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Jadaliyya Launches Photography Page (click here!)
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السلطة الساعية إلى انتزاع الطائفة من جبلها إلى عنفها
حتى هذه اللحظة، لا يزال ولاء الطائفة العلوية، الأكثر التباساً بين المواضيع المطروحة في الثورة السورية. الطائفة التي لم يعطها التاريخ حقها من الدراسة والبحث، لا يفهم كثيرون أسباب ولائها المطلق. والبعض يشطح بخياله بعيداً ليحمّل الموضوع أكثر مما يحتمل. هل الاضطهاد الذي تعرضت له الطائفة عبر تاريخها على يد السلاجقة ... Read More »
Syria Media Roundup (September 6)
[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of ... Read More »
Syria Monthly Edition on Jadaliyya (August 2012)
[This is a monthly archive of pieces written by Jadaliyya contributors and editors on Syria. It also includes material published on other platforms that editors deemed pertinent to post as they provide diverse depictions of Syria-related topics. The pieces reflect the level of critical analysis and diversity that ... Read More »
The FSA: How to Lose Support and Alienate People in No Time
By December 2011, peaceful protests had stopped being confined to Fridays and had become part of our daily life. Regime suppression continued apace, but we felt we had a modicum of safety. In response to regime attacks on peaceful protests, members of the FSA took on the responsibility of protecting the protest ... Read More »
The Love Affair with Erdogan (Part 2)
[The following is part two of a two-part piece on Tayyip Erdogan. Part one was posted Monday, 27 August.] How, then, has Erdoğan managed to escape with his international reputation relatively unscathed, and his domestic popularity only marginally diminished? One might be tempted to argue that although his ... Read More »
As Syria Free-Falls . . . A Return to the Basics (Part 1)
Lest we forget, or forget why, it has become important to consult the basics regarding the Syrian uprising. This might very well be the best time for such a review. For as the death toll rises and the gradual destruction of the social fabric continues, the Syrian tragedy is increasingly more about the fall ... Read More »
Syria Media Roundup (August 30)
[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of ... Read More »
Syria: Joint Rapid Food Security Needs Assessment
[The following report was issued by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in June 2012.] Syria: Joint Rapid Food Security Needs Assessment Summary of Findings Crops and livestock sectors are the most affected by the ongoing crisis in the country. Table 1 summarizes the ... Read More »
The Balkanisation of Syria: Myth or Reality?
In recent weeks, as the number of casualties in the Syrian civil war has been soaring exponentially, so have comparisons of the situation in the country with the wars that ravaged and, ultimately, resulted in the break up of the Yugoslav federation into several smaller and purportedly ethnically more homogeneous ... Read More »
The Economic and Human Toll of Syria's Worsening Refugee Crisis: Democracy Now! Interview with Omar Dahi
The following interview was conducted with Omar Dahi, a Syrian professor of economics at Hampshire College on August 14th, 2012 regarding the economic consequences of the uprising in Syria, especially in terms of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The escalating conflict in Syria has magnified the refugee ... Read More »
Syria Media Roundup (August 23)
[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every ... Read More »
Writing, Revolution, and Change in Syria: An Interview with Nihad Sirees
It can be said without hesitation that Nihad Sirees is an Aleppine writer, not because he hails from that city and lived there for most of his life, but because the bulk of his writing starts there and orbits in its universe. From Northern Winds to The Girls, and even The Silence and the Roar, which ... Read More »
From Resilience to Revolt: Making Sense of the Arab Spring
[The following report was issued by the Research and Documentation Centre (WODC) of the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice on 21 June 2012.] From Resilience to Revolt: Making Sense of the Arab Spring Executive Summary Early 2011 waves of protest started rolling through the Middle East. Though in many states the ... Read More »
Dark Humor Facebook Pages of the Syrian Opposition
The uprising in Syria has unleashed a wave of dark humor and satire across a range of media, from the clever posters of the Local Coordinating Committee of Kfarnebel to the short sketches from YouTube series “Freedom and nothing else.” Therefore, it’s not surprising that along with the thousands of Facebook pages ... Read More »
Families of Kidnapped Lebanese in Syria Cut Off Access to the Airport in Beirut
In an irony of history, the old Lebanon, feared in the decade of the 1970s for its hijackers, is now the victim of kidnappings. The confusion is greater when Lebanese are kidnapped in Syria and Syrians are kidnapped in Lebanon as a deliberate proxy war between pro-Syrian regime groups in Lebanon, and detractor groups ... Read More »
Syria Media Roundup (August 16)
[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every ... Read More »
Syria: Prospects for Intervention
[The following report was issued by Chatham House.] Syria: Prospects for Intervention Introduction This is a summary of discussions that took place in a closed-door study group bringing together experts from Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa, International Law and International Security ... Read More »
