front of the municipal building in broad daylight on 17December 2010, soon spread among the youth and triggered the Arab Spring.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, and Sectarian violence
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Arabia, and Syria
665. Towards The Syrian Nightmare? The Critical Situation in Syria and Possible Scenarios
- Author:
- Ali Hussein Bakeer
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Strategic Research Organization (USAK)
- Abstract:
- This report seeks to evaluate the current situation of Syria through a carefully considered analysis. It aims to navigate safely through at times a conflicting myriad of information disseminated on the media and the Internet and make a projection about the future of the Syrian state as well as describing the various scenarios that may result.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Islam, Regime Change, and Sectarian violence
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Arabia, and Syria
666. Obstacles to a Resolution of the Syrian Conflict
- Author:
- David W. Lesch
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- This is the final report of the Harvard-NUPI-Trinity Syria Research Project (HNT). The project is sponsored by Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA), the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (or NUPI, Oslo, Norway), and Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas, USA).
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Islam, Insurgency, and Sectarian violence
- Political Geography:
- America, Middle East, Arabia, and Syria
667. Next Steps in Syria
- Author:
- Judith S. Yaphe
- Publication Date:
- 12-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Nearly 3 years since the start of the Syrian civil war, no clear winner is in sight. Assassinations and defections of civilian and military loyalists close to President Bashar al-Asad, rebel success in parts of Aleppo and other key towns, and the spread of violence to Damascus itself suggest that the regime is losing ground to its opposition. The tenacity of government forces in retaking territory lost to rebel factions, such as the key town of Qusayr, and attacks on Turkish and Lebanese military targets indicate, however, that the regime can win because of superior military equipment, especially airpower and missiles, and help from Iran and Hizballah. No one is prepared to confidently predict when the regime will collapse or if its opponents can win.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution and Security
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Middle East, Arabia, Lebanon, and Syria
668. Russia assumes and exploits the chairmanship of the G20
- Author:
- Pavel K. Baev
- Publication Date:
- 02-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- Russia's plans for chairing the G20 in 2013 go further than staging a pompous summit in St Petersburg similar to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vladivostok in September 2012. Russian leadership feels an acute need to re-establish a solid international profile eroded by the evolving domestic crisis, which undermines the credibility of Putin's regime.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Democratization, Emerging Markets, and International Organization
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Norway, Asia, Moscow, and Syria
669. The Turkish-Kurdish Peace Progress
- Author:
- Michael M. Gunter
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- During the summer and fall of 2009, the continuing and often violent Kurdish problem in Turkey seemed on the verge of a solution when the ruling Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice and Development Party) or AK Party (AKP) government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul announced a Kurdish Opening. Gul declared that "the biggest problem of Turkey is the Kurdish question" and that "there is an opportunity [to solve it] and it should not be missed."Erdogan asked: "If Turkey had not spent its energy, budget, peace and young people on [combating] terrorism, if Turkey had not spent the last twenty-five years in conflict, where would we be today?" Even the insurgent Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan (PKK) or Kurdistan Workers Party, still led by its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, briefly took Turkey's Kurdish Opening seriously. For a fleeting moment optimism ran rampant. That optimism, however, would ultimately go unfulfilled. What happened? The Kurdish Opening failed to live up to expectations because of roadblocks it encountered before it had a chance to get off the ground. Decades-old resistance to decentralization and an unwillingness to negotiate seriously with the PKK additionally worked to undermine the stated goals of the Kurdish Opening. This article will provide historical background to the recent efforts as well as a timeline of the government's initiatives and the Kurdish response regarding the Kurdish Opening. The question of why the Opening has failed to date will be examined. Recent developments including the civil war in Syria, which suggest that some possibility for progress on the Kurdish question remains, will also be discussed. Finally, the article puts forth recommendations to facilitate progress on finding a political settlement between the Turkish government and the PKK.
- Topic:
- Development and Government
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Syria, and Kurdistan
670. The Zionist Disinformation Campaign in Syria and Lebanon during the Palestinian Revolt, 1936-1939
- Author:
- Mahmoud Muhareb
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- Based on declassified reports in the Central Zionist Archives, this article brings to light a virtually unknown disinformation project implemented by the Jewish Agency (the governing body of the Yishuv before 1948) in the Arab world during the 1936-39 Palestinian revolt. Operating via a JA front organization—an Arabic-language news agency set up in Cairo—and out of the Jerusalem-based JA Political Department's intelligence services, the project involved inter alia the planting of fabricated articles in the Lebanese and Syrian press with the aim of influencing public opinion. Whatever the project's impact, the article provides insights into the Zionist leadership's thinking, internal debates, and operating methods, and shows the degree of corruption that existed in certain segments of the Arab elite.
- Political Geography:
- Palestine, Arabia, Jerusalem, and Syria