Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid through Violent Regimes

The Syrian war has been an example of the abuse and insufficient delivery of humanitarian assistance. According to international practice, humanitarian aid should be channelled through a state government that bears a particular responsibility for its population. Yet in Syria, the bulk of relief went through Damascus while the regime caused the vast majority of civilian deaths. Should the UN have severed its cooperation with the government and neglected its humanitarian duty to help all people in need? Decision-makers face these tough policy dilemmas, and often the “neutrality trap” snaps shut.\nThis book discusses the political and moral considerations of how to respond to a brutal and complex crisis while adhering to international law and practice. The author, a scholar and senior diplomat involved in the UN peace talks in Geneva, draws from first-hand diplomatic, practitioner and UN sources. He sheds light on the UN's credibility crisis and the wider implications for the development of international humanitarian and human rights law. This includes covering the key questions asked by Western diplomats, NGOs and international organizations, such as: Why did the UN not confront the Syrian government more boldly? Was it not only legally correct but also morally justifiable to deliver humanitarian aid to regime areas where rockets were launched and warplanes started? Why was it so difficult to render cross-border aid possible where it was badly needed? The meticulous account of current international practice is both insightful and disturbing. It tackles the painful lessons learnt and provides recommendations for future challenges where politics fails and humanitarians fill the moral void.

History

Wieland, Carsten

Military

I.B.Tauris

The Syrian war has been an example of the abuse and insufficient delivery of humanitarian assistance. According to international practice, humanitarian aid should be channelled through a state government that bears a particular responsibility for its population. Yet in Syria, the bulk of relief went through Damascus while the regime caused the vast majority of civilian deaths. Should the UN have severed its cooperation with the government and neglected its humanitarian duty to help all people in need? Decision-makers face these tough policy dilemmas, and often the "neutrality trap" snaps shut.This book discusses the political and moral considerations of how to respond to a brutal and complex crisis while adhering to international law and practice. The author, a scholar and senior diplomat involved in the UN peace talks in Geneva, draws from first-hand diplomatic, practitioner and UN sources. He sheds light on the UN's credibility crisis and the wider implications for the development of international humanitarian and human rights law. This includes covering the key questions asked by Western diplomats, NGOs and international organizations, such as: Why did the UN not confront the Syrian government more boldly? Was it not only legally correct but also morally justifiable to deliver humanitarian aid to regime areas where rockets were launched and warplanes started? Why was it so difficult to render cross-border aid possible where it was badly needed? The meticulous account of current international practice is both insightful and disturbing. It tackles the painful lessons learnt and provides recommendations for future challenges where politics fails and humanitarians fill the moral void.

Dynamics of an Insurgency. Casts light on the underlying causes and early developments of the civil war.

The Syrian Uprising: Dynamics of an Insurgency (St. Andrews Papers on Contemporary Syria)

Politics & Social Sciences

Almqvist, Adam

Nassif, Helena

Anthropology

Lynne Rienner Pub

When Arab Spring swept the region, Syria s President Bashar al-Asad thought that he was safe. Over the previous five years, the moderate opposition had been crushed. Unlike Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, Syria had taken an anti-US stance since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Syrians were used to living under sanctions and being called terrorists. Asad told Brad and Angelina that he did not need personal security, because ordinary Syrians were protecting him. The Syrian president was convinced that Syrians loved him. And not only Syrians. Vogue agreed in its March 2011 puff piece that described Asad's wife as a "rose in the desert. "What of Syrian naysayers? Asad counted on his ruthless and all-seeing mukhabarat to keep them in line.

Syria: A Decade of Lost Chances: Repression and Revolution from Damascus Spring to Arab Spring

Middle East

Cune Press

When Arab Spring swept the region, Syria s President Bashar al-Asad thought that he was safe. Over the previous five years, the moderate opposition had been crushed. Unlike Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, Syria had taken an anti-US stance since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Syrians were used to living under sanctions and being called terrorists. Asad told movie stars Brad and Angelina when they visited Damascus that he did not need personal security, because ordinary Syrians were protecting him. The Syrian president was convinced that Syrians loved him. And not only Syrians. Vogue agreed in its March 2011 puff piece that described Asad's wife as a Rose in the Desert. What of Syrian naysayers? Asad counted on his ruthless and all-seeing mukhabarat to keep them in line. Tackling politics, society, religion, and economy, Syria - A Decade of Lost Chances explores the eleven years of Asad s rule between the clampdown on Damascus Spring in 2001 and the challenge of escalating street protests in the wake of the Arab Spring in 2011 and 2012. Author Carsten Wieland interviewed the major opposition figures year by year over this decade. A valuable complement to the growing body of indigenous reporting (youtube videos, blog commentary), Syria - A Decade of Lost Chances provides context and expert insight that reveals the essential struggle and untold barbarity unfolding here in what Syrian government tourist brochures call the cradle of civilization.

Syria: A Decade of Lost Chances: Repression and Revolution from Demascus Spring to Arab Spring

"We have updated Syria Ballots or Bullets and have re-issued it under the title: Syria - A Decade of Lost Chances. All orders for Syria - Ballots or Bullets will receive the updated volume (Syria - A Decade of Lost Chances)."

Syria Ballots or Bullets?: Democracy, Islamism, and Secularism in the Levant

Politics & Government

Cune

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wieland, Carsten. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wieland, Carsten

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wieland, Carsten. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid through Violent Regimes

Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid through Violent Regimes

The Syrian Uprising: Dynamics of an Insurgency (St. Andrews Papers on Contemporary Syria)

Syria: A Decade of Lost Chances: Repression and Revolution from Damascus Spring to Arab Spring

Syria: A Decade of Lost Chances: Repression and Revolution from Demascus Spring to Arab Spring

Syria Ballots or Bullets?: Democracy, Islamism, and Secularism in the Levant