Leaving almost half a million dead and displacing an estimated twelve million people, the Syrian Civil War is a humanitarian catastrophe of unimaginable scale. Syrian Requiem analyzes the causes and course of this bitter conflict—from its first spark in a peaceful Arab Spring protest to the tenuous victory of the Asad dictatorship—and traces how the fighting has reduced Syria to a crisis-ridden vassal state with little prospect of political reform, national reconciliation, or economic reconstruction.
Israel’s chief negotiator with Syria during the mid-1990s, Itamar Rabinovich brings unmatched expertise and insight to the politics of the Middle East. Drawing on more than two hundred specially conducted interviews with key players, Rabinovich and Carmit Valensi assess the roles of local, regional, and global interests in the war. Local sectarian divisions established the fault lines of the initial conflict, ultimately leading to the rise of the brutal Islamic State. However, Syria rapidly became the stage for proxy warfare between contending regional powers, including Israel, Turkey, and Iran. At the same time, while a war-weary United States attempted to reduce its military involvement in the Middle East, a resurgent Russia regained regional influence by supporting Syrian government forces. Telling the story of the war and its aftermath, Rabinovich and Valensi also examine the considerable potential for renewed conflict and the difficult policy choices facing the United States, Russia, and other powers.
A compact and incisive history of one of the defining wars of our times, Syrian Requiem is a vivid and timely account of a conflict that continues to reverberate today.
"A smart history."—Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times
"A very useful primer on an astonishingly complex history."—Foreign Affairs
"Syrian Requiem: The Civil War and Its Aftermath makes a bold claim in its very title. It rests on the idea that something fundamentally Syrian has slid into memory, never to return."—Lazar Berman, Times of Israel
"Of all the books I’ve read about the ongoing civil war in Syria, Syrian Requiem: The Civil War and Its Aftermath is the best of the lot. . . . . It is concise yet comprehensive, scholarly yet accessible."—Sheldon Kirshner, Times of Israel
"Syrian Requiem is an original and valuable addition to the literature on the Syrian civil war, and is likely to become one of the early standard texts on this subject, specifically with regard to its cogent examination of the diplomatic, strategic, and high policy elements of the war’s trajectory."—Jonathan Spyer, Tel Aviv Review of Books
"A valuable book for students of geopolitics and the ever turbulent Middle East."—Kirkus Reviews
"Important and impressive. . . . [Syrian Requiem] is an indispensable book for anyone wishing to understand one of the most tragic civil wars in the Middle East."—Survival
"Packed with information, this slick book manages to offer a comprehensive look at the causes and immediate consequences of the civil war, and the way in which peaceful protests staged as part of the Arab Spring rapidly escalated into a civil war with important and far-reaching international ramifications. An engaging reading, Rabinovich and Valensi’s argument will be of interest to academic and non-academic audiences as well as to undergraduate students and faculty alike."—Lavinia Stan, European Legacy
“This is an illuminating book, combining a rich narrative and a profound analysis of Syrian history and politics from the country’s early days to the present crisis.”—Tzipi Livni, former Foreign Minister of Israel
“The Syrian Civil War is one of the tragedies of our age. Syrian Requiem offers a masterful introduction to this complex topic.”—Henry Kissinger
"In the modern era, there have been few greater national humanitarian catastrophes than Syria. Few observers of the situation in Syria are better qualified to dissect the causes and recommend the potential solutions than Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich. His rich experience as a diplomat and his sustained scholarship of the region make this book a must-read."—John R. Allen, President, Brookings Institution, retired U.S. Marine Corps general, and former Special Presidential Envoy, Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State
“An excellent and important book, Syrian Requiem places the mass murder and unspeakable brutality of the Syrian Civil War in historical and political context, illuminating the causes of the conflict and the daunting obstacles to a new beginning for those who have suffered at the hands of the Asad regime and its sponsors. This comprehensive and insightful book should be foundational to all efforts to imagine a path to peace.”—H. R. McMaster, former U.S. National Security Advisor, retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, and author of Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World
“An important contribution to our understanding of the Syrian Civil War, Syrian Requiem finds the right balance between serious scholarship and readability for a broader audience.”—Frederic C. Hof, Bard College
“Syrian Requiem provides an excellent overview and analysis of the factors that have shaped the war in Syria, as well as the deeper historical forces that have produced an outcome of destruction and incalculable human loss.”—Seth Anziska, University College London
“Combining crisp prose and clear analysis, this is a comprehensive and highly readable account of the Syrian Civil War. It is critical and at times unsparing, but also very balanced.”—Daniel Byman, Georgetown University
