A compact, incisive history of a war that was an ominous prelude to
Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Leaving almost half a million dead and displacing an estimated twelve
million people, the Syrian Civil War is a humanitarian catastrophe of
unimaginable scale. Syrian Requiem analyzes the causes and course of
this bitter conflict--from its first spark in a peaceful Arab Spring
protest to the tenuous victory of the Asad dictatorship--and traces how
the fighting has reduced Syria to a crisis-ridden vassal state with
little prospect of political reform, national reconciliation, or
economic reconstruction.
Israel's chief negotiator with Syria during the mid-1990s, Itamar
Rabinovich brings unmatched expertise and insight to the politics of the
Middle East. Drawing on more than two hundred specially conducted
interviews with key players, Rabinovich and Carmit Valensi assess the
roles of local, regional, and global interests in the war. Local
sectarian divisions established the fault lines of the initial conflict,
ultimately leading to the rise of the brutal Islamic State. However,
Syria rapidly became the stage for proxy warfare between contending
regional powers, including Israel, Turkey, and Iran. At the same time,
while a war-weary United States attempted to reduce its military
involvement in the Middle East, a resurgent Russia regained regional
influence by supporting Syrian government forces. Telling the story of
the war and its aftermath, Rabinovich and Valensi also examine the
considerable potential for renewed conflict and the difficult policy
choices facing the United States, Russia, and other powers.
A compact and incisive history of one of the defining wars of our times,
Syrian Requiem is a vivid and timely account of a conflict that
continues to reverberate today.
