The realpolitik, religion and proxy conflicts of West Asia are a policy challenge India must navigate deftly.
THE RECAPTURE OF ALEPPO by the Assad government in Syria has catapulted the Syrian civil war into every living room in India and elsewhere. The humanitarian horror on TV screens is, however, only the tip of the iceberg of a complex conflict that has deep roots and presents unique dangers to Indian interests, given our geographic proximity and selective dependencies with the region. Unlike many other civil wars with a limited number of factions, Syria is characterised by a mind-numbing array of actors and contests at many levels. Unscrambling their taxonomy is vital if we are to understand their geopolitics, and what it could all mean for India.
In fact, Syria is neither an isolated theatre nor a single war. Rather, it is part of a continuous, interlinked spatial terrain of conflict stretching from the Mediterranean coast all the way up to the Iranian border. Within this space, multiple fierce conflicts have been raging since the ‘Arab Spring’ revolutions in 2011 and the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Alongside the conflicts in the Syria-Iraq region, there is also a separate but related conflict underway in Yemen.
First, the actors. Four levels, in increasing scales of power and geography, can be identified. Numerous armed non-state actors form the first and lowest level. These include the extremist Sunni Ahrar al-Sham, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (till recently, Al Qaeda’s Syria affiliate) and Jaish al-Islam among many others, the moderate Sunni Free Syrian Army, radical Shia militias such as the Sadrist Kataib al-Imam Ali, the Alawite Shabiha, smaller factions of armed Assyrian Christians and Turkomans, and somewhat separately, the Kurdish nationalist PKK, confined to southern Turkey. These militias are small relative to the other actors, often territorially interspersed in byzantine ways, and are typically allied with one or more of the larger players.
Esta historia es de la edición January 16, 2017 de India Today.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición January 16, 2017 de India Today.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
WHAT WOMEN WANT
While political parties give them schemes and promises based on their gendered roles, women across the country tell INDIA TODAY what they really expect-jobs, education, development-the same things that men desire
The Silent Revolution
A Growing Force, The Woman Elector In India Is Realising The Power Of Her Vote And Using It To ***direct Her Own And The Nation's Destiny
The Forbidding Fruit
The disturbed snow cycle, the price of imported urea, cheaper imports from the South Asian neighbourhood-the whole world, it would appear, has been conspiring against the apple farmers of Himachal Pradesh.
Chicken Soup for the Heart
Former veejay, actor and now travel influencer, Shenaz Treasury is out with a book based on past romances-All He Left Me Was a Recipe
CITY OF DREAMS
This anthology of stories about Mumbai is like the city itself-crowded and chaotic, but ultimately illuminating
Diverse Vignettes
Edited by Arunava Sinha, The Penguin Book of Bengali Short Stories is a landmark new anthology which includes several previously untranslated works
A BREATH OF FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Ganesh V. Shivaswamy brings a sharp and balanced approach to his three volumes on Raja Ravi Varma
Time Travel
An exhibition in Bengaluru is showcasing an unseen artwork by legendary artist Raja Ravi Varma
INDIA AT CANNES 2024
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival marks the first time in 30 years that India has a feature film in the Palme d'Or competition section. And there's lots more...
Cusp of Greatness
Shriya Pilgaonkar comes into her own as an intrepid reporter in Zee5's The Broken News