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A Lost Cause: the Syrian Opposition’s Struggle to Overthrow a Dictatorship

Agy, Baraa LU (2018) CMEM01 20182
Centre for Middle Eastern Studies
Abstract
This thesis is based on fifteen semi-structured interviews with key actors of the Syrian political opposition. It explores the major limitations that faced the Syrian National Council (SNC) and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NOC). Within the theoretical frameworks of political opportunity and fragmentation, this research identifies four major limitations which influenced the internal cohesion of the Syrian opposition institutions. These limitations are namely; (i) limited political experience of the opposition movement, (ii) disagreement over the functionality mechanisms, (iii) the lack of cooperation among the opposition members and (iv) submission to external actors’ influence. This thesis argues... (More)
This thesis is based on fifteen semi-structured interviews with key actors of the Syrian political opposition. It explores the major limitations that faced the Syrian National Council (SNC) and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NOC). Within the theoretical frameworks of political opportunity and fragmentation, this research identifies four major limitations which influenced the internal cohesion of the Syrian opposition institutions. These limitations are namely; (i) limited political experience of the opposition movement, (ii) disagreement over the functionality mechanisms, (iii) the lack of cooperation among the opposition members and (iv) submission to external actors’ influence. This thesis argues that following the uprisings in 2011, the limited political experience of the opposition activists rendered them into becoming fragmented political bodies with no consensus on how to cooperate and organize. These bodies have become an easy prey for external actors’ influence who have opposing strategic interests in the conflict in Syria. Consequently, the internal cohesion of the SNC and NOC has been affected. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Agy, Baraa LU
supervisor
organization
course
CMEM01 20182
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
English
id
8965182
date added to LUP
2019-02-14 13:05:30
date last changed
2019-02-14 13:05:30
@misc{8965182,
  abstract     = {{This thesis is based on fifteen semi-structured interviews with key actors of the Syrian political opposition. It explores the major limitations that faced the Syrian National Council (SNC) and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NOC). Within the theoretical frameworks of political opportunity and fragmentation, this research identifies four major limitations which influenced the internal cohesion of the Syrian opposition institutions. These limitations are namely; (i) limited political experience of the opposition movement, (ii) disagreement over the functionality mechanisms, (iii) the lack of cooperation among the opposition members and (iv) submission to external actors’ influence. This thesis argues that following the uprisings in 2011, the limited political experience of the opposition activists rendered them into becoming fragmented political bodies with no consensus on how to cooperate and organize. These bodies have become an easy prey for external actors’ influence who have opposing strategic interests in the conflict in Syria. Consequently, the internal cohesion of the SNC and NOC has been affected.}},
  author       = {{Agy, Baraa}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{A Lost Cause: the Syrian Opposition’s Struggle to Overthrow a Dictatorship}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}