Tag: syria
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More on the dilemmas facing humanitarian workers in conflict zones
A while back I wrote about the difficulty for third-parties of remaining neutral/impartial in conflict zones (here). These debates flare mostly in the context of the war in Syria. Yesterday there were more news on the dilemmas that humanitarian workers in Syria face. The journal Foreign Policy obtained records of how many Syrians the World Food Programme…
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Short-term thinking in Libya hurts diplomacy elsewhere.
Why has Russia blocked UN Security Council’s authorization of force to stop bloodshed in Syria. There are several obstacles to the resolution of the Syrian Civil War (mutual fear among ethnic groups, Iran’s patronage of Assad, rise of Islamist radicals), but a big obstacle is Russia’s opposition at the UN Security Council. Russia’s material interests…
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Can Donors Remain Impartial in Conflict Regions?
Can actors remain “impartial” while providing the most basic types of aid (such as food and medicine) to civilians stuck in conflict zones? I am becoming increasingly skeptical that they can. Here is why: Civilians need food and medicine desperately, and donors (NGO’s and foreign aid agencies) are anxious to provide it, but in their…
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The current situation in Syria
We will probably talk more about the Syrian civil war in the coming weeks. If you need to catch up, here is a good summary of the current international and domestic actors in the Syrian civil war.
Kerim Can Kavakli 