Description
Book SynopsisAlex J. Bellamy provides a forensic account of the world’s failure to protect Syrian civilians from mass atrocities. Drawing on interviews with key players, documents from the United Nations and other international organizations, and sources from the Middle East and beyond, he traces the missteps of the international response to Syria’s civil war.
Trade ReviewIn this masterful work, Alex J. Bellamy guides us expertly through the bewildering array of forces and factions in Syria’s civil war. He explains how domestic, regional, and international players made matters worse while jockeying to advance their own interests. Finally, he helps us understand how Syrians themselves were abused, abandoned, and ultimately betrayed. -- Allan Rock, president emeritus of the University of Ottawa and former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations
Alex J. Bellamy, champion of the concept of the “responsibility to protect,” takes a hard look at why powerful actors did not protect hundreds of thousands of Syrians who perished during the civil war. His sober conclusion: the war was so deadly because some actors were unwilling to compromise and would do anything to win, and because of the ‘core fact’ that the fate of Syria’s people was no one’s consistent priority. Detailed, well-written, and thoroughly referenced case studies of key events and actors make
Syria Betrayed essential reading for everyone who is interested in the Syrian civil war and its implications for the future. -- Taylor B. Seybolt, author of
Humanitarian Military Intervention: The Conditions for Success and FailureThis book is a sweeping, descriptive account of a case that even today is still active and ongoing. Bellamy provides a well-written narrative portrayal of the complexities of politics at multiple levels and the impact of global powers’ failures on the lives of civilians. -- Melissa Labonte, author of
Human Rights and Humanitarian Norms, Strategic Framing, and Intervention: Lessons for the Responsibility to ProtectThe book provides humbling, crushing, and essential reading. * International Affairs *
Highly relevant for peace scholars, activists, and professionals. * International Peacekeeping *
Does a valuable job of assembling and analysing the international community’s failures over a decade of egregious violence and violations of international law. * Times Literary Supplement *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
List of Terms and Abbreviations
Prologue: Humanity’s Orphans
1. Arab Spring
2. Regional Solutions?
3. Last Chance for Peace
4. Syrian Winter
5. Red Line
6. Death and Diplomacy
7. Rise of the Caliphate
8. Between Barrel Bombs and Beheadings
9. Exodus
10. Russian Intervention
11. Meltdown of Humanity
12. Russia’s Endgame
13. De-escalation Dominoes
14. Northern Fires
15. “No Military Solutions” and Other Zombies
Epilogue: System Failure
Notes
Index
