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CONFLICT IN SYRIA: IS IT A PROXY WARFARE?

Year 2018, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 44 - 69, 27.12.2018

Abstract

This article analyses the protracted conflict in Syria in the context of proxy warfare theory, focusing especially on the competition between global powers (the US and Russia) and regional actors Iran and Saudi Arabia, which is supported by other regional Sunni states. When eventuated, the conflict in Syria represented an example of proxy warfare, but a military intervention by exterior actors upon the onset of the DAESH terrorist organisation, and shifting relations between global and regional actors, turned Syria into a more complex political and military battlefield, which a single warfare theory can no longer adequately explain.

References

  • “Battle for Aleppo: How Syria Became the New Global Warfare”, Der Spiegel, 11 October 2016. “Russia will not Allow Libya-Style Regime Change in Syria: Lavrov”, Al-Arabiya, 09 June 2012 https://www.alarabiya. net/articles/2012/06/09/219590.html, (Date of Accession: 22 January 2018). “Saudi Arabia and Counterterrorism: Fact Sheet: Fighting and Defeating DAESH”, May 2017, Official Website of Saudi Arabia Embassy, https://www.saudiembassy.net/sites/ default/files/Fact%20sheet%20-%20Fighting%20and %20 Defeating% 20DAESH.pdf, (Date of Accession: 22 December 2017). “The Syrian Civil War: A Turning Point for Bashar Assad?”, The Economist, 08 June 2013. ABBINK, Jon, “Ethiopia-Eritrea: Proxy Warfares and Prospects of Peace in the Horn of Africa”, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 21(3), September 2003, p. 407-425 . ANSARI, Ali-Aniseh B. Tabrizi, “The View from Tehran”, Aniseh B. Tabrizi-Raffaello Pantucci, ed., Understanding Iran’s Role in the Syrian Conflict, Occasional Paper Prepared by Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, August 2016, p. 3-10. ANTONOPOULOS, Paul-Drew Cottle, Syria: The Hegemonic Flashpoint between Iran and Saudi Arabia?, Vij Books, New Delhi 2017. BARNARD, Anne, “Hezbollah Commits to an All-Out Fight to Save Assad”, New York Times, 25 May 2013. BARNARD, Anne-Karam Shoumali, “U.S. Weaponry Is Turning Syria Into Proxy Warfare with Russia”, New York Times, 12 October 2015. BEEHNER, Lionel, “How Proxy Warfare Work and What That Means for Ending the Conflict in Syria”, Foreign Affairs, 12 November 2015. BERNARD, Henry-et all, “How the Iranian-Saudi Proxy Struggle Tore Apart the Middle East”, The New York Times, 19 November 2016. EROL, Mehmet Seyfettin-Oktay Bingöl, “Uluslararası İlişkiler ve İstihbarat”, Dış Politika Analizinde Teorik Yaklaşımlar: Türk Dış Politikası Örneği, der., Ertan Efegil-Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, Barış Kitap, Ankara 2012, p. 271-299. EROL, Mehmet Seyfettin, ““Ukrayna-Kırım Krizi” ya da “İkinci Yalta Süreci””, Karadeniz Araştırmaları, 41, Spring 2014, p. 1-14. EROL, Mehmet Seyfettin-Şafak Oğuz, “Hybrid Warfare Studies and Russian’s Example in Crime”, Gazi Akademik Bakış, 9(17), Kış 2015, p. 261-277 . FOLLATH, Erich-Dieter Bednarz, “Spiegel Interview with Iranian Foreign Minister Salehi: Assad Poses No Threat to the Middle East”, Der Spiegel, 08 October 2012. GAUSE III, F. Gregory, Beyond Sectarianism: The New Middle East Cold War, Brookings DOHA Center Analysis Paper, Number 11, July 2014. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/ uploads/2016/06/English-PDF-1.pdf, (Date of Accession: 02 January 2018). GLADSTONE, Rick-Anne Barnard, “U.S. Accuses Hezbollah of Aiding Syria’s Crackdown”, The New York Times, 10 August 2012. HIRONAKA, Ann, Neverending Warfare: The International Community, Weak States and the Perpetuation of Civil Warfare, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2005. HUBBARD, Ben-Robert F. Worth. “Angry Over Syrian Warfare, Saudis Fault U.S. Policy”, New York Times, 25 October 2013. HUGHES, Geraint, My Enemy’s Enemy: Proxy Warfare in International Politics, Sussex Academic Press, Brighton 2012. JOSHI, Shashank, “The Views of Non-State Actors”, Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi and Raffaello Pantucci, ed., Understanding Iran’s