Publication

This paper explores how both the Syrian regime and international actors have fueled violence and fundamentalism in Syria’s civil war. The text’s author contends that military engagement, diplomacy, aid policy and sanctions – all increasingly shaped by the ongoing ‘war on terror’ – have interacted damagingly with Syria’s civil war – a war in which manipulating disorder and colluding with ‘enemies’ has taken precedence over winning. Further, although the conflict continues to evolve, the conditions that fueled militant fundamentalism in Syria – and the regime that nurtured it – endure. As a result, he argues that it is now vital for international actors to rethink their assumptions about engagement in the conflict, and provides four key recommendations on how to move forward.