Before any elections, the first stone will have already been laid - with reconstruction. On which policies will Syria be rebuilt? Which checks and balances will be organized around an international aid campaign driven by vested interests? Who will plan it? What can work, and what doesn't, in Syria
Will the new Syria be any better than what the new Palestine proved to be? Annalena di Giovanni responds to the conversation between Fawaz Gerges, Rosemary Hollis and Robin Yassin-Kassab.
Before the uprising, Erdoğan and Davutoğlu tried to turn Damascus and Aleppo into safe market havens. Perhaps Turkey still expects eventually to have the lion's share in a future reconstructed Syria, but the ruling AKP party may pay a high price for its regional policies.
A new social contract is needed in Syria. The Syrian people need to be treated like adults, individuals who are empowered to partake in the social, political and economic future of their country.
The only Arab country where protests started from rural areas might find itself facing an internationally funded reconstruction which will award money to urban centres, thus abandoning the very roots of the current crisis. The only solution is to build economic awareness. Starting from now.
Often, attention to the economic dimension of a transition or peace-building process is neglected - and at peril. Can lessons be learned to look ahead in Syria?
The Syrian social movement has to be conscious of the necessity of establishing a just economy. Strong checks need to be built against the post-war government so that all Syrians understand the conditions of aid and consequences of reconstruction plans on their lives and the lives of their childre
Iran's strategic and ideological investment in the Assad regime may force smaller, unpalatable political compromises to secure a 'solution' in Syria.
Fawaz Gerges and Rosemary Hollis with Robin Yassin-Kassab at the openDemocracy conference Syria's peace: what, how, when?, discussing the regional proxy war, class dynamics in Syria, intervention and the costs of not negotiating with Assad.
A bomb blast in Cilvegozu confirmed that free passage for arms and fighters across the Syrian border is creating complex spillovers in Turkey. The administration's humanitarian stance has been uncontroversial, but reports that Turkey has encouraged targeted violence in northern Syria illustrate th
Why has the Obama administration been reluctant to intervene directly in the raging Syrian conflict, or even to arm the rebels? Why did the US president refuse to take ownership of the NATO mission in Libya, failing to engage in Tunisia and Egypt? What makes sense of Obama’s strategy towards the g
Syria’s neighbours, including Turkey, have the most to lose from an intensifying Syrian conflict, as they directly bear the brunt of it. Thus it is imperative that there is some sort of dialogue across the geopolitical divide. The EU is conspicuous in its absence.