Role in the Syrian Conflict, Occasional Paper prepared by Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, August 2016. KING, Laura, “Who Wants what in Syria: World Powers Jostle for Influence”, Los Angeles Times, 23 December 2016. KORTE, Gregory, “16 Times Obama Said There would be No Boots on the Ground in Syria”, USA Today, 30 October 2015, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/ onpolitics/2015/10/ 30/16-times-obama-said-there-wouldno- boots-ground-syria/74869884/, (Date of Accession: 22 January 2017). LEVITT, Matthew, Syria Spillover: The Growing Threat of Terrorism and Sectarianism in the Middle East, Testimony Submitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 06 March 2014, https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/ doc/030614AM_Testimony%20-%20 Matthew%20Levitt. pdf, (Date of Accession: 04.12.2017). MAZZETTI, Mark-Matt Apuzzo, “Saudi Arabia, the CIA and the Arming of Syrian Rebels”, Irish Times, 24 January 2016. MAZZETTI, Mark Anne Barnard and Eric Scmitt, “Military Success in Syria Gives Putin Upper Hand in U.S. Proxy Warfare”, The New York Times, 06 August 2016. MCLEES, Alexandra-Matthew Kupfer, “A Proxy Warfare in Ukraine?”, Carnegie Moscow Center, 31 July 2014, http:// carnegie.ru/commentary/56307, (Date of Accession: 07 January 2018). MUMFORD, Andrew, “Proxy Warfare and the Future of Conflict”, The RUSI Journal, 158(2), April/May 2013, p. 40-46. MUMFORD, Andrew, Proxy Warfare: Warfare and Conflict in the Modern World, Polity Press, Cambridge 2013. NORTON-TAYLOR, Richard, “A Thirty Years Warfare in Iraq and Syria?”, The Guardian, 11 June 2014. PENGELLY, Martin, “John McCain says the US is Engaged in Proxy Warfare with Russia in Syria”, The Guardian, 04 October 2015. PERALTA, Eyder, “We Ask Experts: Has the Situation in Syria Become A Proxy War?”, NPR, 17 October 2015, https://www. npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/16/449181764/ we-ask-experts-has-the-situation-in-syria-become-a-proxywar, (Date of Accession: 19 December 2017). PHILLIP, Abby-Mike DeBonis, “Tillerson, Haley Issue Differing Statements on Future of Assad in Syria”, The Washington Post, 09 April 2017. RAUTA, Vladimir-Andrew Mumford, “Proxy Warfare and Contemporary Security Environment”, Robert Dover, Huw Dylan and Michael S. Goodman, ed., The Palgrave Handbook of Security, Risk and Intelligence, Palgrave Mcmillan, London 2017, p .99-115. SERVICE, Robert, Russia and Its Islamic World: From the Mongol Conquest to The Syrian Military Intervention, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford 2017. SHAFY, Samiha-Bernhard Zand, “Saudi Foreign Minister: I Don’t Think World Warare III Is Going to Happen in Syria”, Der Spiegel, 19 February 2016. SIMS, Alexandra, “Syria: Moscow Issues ‘Proxy Warfare’ Warning over US Special Forces”, The Independent, 31 October 2015. STEPHENS, Michael, “The View from Gulf States”, Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi-Raffaello Pantucci, ed., Understanding Iran’s Role in the Syrian Conflict, Occasional Paper Prepared by Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, August 2016, p. 39-44. TEIFUKOVA, Riana-Mehmet Seyfetin Erol, "Russian Hybrid War: From Theory to Practice", Uluslararası Kriz ve Siyaset Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(2), Hibrit Savaşları Özel Sayısı, p. 33- 67. TOWLE, Philip, “The Strategy of Warfare by Proxy”, The RUSI Journal, 126(1), 1981, p. 21-26. TURSE, Nick, The Changing Face of Empire: Special Ops, Drones, Spies, Proxy Fighters, Secret Bases, and Cyberwarfare, Haymarket Books, Chicago 2012. WEAVER, Carol, The Politics of the Black Sea Region: EU Neighbourhood, Conflict Zone or Future Security Community?, Routledge, London 2016. WILLIAMS, Brian Glyn, Counter-Jihad: America’s Military Experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, University of Philadelphia Press, Philadelphia 2017. YAACOV, Bar-Siman Tov, “The Strategy of Warfare by Proxy”, Cooperation and Conflict, 19(4), November 1984, p. 263-273. ZARIF, Mohammad Javad, “Peace in Syria is Vital. And it’s within Our Grasp”, The Guardian, 18 December 2015.

Suriye İç Savaşı Bir Vekalet Savaşı Mı?

