The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East

by Christopher Phillips

Overview

An unprecedented analysis of the crucial but underexplored roles the United States and other nations have played in shaping Syria’s ongoing civil war

“One of the best informed and non-partisan accounts of the Syrian tragedy yet published.”—Patrick Cockburn, Independent

Syria’s brutal, long-lasting civil war is widely viewed as a domestic contest that began in 2011 and only later drew foreign nations into the fray. But in this book Christopher Phillips shows the crucial roles that were played by the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar in Syria’s war right from the start. Phillips untangles the international influences on the tragic conflict and illuminates the West’s strategy against ISIS, the decline of U.S. power in the region, and much more.

Originally published in 2016, the book has been updated with two new chapters. 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300249910
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	09/22/2020
Edition description:	New Edition, Revised and Updated
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	541,498
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x (d)

About the Author

Christopher Phillips is Reader in International Relations at Queen Mary University of London and associate fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Preface to the revised and updated edition vii

Acknowledgements x

List of key actors and abbreviations xii

Map of Syria xviii-xix

Introduction 1

1 Syria and the Middle East on the eve of civil war 10

2 The Arab Spring comes to Syria 40

3 Assad must stand aside? The international community's ambivalent response 59

4 International institutions and the slide to war 83

5 A legitimate representative? Supporting and subverting Syria's political opposition 105

6 'Arm the rebels!' Backing the armed opposition 125

7 To the hilt: Assad's allies dig in 147

8 No red lines: The question of Western military intervention 168

9 Descent into chaos: Stalemate and the rise of ISIS 189

10 Enter Russia: Putin raises the stakes 213

11 The wild card: Syria's war in the age of Trump 232

12 Conquest: Defeat for ISIS, Afrin and the rebels 254

13 Rebuilding without reconciling 278

Conclusion: The war that everyone lost 304

Notes 313

Bibliography 356

Index 382

Editorial Reviews

"Philips . . . argues in a lucid and readable manner with a good balance of facts and anecdotes, that while domestic triggers and the wider impact of the Arab Spring may have caused the crisis, it was maintained by 'external powers being unwilling to prioritise ending the conflict over their own wider geopolitical agendas.'"—James Denselow, New York Journal of Books

"This is the best work to date that focuses on the regional and international dimensions of the Syrian conflict. Christopher Phillips' research is meticulous, with both depth and breadth in large part gleaned from his interviews with top officials and representatives from most of the stakeholder states and groups in the war. A must-read for anyone who wants to better understand the multidimensional complexities of the conflict."—David Lesch, author of Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad

"Syria's horrific civil war has been profoundly shaped by the competitive interventions and proxy wars by external powers. The Battle for Syria offers a brilliant, essential account of the international dimension of Syria's descent from uprising into insurgency and brutal state violence. This sober and judicious book will become a standard text for those seeking to understand Syria's tragedy."—Marc Lynch, author of The New Arab Wars: Anarchy and Uprising in the Middle East

From the Publisher

Provides genuinely valuable insight into the dynamics of a tragedy that will undoubtedly remain at the centre of the world’s attention for many years to come.”—Daniel Falkiner, LSE Review of Books

LSE Review of Books - Daniel Falkiner

"Philips . . . argues in a lucid and readable manner with a good balance of facts and anecdotes, that while domestic triggers and the wider impact of the Arab Spring may have caused the crisis, it was maintained by 'external powers being unwilling to prioritise ending the conflict over their own wider geopolitical agendas.'"—James Denselow, New York Journal of Books

New York Journal of Books - James Denselow