Book Event: The Syria Dilemma
Date and Time
Jan 15, 2014 5:30 pm
Location
14th & V
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
Jan 15, 2014 5:30 pm
14th & V
The United States is on the brink of intervention in Syria, but the effect of any eventual American action is impossible to predict. The Syrian conflict has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions, yet most observers warn that the worst is still to come. And the international community cannot agree how respond to this humanitarian catastrophe. World leaders have repeatedly resolved not to let atrocities happen in plain view, but the legacy of the bloody and costly intervention in Iraq has left policymakers with little appetite for more military operations. So we find ourselves in the grip of a double burden: the urge to stop the bleeding in Syria, and the fear that attempting to do so would be Iraq redux.
What should be done about the apparently intractable Syrian conflict? This book focuses on the ethical and political dilemmas at the heart of the debate about Syria and the possibility of humanitarian intervention in today's world. The contributors--Syria experts, international relations theorists, human rights activists, and scholars of humanitarian intervention--don't always agree, but together they represent the best political thinking on the issue. "The Syria Dilemma" includes original pieces from Michael Ignatieff, Mary Kaldor, Radwan Ziadeh, Thomas Pierret, Afra Jalabi, and others. Contributors: Asli B?li, Richard Falk, Tom Farer, Charles Glass, Shadi Hamid, Nader Hashemi, Christopher Hill, Michael Ignatieff, Afra Jalabi, Rafif Jouejati, Mary Kaldor, Marc Lynch, Vali Nasr, Thomas Pierret, Danny Postel, Aziz Rana, Christoph Reuter, Kenneth Roth, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Fareed Zakaria, Radwan Ziadeh, Stephen Zunes
Nader Hashemi is Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the University of Denver?s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is the author of Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies and co-editor, with Danny Postel, of The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran?s Future and The Syria Dilemma.A collection of such excellent essays on the Syrian civil war could not be timelier. Though the articles in The Syria Dilemma (MIT Press), edited by Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel, do not address the chemical warfare crisis that almost resulted in the United States launching an attack on Syria, this collection draws together a truly diverse spectrum of opinion on how to understand the crisis and what should be done. ... The Syria Dilemma is not only a good and important read, but it is also a work that can be used to spark discussions among those concerned about twenty-first century international engagement. In that sense, it is just as good for a classroom as it is for global justice advocates. - Bill Fletcher, Jr., The Progressive
Danny Postel is Associate Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver?s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is the author of Reading "Legitimation Crisis" in Tehran and co-editor, with Nader Hashemi, of The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran?s Future and The Syria Dilemma. He blogs for Truthout, Critical Inquiry, and the Huffington Post, and is a Contributing Editor of Logos: A Journal of Modern Society & Culture.
Marc Lynch is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University?s Elliott School of International Affairs, where he is the director of the Institute for Middle East Studies and the Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS). He is the author of The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East and edits the Middle East Channel on ForeignPolicy.com.
Radwan Ziadeh is the Executive Director of the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Washington, Director of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies in Syria, and Managing Editor of the Transitional Justice in the Arab World Project. His most recent book is Power and Policy in Syria: Intelligence Services, Foreign Relations and Democracy in the Modern Middle East.
Sponsors:
Foundation to Restore Equality & Education in Syria
Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies (SCPSS)
Center for Middle East Studies (CMES) at the University of Denver's Joseph Korbel School of International Studies
