Escaping the Conflict Trap

How can the current civil wars in the Middle East be resolved? This volume brings together academics, experts, and practitioners to explore this question. The book covers the history of civil wars in the region during the 20th century, and then examines the specific causes, drivers, and dynamics of the ongoing civil wars in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Updated for a second edition, the book argues that while these are very different cases of civil war, there are patterns that are important to point out at the outset. First, while each of the conflicts appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon, each has a long historical tail. Second, each of the civil wars had deep and complex domestic drivers and dynamics over issues of governance, political identity, and resources; at the same time, all of the conflicts have had deep regional and international components. Finally, all of these civil wars have been affected by the presence or entrance of armed transnational non-state actors, which have had far greater involvement in the Middle Eastern civil wars compared to other regions. The book concludes that these conflicts will require a mixture of local, regional, and international interventions to bring them to an end, but that none of the conflicts are likely to end cleanly through either a negotiated settlement or a clear victory by one party or the other.
Despite this pessimistic overall assessment, the book emphasizes that policymakers should use knowledge of civil wars in the Middle East to develop and pursue specific national, regional and global policies. These should be built around mitigating the worst effects of the conflicts and towards ultimate resolution.

Paul Salem is President of the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C, US. Prior to joining the MEI, he was the founding director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon between 2006 and 2013. He has also been director of the Fares Foundation, US, and he founded and directed the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, Lebanon.
Ross Harrison is Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C, US. He is also a member of faculty at the Department of Political Science in the University of Pittsburgh, US. He was previously Professor in the Practice of International Affairs for the Master of Science in the Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University, US.

Preface to the Second Edition, Paul Salem, The Middle East Institute, USA and Ross Harrison, The Middle East Institute, USA
1. Middle East Civil Wars: Definitions, Drivers, and the Record of the Recent Past, Paul Salem, The Middle East Institute, USA
2. What We Know about Ending Civil Wars, Jessica Maves, Braithwaite, University of Arizona, USA
3. The Global and Regional Geopolitics of Civil War in the Middle East, Ross Harrison, The Middle East Institute, USA
4. Yemen: The 60-Year War, Gerald Feierstein, The Middle East Institute, USA previously of U.S. Foreign Service
5. The Syrian Civil War: Bringing the Conflict to a Close, Robert S. Ford, The Middle East Institute, USA; previously of U.S Foreign Service
6. Afghanistan's Unending Wars, Marvin G. Weinbaum, The Middle East Institute, USA; previously of U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research; and Ahmad Khalid Majidyar, previously of the State Department, and Congress
7. The Origins of the Libyan Conflict and Options for its Resolution, Jonathan M. Winer, The Middle East Institute, USA previously United States Special Envoy for Libya
8. Iraq: A Conflict over State Identity and Ownership, Randa Slim, The Middle East Institute, USA and Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced and International Studies, USA
9. The Diplomacy of Engagement: Ending Civil Wars in Transitional Middle Eastern States, Chester A. Crocker, Georgetown University, USA
Concluding Thoughts and Policy Takeaways, Paul Salem, The Middle East Institute, USA and Ross Harrison, The Middle East Institute, USA