Year 2018, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 44 - 69, 27.12.2018

Abstract

Bu makale, özellikle küresel güçler olan ABD ve Rusya ile bölgesel aktörler olan İran ve bölgedeki diğer Sünni devletler tarafından desteklenen Suudi Arabistan arasındaki rekabete odaklanarak, Suriye’de uzun süredir devam eden çatışmaları vekalet savaşları teorisi kapsamında incelemektedir. Makale, çatışmaların başlangıçta bir vekalet savaşı örneğini teşkil ettiğini; ancak DEAŞ terör örgütünün ortaya çıkması üzerine harici aktörlerin askeri müdahalesi ve küresel ve bölgesel aktörler arasındaki değişen ilişkilerin Suriye’yi daha karmaşık bir siyasi ve askeri savaş alanına çevirerek savaşın karakteristiğini tek bir teori kapsamında anlatamayacak şekilde değiştirdiğini öne sürmektedir.

References

  • “Battle for Aleppo: How Syria Became the New Global Warfare”, Der Spiegel, 11 October 2016. “Russia will not Allow Libya-Style Regime Change in Syria: Lavrov”, Al-Arabiya, 09 June 2012 https://www.alarabiya. net/articles/2012/06/09/219590.html, (Date of Accession: 22 January 2018). “Saudi Arabia and Counterterrorism: Fact Sheet: Fighting and Defeating DAESH”, May 2017, Official Website of Saudi Arabia Embassy, https://www.saudiembassy.net/sites/ default/files/Fact%20sheet%20-%20Fighting%20and %20 Defeating% 20DAESH.pdf, (Date of Accession: 22 December 2017). “The Syrian Civil War: A Turning Point for Bashar Assad?”, The Economist, 08 June 2013. ABBINK, Jon, “Ethiopia-Eritrea: Proxy Warfares and Prospects of Peace in the Horn of Africa”, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 21(3), September 2003, p. 407-425 . ANSARI, Ali-Aniseh B. Tabrizi, “The View from Tehran”, Aniseh B. Tabrizi-Raffaello Pantucci, ed., Understanding Iran’s Role in the Syrian Conflict, Occasional Paper Prepared by Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, August 2016, p. 3-10. ANTONOPOULOS, Paul-Drew Cottle, Syria: The Hegemonic Flashpoint between Iran and Saudi Arabia?, Vij Books, New Delhi 2017. BARNARD, Anne, “Hezbollah Commits to an All-Out Fight to Save Assad”, New York Times, 25 May 2013. BARNARD, Anne-Karam Shoumali, “U.S. Weaponry Is Turning Syria Into Proxy Warfare with Russia”, New York Times, 12 October 2015. BEEHNER, Lionel, “How Proxy Warfare Work and What That Means for Ending the Conflict in Syria”, Foreign Affairs, 12 November 2015. BERNARD, Henry-et all, “How the Iranian-Saudi Proxy Struggle Tore Apart the Middle East”, The New York Times, 19 November 2016. EROL, Mehmet Seyfettin-Oktay Bingöl, “Uluslararası İlişkiler ve İstihbarat”, Dış Politika Analizinde Teorik Yaklaşımlar: Türk Dış Politikası Örneği, der., Ertan Efegil-Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, Barış Kitap, Ankara 2012, p. 271-299. EROL, Mehmet Seyfettin, ““Ukrayna-Kırım Krizi” ya da “İkinci Yalta Süreci””, Karadeniz Araştırmaları, 41, Spring 2014, p. 1-14. EROL, Mehmet Seyfettin-Şafak Oğuz, “Hybrid Warfare Studies and Russian’s Example in Crime”, Gazi Akademik Bakış, 9(17), Kış 2015, p. 261-277 . FOLLATH, Erich-Dieter Bednarz, “Spiegel Interview with Iranian Foreign Minister Salehi: Assad Poses No Threat to the Middle East”, Der Spiegel, 08 October 2012. GAUSE III, F. Gregory, Beyond Sectarianism: The New Middle East Cold War, Brookings DOHA Center Analysis Paper, Number 11, July 2014. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/ uploads/2016/06/English-PDF-1.pdf, (Date of Accession: 02 January 2018). GLADSTONE, Rick-Anne Barnard, “U.S. Accuses Hezbollah of Aiding Syria’s Crackdown”, The New York Times, 10 August 2012. HIRONAKA, Ann, Neverending Warfare: The International Community, Weak States and the Perpetuation of Civil Warfare, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2005. HUBBARD, Ben-Robert F. Worth. “Angry Over Syrian Warfare, Saudis Fault U.S. Policy”, New York Times, 25 October 2013. HUGHES, Geraint, My Enemy’s Enemy: Proxy Warfare in International Politics, Sussex Academic Press, Brighton 2012. JOSHI, Shashank, “The Views of Non-State Actors”, Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi and Raffaello Pantucci, ed., Understanding Iran’s Role in the Syrian Conflict, Occasional Paper prepared by Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, August 2016. KING, Laura, “Who Wants what in Syria: World Powers Jostle for