The Syrian War Between Justice and Political Reality

Starting as a civil uprising calling for liberal reforms in March 2011, the unrest in Syria rapidly deteriorated into a proxy-led armed conflict involving multiple state-sponsored and non-state actors, including foreign militias and local armed groups. The current state of affairs in Syria, and the uncertainty regarding its future, raise numerous questions for scholars and practitioners of both international law and politics about justice within the context of a changing political reality in Syria. This book contributes uniquely to the scholarship on the Syrian war, raising voices from the Middle East and beyond not often heard within this research context. The volume is divided into three sections: Part I sets the factual and legal framework for the Syrian conflict; Part II focuses on the implications of the conflict for the Syrian neighbourhood; and Part III analyses possible post-conflict scenarios. Together, they address the key themes and questions of the conflicts.

1. Introduction: an overview of stakeholders and interests Hilly Moodrick, Even Khen, Nir Boms and Sareta Ashraph; Part I. The Syrian War: Factual and Legal Framework: 2. Syria- international use of force and humanitarian intervention Amichai Cohen; 3. Legal classification of the conflict(s) in Syria Tom Gal; 4. The Syrian government's war against its people Eyal Zisser; 5. All the red lines: the Syrian conflict and its assault on international humanitarian law Sareta Ashraph; 6. Scorched earth in Syria: between crimes against humanity and genocide Hilly Moodrick, Even Khen and Yael Siman; 7. Weaponising gender: sexual violence in the Syrian conflict Lina Biscaia; Part II. The Syrian Neighbourhood: 8. Proxy wars in Syria: exploitation of the Palestinian issue in the Syrian crisis Moran Levanoni; 9. A northern dilemma: understanding Israel's actions facing the Syrian War Nir Boms; 10. The spillover effects of the Syrian Civil War: regional ramifications Joel D. Parker; 11. Syrian refugees in Europe: assessing challenges, practices and integration policies Francesco Farinelli; Part III. A New Syria in a New World Order? Assessing Legal and Political Implications: 12. Transitional justice without transition: the international community's efforts in Syria Beth Van Schaack; 13. Syrian Kurds: rising from the ashes of persecution Sirwan Kajjo; 14. Epilogue: the future of Syria and the Middle East Kamal Allabwani; 15. Conclusion Hilly Moodrick-Even Khen, Nir Boms and Sareta Ashraph.

Hilly Moodrick-Even Khen is Senior Lecturer at the Academic College for Law and Science and Lecturer at Ariel University. She is author of National Identities and the Right to Self -Determination of Peoples: 'Civic- Nationalism- Plus' in Israel and Other Multinational States (2016); Terrorism and International Law: Combatants and Civilians in Modern Battlefields (2010) [Hebrew]; and of articles in scientific journals in the fields of international humanitarian law, international criminal law, and philosophical-juridical interdisciplinary scholarship.
Nir Tuvia Boms is Research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center, Tel Aviv University and at the International Center for Counter Terrorism in Hertzliya. He is a member of the board of the Israeli Council of Foreign Relations, Co-Founder of CyberDissidents.org and the Tiyul-Rihla project. He is co-author of Expat-ing Democracy (with Peter Lang, 2016), and has written over 300 articles.
Sareta Ashraph is a Barrister specializing in International Criminal and Humanitarian Law at the Garden Court Chambers. Previously she served as the Analyst on the International Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, documenting violations of international law in the context of the ongoing conflict in Syria.