Syrian Refugee Photo Essay
As the crisis in Syria continues to escalate, refugees are fleeing to the surrounding countries in huge numbers. According to the UNHCR, as of August 8 there are over one hundred thirty-eight thousand refugees registered for assistance – roughly fifty thousand in Turkey, thirty-nine thousand in Jordan, thirty-five ... Read More »
Syrian Inmate Describes Fatal Assault on Prisoners
[The following statement was issued by Human Rights Watch on 27 July 2012.] The Syrian government should immediately grant United Nations observers full access to Homs and Aleppo central prisons to check on prisoners who may be at risk of violent reprisals following prison riots, Human Rights Watch said ... Read More »
Syria Media Roundup (August 9)
[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every ... Read More »
On Defections and Developments in Syria: PBS NewsHour Interview with Bassam Haddad and David Lesch
The following interview was conducted by Margert Warner on PBS's NewsHour. It aired live on Monday 6 August 2012, and featured Jadaliyya Co-Editor Bassam Haddad and Professor David Lesch. The interview primarily discussed the wave of recent defections and their significance (or lack thereof) in the ongoing struggle ... Read More »
Syria's Mutating Conflict
[The following report is the latest from the International Crisis Group (ICG) on Syria.] Syria's Mutating Conflict Executive Summary At a distance, Syria’s conflict can resemble a slow, painful slog, punctuated by intermittent accelerations and apparent tipping points, influenced by international ... Read More »
Syria Media Roundup (August 2)
[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every ... Read More »
Syria Monthly Edition on Jadaliyya (July 2012))
This is a monthly archive of pieces written by Jadaliyya contributors and editors on Syria. It also includes material published on other platforms that editors deemed pertinent to post as they provide diverse depictions of Syria-related topics. The pieces reflect the level of critical analysis and diversity that ... Read More »
خمسون دقيقة مع مناف طلاس
[نشر هذا المقال للمرة الأولى باللغة الإنجليزية في مجلة "مدل إيست ريبورت"، وترجمه إلى العربية وائل سواح.] أثناء إحدى زياراتي الدورية إلى سورية، كنت مع مجموعة من الأصدقاء في مطعم من تلك المطاعم الصاخبة التي بدأت تغزو بكثافة المدينة القديمة المحيطة بحي باب توما في دمشق. ليست هذه المطاعم سواء، فبعضها كان ... Read More »
Reports of Cluster Munitions Use in Syria
[The following statement was released by the Cluster Munitions Coalition on 12 July 2012.] If confirmed, reports would mark first use of these indiscriminate arms by Syria. The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) is deeply concerned by reports that Syrian government forces have used cluster munitions after ... Read More »
My 50 Minutes with Manaf
During one of my regular visits to Syria, I was with a group of friends at one of the bustling new restaurant-bars that dotted Damascus’ old city, around Bab Touma. Some places were more popular than others, frequented by internationals and a particular stratum of Damascene society that included some people who were ... Read More »
Syria Media Roundup (July 26)
[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every ... Read More »
Against Orthodoxy: The Story of Alawi Origins
Since the outbreak of the popular uprising in Syria last spring, the media have focused on the Alawi minority which controls the levers of power in that country. Most often, one hears echoes of mainstream Sunni and Shi’i sources that Alawis represent a heretical or, at best, syncretic deviation from Muslim ... Read More »
Syrian Refugees: Anxious Neighbors Stretched Thin
[The following report was issued by Refugees International on 10 July 2012.] Syrian Refugees: Anxious Neighbors Stretched Thin Since early 2012, Lebanon and Jordan have seen a dramatic increase in the number of refugees crossing their borders as the Syrian government intensifies its crackdown on ... Read More »
Syrian Population Regression
Population: ~ 22.5 Million
2011: 5,800+ (killed)
2012: 60,000+ (killed) and 500,000+ (external refugees)
2013: 70,000+ (killed) and 1,000,000+ (external refugees)
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Syria Map and Stats
Population: 22,517,750
GDP: $107.4 billion
Unemployment: 8.3%; Youth Employment (ages 15-24): 19.1%
Internet Users: 4.469 million
Exchange Rate: ~ 98.00 Syrian pounds per US dollar
GDP Growth Rate: 3.2%
Military Expenditures: 5.9% of GDP (World Rank: 10)
Health Expenditures: 2.9% of GDP (World Rank: 180)
Population Growth Rate: 0.913%
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 35.2%; 15-64 years: 61%; 65 years and over: 3.8%
Literacy: 79.6%
Religious Demographics: Sunni Muslim 74%; other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%; Christian (various denominations) 10%
Ethnic Demographics: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
The United States has been a close ally of one of the most repressive Islamic states in the world—Saudi Arabia—and has had little difficulties with Turkey’s Islamic government. The “fear of Islamists” component of this narrative is clearly a red herring.click | email | tweet
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