Syria-Anatomy of a Civil War

Author: Adam Baczko, Gilles Dorronsoro

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians with different ethnic and religious identities began participating in peaceful demonstrations for the democratization of the regime in 2011. Within a few months, the violence perpetrated by the regime prompted those who insisted on democratization to arm themselves, join the manually formed units within the Free Syrian Army, and create a counter-society with their own institutions.

After 2013, as the presence of transnational groups such as the PKK and the Islamic State increased, the unanimity logic of including everyone that existed in the early period of the movement gradually disappeared. The uprising splintered into fragments in a deepening polarization fueled by outside the country. In the face of the rise of rapidly radicalizing political Islamist movements and Kurdish ethnonationalist demands, more moderate groups were marginalized.

The joint study of Baczko, Dorronsoro and Quesnay evaluates the interviews held in Syria and neighboring countries during the first phase of the civil war through the filter of political sociology, while shedding light on the effects of the war on Syrian society. What new hierarchies does generalized violence produce in society and within community structures? What are the survival strategies of Syrians trapped in the cycle of war? How does the war economy exist while the country is divided under the domination of different powers and organizations? How does extreme violence accelerate ethno-religious communalisation?

While trying to answer these and other similar questions, the book in your hand outlines the anatomy of the civil war in Syria and also offers a new comparative theoretical framework for understanding civil wars in the world.

(From the Promotional Bulletin)

Dough Type: 2nd Dough

Number of Printings: 1st Edition

First Print Year: 2018

Number of Pages: 367

Size: 13 x19.5