95 research outputs found
The Last Jihadist Battle in Syria: Externalisation and the Regional and International Responses to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib
This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordWhen Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized Idlib, it alarmed and disturbed international observers. However, HTS is only one among a number of radical Islamist groups in a part of Syria that has become an incubator of Jihadism. As the last remaining redoubt of the armed opposition in the country, the governorate has become an international concern. Events have now reached an impasse, and the time is thus right for a reappraisal that steps back and considers contemporary developments in the wider context of ongoing events in the governorate. This article also places local developments in a wider context in another sense by considering how regional and international interventions contributed to HTSâs rise in the Idlib governorate. This is particularly important as external interventions by Turkey, Iran, Russia and the US have not only failed to establish a sustainable basis for peace by addressing the root causes of violence but have actually inflamed hostilities and exacerbated the various challenges involved in ending the conflict, which has at times taken on the appearance of a proxy war. In seeking to better theorise externalisation, this article draws on peacebuilding theory. This historical and political contextualisation seeks to contribute to an improved understanding of HTSâs rise and the means through which it can be most effectively combated in the future
Daraa and the Altered Trajectory of the Syrian Crisis
This is the final version. Available on open access from Routledge via the DOI in this recordDaraa City is widely known as the birthplace of the Syrian uprising. The uprising, which was initially motivated by high-minded ideas and opposition to the arbitrary violence of an authoritarian state, rapidly degenerated into a civil war orientated by external agendas and priorities. In this paper, I want to situate Daraa governorate at the centre of this development, with the intention of highlighting how the course of events in this small part of Syria had vital implications for the development of the Syrian Civil War. In seeking to develop an analysis of the interplay of internal dynamics and external influences, i seek to âreconcileâ the âmicroâ and âmacroâ dimensions of civil war, and also draw on contributions to the peacebuilding literature, and this enables me to reconceptualise the relationship between âinternalâ and âexternalâ drivers of conflict
Beyond genocide: Towards an improved analysis and understanding of the Syrian regime's mass atrocity crimes in the Syrian Civil War
This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordIn the course of the Syrian Civil War, prominent former Syrian Regime politicians, human rights observers, and foreign observers have accused the Syrian Regime of committing genocide against the country's Sunni majority. This article views these accusations as part of a wider politicization of genocide, and instead progresses beyond them to outline the case for an alternative âframingâ of large-scale atrocities committed against civilians. It accordingly proposes strategic displacement, or the deliberate large-scale uprooting and dispersal of established communities for tactical and strategic purposes, as a preferable and more sustainable framework of engagement and analysis, and seeks to more clearly distinguish it from âethnic cleansingâ with the aim of demonstrating and underlining its unique contribution to the analysis and understanding of violent conflict. This has two benefitsâfirst, it provides a different basis for conceptual and theoretical engagement that makes it possible to view mass atrocity as a tactical innovation in response to conflict exigencies; and second, it draws attention to internal displacement, an aspect of the conflict that has been repeatedly overlooked by international observers
Exclusion Strategy and Sectarianization of the Idlib Governorate in Syria
This is the final version. Available from the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies via the DOI in this recordThe splitting, renaming and merging of factions can lead to the start of new rivalries,
or in some cases, end existing ones. A new faction may inherit the original faction's
previous rivalries with other groups, and if a faction name change results in a total
restructure, it may signal the end of the rivalry. However, this was not the case when
Jabhat al-Nusra renamed itself Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, and later Tahrir al-Sham. It
was considered a 'cosmetic' and superficial change because it did not develop a
new structure. This article will shed light on exclusionary politics and the political
ramifications of sectarianism caused by certain jihadist movements, such as Jabhat
al-Nusra (presently known as Tahrir al-Sham), enabling us to analyse its practices,
especially towards minorities, and sectarian ideologies present in Idlib, and which
ultimately led to the expulsion of many who fled outside the governorate. The article
also calls attention to the roles of regional and international powers in Idlib against
the backdrop of opposition factions, and their physical and ideological influence on
