As the Syrian crisis enters its eighth year, the prospects for a peaceful resolution remain very slim. While violence metastasized over the course of the crisis the entanglements of the many subjugating actors deepened, expanded, and consolidated in ways that have made peace, let alone a political transition, elusive. Despite Syria’s many overlapping conflicts, the crisis is moving towards what can best be described as an authoritarian peace. This presentation traces the emergence of the authoritarian peace in Syria through a discussion of the nature of warfare and violence and the forms of peace that have subsequently emerged. In contrast to liberal assumptions about peace, the authoritarian peace rejects inclusion, democratic practices, and the elimination of violence in favor of a post-conflict order in which violence and exclusion govern politics. Thus, perpetual violence emerges as a central tenet of the authoritarian peace and is underpinned by regional states’ willingness to enact and sanction violence against recalcitrant populations. This violence, post-conflict order is shaping the forms of peace that are currently emerging in Syria.
The CCAS is excited to invite you to a lecture by Dr. Samer Abboud, Associate Professor at Arcadia University's Department of International Studies. Professor Abboud has published widely on the Syrian Crisis and focuses on capital flight in Syria and the Syrian war economy. His 2015 book Syria, unravels the complex and multi-layered causes of the current political and military stalemate - from rebel fragmentation to the differing roles of international actors, and the rise of competing centers of power throughout the country.

The Syrian Crisis From Stalemate To Authoritarian Peace.WAV

This public workshop, held at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, featured experts and journalists speaking about the background and current issues around the civil strife in Yemen, external intervention in the conflict, the humanitarian crisis and the dimension of the Arab Spring.

Teach-In on Yemen

The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) at Georgetown University is the only academic center in the United States focusing essentially on the Arab world--the region from Morocco to the Gulf. It has been doing so with distinction for over 30 years.

CCAS Georgetown