Special Report: Syria Comes Apart

Special Report: Syria Comes Apart
As Syria’s crisis descends into an increasingly bloody civil war, emerging fault lines have been reinforced both within the country and across the region. Once a close partner to the Syrian government, neighboring Turkey has now become a wary adversary. Meanwhile, bitter divisions at the U.N. Security Council have all but paralyzed the international community. And even if an intervention were to be approved, it would face serious obstacles. This World Politics Review special report examines Syria’s downward spiral.


Below are links to each article in this special report, which subscribers can read in full. Not a subscriber?Try our subscription service free for two weeks.



Syria’s Civil War

Syria’s Economy Devastated by Unrest, Sanctions
By Catherine Cheney
March 22, 2012

In Syria, a Quick, Decisive Outcome is Unlikely
By Andrew Exum
May 2, 2012

Syria’s Kurds Could Lose Out in Post-Assad Scenario
By Idris Ahmedi
February 13, 2012

Tensions With Turkey

Syria is Turkey’s Litmus Test in the New Middle East
By Joshua W. Walker
May 10, 2011

Global Insider: Turkey-Syria Relations
Interview with Malik Mufti
April 15, 2011

Turkey, Iran Walk a Fine Line on Syria
By Nader Habibi
July 26, 2011

Turkey Turns on Syria’s Assad
By Richard Weitz
December 6, 2011

Ties With Russia, China Constrain Turkey’s Options on Syria
By Nader Habibi
March 5, 2012

Turkey Watches Warily as Kurds Mobilize in Northern Syria
By Catherine Cheney
July 27, 2012

U.N. Diplomacy

Russia’s UNSC Syria Veto a Calculated Gamble
By Richard Weitz
February 7, 2012

Global Insider: Russia-Syria Relations
Interview with Mark N. Katz
January 12, 2012

The U.N. Security Council Comes to Order on Syria Crisis
By Richard Gowan
March 27, 2012

The U.N. Mission in Syria: Heading for Heroic Failure?
By Richard Gowan
May 2, 2012

With No Interests at Stake, China’s Syria Stance Could Shift
By Richard Weitz
June 15, 2012

Sidelined on Syria, the U.N. Security Council Grapples With Irrelevance
By Richard Gowan
July 20, 2012

Prospects for Intervention

Preparing for the ‘Day After’ in Syria
By Nikolas Gvosdev
February 3, 2012

Syria: Obama’s Bosnia
By Alan W. Dowd
April 4, 2012

U.S. Faces Strategic Gamble in Syria
By Nikolas Gvosdev
June 1, 2012

Global Insider: Syrian Air Defenses Pose Low Threat to NATO Aircraft
By Sean O’Connor
June 27, 2012

Global Insider: Outmatched in Numbers, Turkish Air Force Still More Capable Than Syria’s
Interview with Gareth Jenkins
June 28, 2012

Syria’s Chemical Weapons an Opaque but Alarming Risk

By Michelle E. Dover
December 5, 2011

Specter of WMD Changes Debate on Syria Crisis
By Nikolas Gvosdev
July 27, 2012