Islamist forces that frequently facilitated displacement within and outside the city
The Dimensions and Attributes of State Failure in Syria
This is the final version. Available on open access from Routledge via the DOI in this recordWhile state failure was undoubtedly a factor in, and influence on, the uprising, it has become more clearly apparent in the ongoing civil war. The Syrian state can now be said to be âfailedâ because it cannot meet its citizensâ economic, political and social needs and requirements. This apparent regression is even more striking because pre-war Syria was a regional leader in a number of development fields whose progress was evidenced in associated outputs and levels of performance. This article will provide insight into a number of different dimensions of the countryâs statehood, in so doing, trace the process through which the stateâs internal and external legitimacy has been sharply diminished. In addition, the paper also highlights how the Syrian state has adjusted to the condition of state failure. The article therefore proposes to examine different aspects and dimensions of state failure, as opposed to the general condition that has been reproduced across various contexts. In concluding, the article puts forward a number of propositions for how international actors can address a number of the challenges and problems associated with state failure
The significance of ISIS's state building in Syria
This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this record.âŻResearchers and policy makers appear to hold a deeply
rooted reluctance to acknowledge, let alone address, the
significance of ISISâs state building. Those who have
engaged with this issue have tended to traverse the
analytical dead end of legalistic questions and themes,
inevitably concluding that ISISâs efforts fell short of
the threshold of statehood. This article sharply diverges
from this reasoning and instead focuses on the political extent of ISISâs state building, which was a reaction
to the collapse of authority in Iraq and Syria, and
the concomitant failure to protect peoples at risk. The
study examines the Islamic State on four dimensions:
the stabilization of society, the extraction of income,
the politicization of religion, and the use of sectarian
divisions. It finds that ISISâs efforts were internally contradictory and contained a number of elements that
impeded its establishing a conventionally defined state
and its carrying out of actions expected of such a state
Cortical Gyrification and Sulcal Spans in Early Stage Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by an insidious onset of progressive cerebral atrophy and cognitive decline. Previous research suggests that cortical folding and sulcal width are associated with cognitive function in elderly individuals, and the aim of the present study was to investigate these morphological measures in patients with AD. The sample contained 161 participants, comprising 80 normal controls, 57 patients with very mild AD, and 24 patients with mild AD. From 3D T1-weighted brain scans, automated methods were used to calculate an index of global cortex gyrification and the width of five individual sulci: superior frontal, intra-parietal, superior temporal, central, and Sylvian fissure. We found that global cortex gyrification decreased with increasing severity of AD, and that the width of all individual sulci investigated other than the intra-parietal sulcus was greater in patients with mild AD than in controls. We also found that cognitive functioning, as assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, decreased as global cortex gyrification decreased. MMSE scores also decreased in association with a widening of all individual sulci investigated other than the intra-parietal sulcus. The results suggest that abnormalities of global cortex gyrification and regional sulcal span are characteristic of patients with even very mild AD, and could thus facilitate the early diagnosis of this condition
Attitude of Syrian students toward GAD patients: An online cross-sectional study
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a prevalent condition and a significant cause of mental disability and poor quality of life. People with GAD have chronic worrying, restlessness, and discrimination from the general public; Little is known about the stigmatizing attitudes toward people with GAD among Syrian students. The questionnaires contained demographic data about age, gender, social status, personal stigma toward GAD scale, perceived stigma toward GAD scale, social distance with those with GAD, the participants' usual source of their knowledge about GAD, helpful interventions, and supporting information. A total of 1,370 replies were collected, but only 1,358 were used for analysis as 12 participants declined to complete the survey. About 44.1% of participants agreed that people with GAD could snap out of the problem, most of them being females (32.4% of the total population). Compared to medical students, more non-medical students (7.1% of the total population) believed that anxiety is a sign of personal weakness. This study demonstrated that Syrian college students showed a high level of stigmatizing and socially distancing attitudes toward people with GAD, particularly female and non-medical students
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