The Wisdom of Syria's Waiting Game: Foreign Policy Under the Assads

Synopsis

Syrian Foreign Policy, Always Opaque, Has Become An Even Greater Puzzle During The Syrian Revolt. Irrespective Of The Regime's International Isolation In The Wake Of Its Violent Response To Domestic Protest, It Has Paid Lip-service To International Peace Plans While Unperturbedly Crushing The Rebellion. The Rare Televised Appearances Of President Assad Have Shown A Leader Detached From Reality. Has He-in His Own Words-'gone Crazy'? In This Book Long- Time Syria Analyst And Former Diplomat Bente Scheller Contends That Bashar Assad's Deadly Waiting Game Is Following Its Own Logic: Whatever Difficulties The Syrian Regime Has Faced, Its Previous Experience Has Been That It Can Simply Sit Out The Current Crisis. Introduction -- The Linkage Between Domestic And Foreign Policy And The Rebellion Of 2011 -- From Push To Shove : Syria And The United States -- Syria, Israel, And Palestine -- Back To Square One : Syria And Turkey -- Love Thy Neighbor : Syria And Lebanon -- The Odd Couple : Syria And Iran -- Brotherly Love : Syria's Relations With Iraq -- Back To The Scene: Russia -- Conclusion. Bente Scheller. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 243-256) And Index.