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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.

Dieses Buch liefert überraschende Einsichten in einen Staat, der lange Zeit zu den verschlossensten der Welt zählte. Der Autor verharrt nicht nur auf der politischen Ebene, sondern beschreibt auch wichtige Details aus dem syrischen Alltag. Er liefert neben einer scharfen Analyse der politischen Lage eine lebendige Skizze der syrischen Gesellschaft. Ein verblüffendes Ergebnis: Ausgerechnet Syrien könnte bessere Voraussetzungen für eine Demokratisierung besitzen als andere Länder in der Region

Um Freiheit und Demokratie zu verhindern, nutzt das russische Regime all seine Machtoptionen: Militär, Propaganda, Entmenschlichung. Wann lernt der Westen? (IP)

Die regionalen Kontrahenten Saudi-Arabien, Iran und Vereinigte Arabische Emirate verfolgen ihre eigenen Interessen und verhindern damit, dass die Bemühungen um eine Beilegung des Konflikts Erfolg haben. (IP)

"Vom syrischen politischen System ist nicht mehr viel übrig. Staatliche Strukturen haben sich vielerorts aufgelöst, die Verfassungsänderung von 2012 kam zu spät und ging nicht weit genug, alle ideologischen Pfeiler des Regimes sind gestürzt." (Autorenreferat)

"Syria's President Bashar al-Asad ruled for a decade before arriving at the end of his tether. His legacy was to leave his country in ruins, its morale and social fabric destroyed, perhaps beyond repair. No matter how the bloody revolt in his country plays out, his political capital will have been spent. How could this have happened alter such a hopeful and auspicious start to his rule in June 2000? The story of his political career is a series of missed chances and practical failures. Throughout his rule, Asad emphasized his strong personal relationship to the 'beloved people of Syria'. Despite waves of significant popular support during the years of his rule this rhetoric proved to be a self-delusion. After 2011, the president was never able to tie in again to his former cultivated image. He began a new chapter of his rule with blood on his hands. Clearly, the development of the country under Asad was asymmetric. While some reforms became evident, especially in the macro-economic realm, political, administrative, and socio-economic progress came to a halt or was reversed. His first attempts at political pluralization soon appeared too risky. Therefore, the president reduced his aspirations to administrative reforms (anti-corruption, efficiency, etc.), and when this was met with resistance, he concentrated on economic reforms that had been moving along a bumpy road but were indispensable for the regime's survival." (author's abstract)