EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The brutality of Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, and the unprecedented threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has divided the international community over how to address the Syrian civil war. Russian and Western interests in Syria are largely incompatible. Russian national interests have lead to Moscow’s steadfast support of the Assad regime, while Western…

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Turkey has recently significantly escalated its involvement in the Syrian civil war, marking a paradigm shift in Ankara’s strategy towards Syria. An interplay of various dynamics is driving this policy transformation. Turkey shares a porous border with Syria and has pursued a strategy of non-engagement in regards to ISIS operating in and around the Syrian-Turkish border. Lately…

By Arianna Scocchera, Researcher, CGSRS 22 January 2016 In your book, ‘Inside Syria’, you highlight the difference in the American reaction to the Libyan and the Syrian civil wars that engulfed both countries in 2011. You convincingly argue that the US’ weak response to the Syrian conflict compared to the intervention in Libya lies in the fact that the US did not have a pro-Western…