Influence”, Los Angeles Times, 23 December 2016. KORTE, Gregory, “16 Times Obama Said There would be No Boots on the Ground in Syria”, USA Today, 30 October 2015, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/ onpolitics/2015/10/ 30/16-times-obama-said-there-wouldno- boots-ground-syria/74869884/, (Date of Accession: 22 January 2017). LEVITT, Matthew, Syria Spillover: The Growing Threat of Terrorism and Sectarianism in the Middle East, Testimony Submitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 06 March 2014, https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/ doc/030614AM_Testimony%20-%20 Matthew%20Levitt. pdf, (Date of Accession: 04.12.2017). MAZZETTI, Mark-Matt Apuzzo, “Saudi Arabia, the CIA and the Arming of Syrian Rebels”, Irish Times, 24 January 2016. MAZZETTI, Mark Anne Barnard and Eric Scmitt, “Military Success in Syria Gives Putin Upper Hand in U.S. Proxy Warfare”, The New York Times, 06 August 2016. MCLEES, Alexandra-Matthew Kupfer, “A Proxy Warfare in Ukraine?”, Carnegie Moscow Center, 31 July 2014, http:// carnegie.ru/commentary/56307, (Date of Accession: 07 January 2018). MUMFORD, Andrew, “Proxy Warfare and the Future of Conflict”, The RUSI Journal, 158(2), April/May 2013, p. 40-46. MUMFORD, Andrew, Proxy Warfare: Warfare and Conflict in the Modern World, Polity Press, Cambridge 2013. NORTON-TAYLOR, Richard, “A Thirty Years Warfare in Iraq and Syria?”, The Guardian, 11 June 2014. PENGELLY, Martin, “John McCain says the US is Engaged in Proxy Warfare with Russia in Syria”, The Guardian, 04 October 2015. PERALTA, Eyder, “We Ask Experts: Has the Situation in Syria Become A Proxy War?”, NPR, 17 October 2015, https://www. npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/16/449181764/ we-ask-experts-has-the-situation-in-syria-become-a-proxywar, (Date of Accession: 19 December 2017). PHILLIP, Abby-Mike DeBonis, “Tillerson, Haley Issue Differing Statements on Future of Assad in Syria”, The Washington Post, 09 April 2017. RAUTA, Vladimir-Andrew Mumford, “Proxy Warfare and Contemporary Security Environment”, Robert Dover, Huw Dylan and Michael S. Goodman, ed., The Palgrave Handbook of Security, Risk and Intelligence, Palgrave Mcmillan, London 2017, p .99-115. SERVICE, Robert, Russia and Its Islamic World: From the Mongol Conquest to The Syrian Military Intervention, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford 2017. SHAFY, Samiha-Bernhard Zand, “Saudi Foreign Minister: I Don’t Think World Warare III Is Going to Happen in Syria”, Der Spiegel, 19 February 2016. SIMS, Alexandra, “Syria: Moscow Issues ‘Proxy Warfare’ Warning over US Special Forces”, The Independent, 31 October 2015. STEPHENS, Michael, “The View from Gulf States”, Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi-Raffaello Pantucci, ed., Understanding Iran’s Role in the Syrian Conflict, Occasional Paper Prepared by Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, August 2016, p. 39-44. TEIFUKOVA, Riana-Mehmet Seyfetin Erol, "Russian Hybrid War: From Theory to Practice", Uluslararası Kriz ve Siyaset Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(2), Hibrit Savaşları Özel Sayısı, p. 33- 67. TOWLE, Philip, “The Strategy of Warfare by Proxy”, The RUSI Journal, 126(1), 1981, p. 21-26. TURSE, Nick, The Changing Face of Empire: Special Ops, Drones, Spies, Proxy Fighters, Secret Bases, and Cyberwarfare, Haymarket Books, Chicago 2012. WEAVER, Carol, The Politics of the Black Sea Region: EU Neighbourhood, Conflict Zone or Future Security Community?, Routledge, London 2016. WILLIAMS, Brian Glyn, Counter-Jihad: America’s Military Experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, University of Philadelphia Press, Philadelphia 2017. YAACOV, Bar-Siman Tov, “The Strategy of Warfare by Proxy”, Cooperation and Conflict, 19(4), November 1984, p. 263-273. ZARIF, Mohammad Javad, “Peace in Syria is Vital. And it’s within Our Grasp”, The Guardian, 18 December 2015.
There are 1 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Şafak Oğuz

Kadir Ertaç Çelik

Publication Date December 27, 2018
Published in Issue Year 2018 Volume: 2 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Oğuz, Ş., & Çelik, K. E. (2018). CONFLICT IN SYRIA: IS IT A PROXY WARFARE?. Uluslararası Kriz Ve Siyaset Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2(2), 44-69.