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The Failure of Diplomacy and Protection in Syria

Aggestam, Karin LU orcid and Dunne, Tim (2024)
Abstract
This chapter argues that the international community’s response to the Syrian civil war was a failure of resolute diplomacy. It first recounts how a popular uprising was brutally suppressed by the Bashar al-Assad government’s military forces, sparking a ‘new war’ where many of the protagonists have more to gain from war than peace. It then considers the diplomatic strategies pursued by regional and global powers, as well as the leading players in the intervention and mediation process such as United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, UN diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, and Swedish-Italian diplomat Staffan de Mistura. It also discusses the use of crisis management and coercive diplomacy to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention. The case of... (More)
This chapter argues that the international community’s response to the Syrian civil war was a failure of resolute diplomacy. It first recounts how a popular uprising was brutally suppressed by the Bashar al-Assad government’s military forces, sparking a ‘new war’ where many of the protagonists have more to gain from war than peace. It then considers the diplomatic strategies pursued by regional and global powers, as well as the leading players in the intervention and mediation process such as United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, UN diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, and Swedish-Italian diplomat Staffan de Mistura. It also discusses the use of crisis management and coercive diplomacy to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention. The case of Syria illustrates how responsibility to protect (R2P) requires a strong consensus among the great powers to be effective.
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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
Foreign Policy: Theories, Actors, Cases
editor
Smith, Steve ; Hadfield, Amelia ; Dunne, Timothy and Kitche, Nicolas
edition
4
publisher
Oxford University Press
ISBN
9780192863072
DOI
10.1093/hepl/9780192863072.003.0023
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
528e4772-7ede-47ee-a93e-c7ff117cc448
date added to LUP
2024-10-16 08:27:13
date last changed
2025-06-16 10:09:04
@inbook{528e4772-7ede-47ee-a93e-c7ff117cc448,
  abstract     = {{This chapter argues that the international community’s response to the Syrian civil war was a failure of resolute diplomacy. It first recounts how a popular uprising was brutally suppressed by the Bashar al-Assad government’s military forces, sparking a ‘new war’ where many of the protagonists have more to gain from war than peace. It then considers the diplomatic strategies pursued by regional and global powers, as well as the leading players in the intervention and mediation process such as United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, UN diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, and Swedish-Italian diplomat Staffan de Mistura. It also discusses the use of crisis management and coercive diplomacy to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention. The case of Syria illustrates how responsibility to protect (R2P) requires a strong consensus among the great powers to be effective.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Aggestam, Karin and Dunne, Tim}},
  booktitle    = {{Foreign Policy: Theories, Actors, Cases}},
  editor       = {{Smith, Steve and Hadfield, Amelia and Dunne, Timothy and Kitche, Nicolas}},
  isbn         = {{9780192863072}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  title        = {{The Failure of Diplomacy and Protection in Syria}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/hepl/9780192863072.003.0023}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/hepl/9780192863072.003.0023}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}