Violent Non-state Actors and the Syrian Civil War

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

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2. Reframing and Reassessing the VNSAs in Syrian Conflict: An Introduction

   • Özden Zeynep Oktav, Emel Parlar Dal, Ali Murat Kurşun

   Pages 1-31

3. Actorness

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 33-33

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   2. Contested Geographies: How ISIS and YPG Rule “No-Go” Areas in Northern Syria

      • H. Akın Ünver

      Pages 35-51

   3. Making Sense of the Territorial Aspirations of ISIS: Autonomy, Representation, and Influence

      • Hakan Mehmetcik, Ali Murat Kurşun

      Pages 53-72

   4. How to Profile PYD/YPG as an Actor in the Syrian Civil War: Policy Implications for the Region and Beyond

      • Özlem Kayhan Pusane

      Pages 73-90

   5. The Assistance Front Versus the Popular Protection Units Versus the Islamic State: Reciprocal Mobilization and the Ascendance of Violent Non-state Actors in the Syrian Civil War

      • Fred H. Lawson

      Pages 91-106

4. Powerfulness

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 107-107

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   2. ISIS as an Actor Controlling Water Resources in Syria and Iraq

      • İbrahim Mazlum

      Pages 109-125

5. Effectiveness

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 127-127

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   2. Surrogate Warfare in Syria and the Pitfalls of Diverging US Attitudes Toward ISIS and PYD/YPG

      • Helin Sarı Ertem

      Pages 129-148

   3. External Actors and VNSAs: An Analysis of the United States, Russia, ISIS, and PYD/YPG

      • Doruk Ergun

      Pages 149-172

   4. The EU’s Stance Toward VNSAs During the Syrian Crisis: YPG and ISIS Cases

      • Yonca Özer, Fatmanur Kaçar

      Pages 173-192

   5. Understanding Iran’s Approach to Violent Non-state Actors: The ISIS and YPG Cases

      • Özden Zeynep Oktav

      Pages 193-210

   6. The Contagion of the Syrian Civil War into Turkey Under the Impact of ISIS and YPG Cases: Conditioning Factors and Diffusion Mechanisms

      • Emel Parlar Dal

      Pages 211-233

This book sheds new light on the security challenges for failed states posed by violent non-state armed actors (VNSAs). By focusing on the Syrian Civil War, it explores the characteristics, ideologies and strategies of the Islamic State (ISIS) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), as well as the regional and geopolitical impacts of these VNSAs. The contributors also cover topics such as the re-imagination of borders, the YPG’s demands for national sovereignty, and the involvement of regional and global powers in the Syrian crisis.

“This timely volume by regional scholars and experts examines various aspects of the emergence and expansion of violent non-state actors in the Syrian/Iraqi conflict. The wealth of detail and approaches enhance our understanding of the transformation and dynamics of contemporary conflicts within and beyond the region.” Keith Krause, The Graduate Institute, Geneva “This book opens fascinating glimpses into contrasting forms of “state-like” governance established by non-state actors, ISIS and the Kurdish PYD. [...] It is an important source for students of the Syrian conflict, civil wars, failed states and hybrid governance.”Raymond Hinnebusch, Director Centre for Syrian Studies, University of St. Andrews “This book is an excellent resource for those looking for an interdisciplinary account of VNSAs during the Syrian civil war. It makes a nice contribution to the study of violent non state actors and poses a set of new and pressing questions.” Max Abrahms, Northeastern University.

• Syrian Civil War
• Violent non-state actors
• Failed states
• Islamic State
• ISIS
• People's protection units
• YPG
• Conflict spillover

• Faculty of Political Sciences, International Relations Department, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey

  Özden Zeynep Oktav

• Faculty of Political Sciences, International Relations Department, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey

  Emel Parlar Dal, Ali Murat Kurşun

Ozden Zeynep Oktav is a Professor at İstanbul Medeniyet University in the Department of International Relations. She is the author of the books entitled Turkey in the 21^st Century Quest for a New Foreign Policy (2011),  Limits of Relations with the West: Turkey Syria and Iran (2008), The Changing Dynamics of the Arab Gulf and Saudi Arabia-US-Iran Relations (2011) and the co-editor of Turkey in the 2000’s: Opportunities, Risks and Crises (2015), GCC-Turkey Relations: Dawn of a New Era (2015). She published many articles on Turkey-Middle East relations. She was awarded the Government of Turkey, Council of Higher Education scholarship in 2011 and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey scholarship in 2013. She was a visiting Researcher at Cambridge University, UK and St. Andrews University, Scotland, UK in 2011 and 2013 respectively.

Emel Parlar Dal is an Associate Professor at Marmara University’s Department of International Relations. Having completed her graduate studies at Paris Sorbonne University, she conducted research at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva in 2010-2011 and at St. Anthony’s College Middle East Centre, Oxford University in 2013. Her articles have covered, inter alia, Turkish foreign policy, Turkey as an emerging power, Turkey’s global governance policies compared with those of the BRICS, Turkey-Middle East relations and the role of violent non-state actors, and Turkey’s development cooperation policies in Africa compared to China’s. Her recent publications have appeared in Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Third World Quarterly, Turkish Studies, International Journal and Perceptions and she recently edited a special issue on MIKTA for Canada’s Journal of Global Policy Analysis with Professor Andrew Cooper from University of Waterloo. She is the editor-in-chief of Rising Powers Quarterly.

Ali Murat Kurşun is a research assistant at Marmara University’s Department of International Relations. He completed his MA degree at Istanbul Bilgi University with a thesis on the critical history of the Middle Eastern borders and he is currently a PhD candidate. His recent publications have so far appeared in SSCI journals such as Global Policy and International Journal. He is the deputy editor of Rising Powers Quarterly.

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