The discussion was chaired by Anja Zorob. He highlighted that there would be no guiding theory capable of explaining why and how a popular uprising which at least initially conveyed the impression to be somehow a democratic movement transformed into a sectarian civil war and offered suggestions where future research could head to. Finally, Fred Lawson, Professor of Government at Mills College, Oakland, USA, delivered a march through the existing political and social science literature on war and conflict. In addition, he pointed out that the installation of a security or no-fly zone in the Northern part of Syria, which could be a way of giving shelter for internally displaced, has become more difficult since it would have to be enforced against ever more armed players in Syria, and since it is no longer a humanitarian project only but linked to geo-political agendas. Some parties would never come to the negotiating table in the first place, above all IS. In his presentation “Between Geneva II and Geneva III: The Desperate Search for a Political Solution” he came to the conclusion that during Geneva II was the last time that the parties discussed Syria as a whole while the current situation was more complex and fragmented, and any kind of future peace deal would most likely be valid in some areas of the country only. Carsten Wieland, a German diplomat and MENA political analyst reflected on his experiences as a Political Affairs Officer in the Office of the Joint Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, at the UN in 2014. Professor al-Azm delivered a speech on “The Debate about Daʾesh” in which he scrutinized foreign powers’ motives behind the war in Syria. Next on the panel was Sadik al-Azm, Professor of Modern European Philosophy who served in the past at different universities including Damascus and Princeton University. Andrews, started the discussion with an introduction on possible “Scenarios for Syria” in the near future stretching from a ‘survival’ of the Assad regime backed by a Russian intervention to the former’s collapse and accompanying emergence of a sectarian state and stabilization of the ISIS.
Raymond Hinnebusch, Professor of International Relations and Middle East Studies and Director of the Centre for Syrian Studies at the University of St. The distressing situation in Syria was in the focus of the first evening with a panel discussion on “Syria & Beyond: The Quest for Power and Survival” with distinguished international experts. Anja Zorob (IEE, RUB) and Amke Dietert (Secretary General of DAVO).
Stefan Reichmuth (RUB and chair of the DMG-Islamic Studies Section, Prof. Hosted by the RUB Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE).Ībout 400 scholars from all over the world participated in this international congress which was organized by Prof.
In addition, the joint DAVO/DMG Congress coincided with theĤth PhD Conference on International Development It was geared towards providing a forum for methodological exchange between the different disciplines of the Humanities and Social Sciences in their research on the historical and contemporary Middle East and the Islamic World.
An international and interdisciplinary network of about 1500 scholars, students and professionals interested in the Middle East, took place for the first time in cooperation with the Islamic Studies Section of the German Oriental Society (DMG) at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB).
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